Chapter 1, Fortune (pgs. 8-22) Summary and Analysis

Toby wants to change his name to Jack like Jack London because a girl in his class in Florida was named Toby. Toby is scared of girls and believes changing his name will also change his identify and his life problems. His mother agrees to let him change his name to Jonathan if he agrees to complete catechism classes. After he is baptized as Jonathan, she says he can shorten his name to Jack.

The name change will also get rid of Toby's ties to his father. Toby's father calls from Connecticut. He lives there with Toby's older brother, Geoffrey, and a millionaire he started seeing while married to Toby's mother. He doesn't give Toby and his mother any money. Toby's dad tells Toby to keep his name as it's an old family name. He...