This Side of Paradise

While walking in Maryland’s countryside, Amory gets caught in a storm. As he makes his way to shelter, he hears a woman singing. Amory follows the voice to a haystack and meets Eleanor Savage. She helps him climb the haystack, and they sit and talk as the storm rages around them. Eleanor says she lives with her grandfather a mile away and saw Amory last week as he walked by her house. The storm lessens, and Eleanor accuses Amory of being sentimental, whereas she is a materialist. She then says she’s going home and asks Amory to walk her to the crossroads. They climb down the haystack and hold hands as they walk, kissing when they say goodbye.

“September”: Days later, Amory and Eleanor discuss what time of year is best for falling in love, feeling summer is the worst. Eventually, Amory meets Eleanor’s aunt, who explains the family’s background. The couple spends the remaining summer days drifting around the countryside, allowing Amory to feel young again. In some moments, however, Amory becomes frustrated with his life, which used to be simple and predictable but has now become a series of unrelated experiences. He lacks hope that he’ll ever be able to connect these fragments and make sense of them.