Chapter 17 Summary

Ray rides the bus to Riverside, noting that Los Angeles' smog cloud extends outward from the city for nearly twenty-five miles. It is evident that Ray considers Los Angeles to be a hell on earth. In Riverside, a transient warns Ray to be careful of the police as vagrancy is locally considered an arresting offense. Ray therefore sneaks around and finds a well-hidden campsite, where he spends the night. He finds himself becoming extremely sad and actually cries. He considers the homeless life to be sad and difficult but also realizes that for him it is either a life of homeless freedom or a life of watching television with his brain switched off. Ray reflects that it is nearly Christmas, 1955, and he is filled with Christmas spirit. He considers himself analogous to a Don Quixote of tenderness. He sleeps, wakes and gets ready...