Summary

This section brings about the height of Moss's idealism as the Milton's prepare for a party in honor of Evelyn and Dickie's upcoming marriage. The Miltons, along with other powerful and privileged families such as the Pratts and the Welds, prepare for festivities on the Island. Fenno Weld arrives, and it is the first time Joan has seen him since she began her affair with Len. Talk of race relations and politics raise Moss's idealism to the forefront, and the divide between Moss's thinking and Ogden's becomes more apparent. Moss continues to see the future of America in terms of a grand, unified song, and thus feels increasingly out of place on the Island. He laments to Joan: "I don't have the goods for this place" (306). In contrast Joan revels in the security of the Island, and adores her father as she sees...