Summary

Part II opens with a quote from Shakespeare, opening with “They say the best men are molded out of faults” (178). Chapter 21 is titled “The Devil and Merriam Webster.” The cab driver helped Moehringer carry his luggage to his dorm where his roommate's parents mistook him for Moehringer's father. Moehringer felt their disapproval. He soon realized the other students had been preparing for Yale their entire lives. He became determined to study hard. He applied for Directed Studies without realizing how much extra work it would entail. His literature professor was ruthless and Moehringer struggled from the beginning. Moehringer returned to a specific elm after every bad grade, and wore a trail by the end of the semester. In December, Moehringer turned 18 – the legal drinking age in New York, “Which meant that at long last I could take shelter somewhere other than my spreading...