Beach Music

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1995

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3, Chapter 18 Summary

It is now December. Lucy flies to Rome to visit Leah and Jack. On Christmas Eve, they attend a party before going to midnight mass at St. Peter’s. Jack allows Leah to wear Shyla’s pearls and some lipstick, even though Lucy thinks it inappropriate for Leah’s age. Leah is shocked and hurt by Lucy’s sharp reprimands.

On December 27, Jack, Leah, and Lucy are at the Rome airport, checking in for their flight to South Carolina. They are caught in a terrorist attack when four men fire machine guns into the crowd. Jack tosses Leah to safety behind a ticket counter, then rushes to help his mother. Jack tackles Lucy and covers her body with his own. He is shot multiple times and passes out.

The news of the terrorist attack is televised; Jordan sees the live footage of emergency workers rushing Jack out of the airport on a stretcher. Jordan hurries to the hospital. Images of Jordan praying over Jack appear on TV, further blowing Jordan’s cover.

Jack has surgery and is in a coma for six days. When Jack wakes, Leah asks him to tell a “Great Dog Chippie” story about the shooting. Ledare and Lucy fill Jack in on the details that he doesn’t know or can’t remember. He learns that his friend and former neighbor, Natasha, was killed in the attack.

Part 3, Chapter 19 Summary

Jack’s neighbors welcome him when he returns home from the hospital. Jordan’s father, General Elliot, is also in the crowd. Jordan watches with binoculars from a nearby building and sees his father.

Interpol is now looking for Jordan, as he is wanted for questioning about the death of a Marine and his girlfriend in 1971. Jordan fears his father, who was both physically and emotionally abusive throughout Jordan’s childhood.

Mike and Capers fly to Rome, but Jack and Ledare are unhappy to see them. Jack compares Capers to Judas, accusing him of deep treachery. Capers admits that they are also in Italy to look for Jordan. They claim to have Jordan’s best interests at heart, though Jack doubts their sincerity and believes they want Jordan only for the publicity.

Later that night, Jordan signals to Jack using morse code, arranging to meet with Jack and Ledare the next day. Jordan asks Jack to set up a meeting with his father.

Part 3, Chapter 20 Summary

A few days later, Jack meets Jordan’s father in a bar. Jack leads the general on a roundabout walk and taxi ride through the city, as if trying to make it difficult for anyone to follow them. Finally, a priest approaches them, pretending to be Jordan. Just as Jordan suspected, his father has led law enforcement to them. Agents jump out and handcuff the priest before realizing it’s not Jordan.

Interpol questions Jack about his knowledge of Jordan. Jordan has been cautious, though, and Jack knows very little that could help them find him.

General Elliot comes to Jack’s apartment. Celestine is divorcing him over this betrayal of their son. She’s left the general in Rome without any money. He and Jack have a tense conversation, ending with a bit more empathy on both sides. Jack offers the general a place to stay.

Part 3, Chapter 21 Summary

Chapter 21 recounts the summer when Jordan Elliot moved to Waterford.

Jack, Mike, and Capers first spotted Jordan on a skateboard—the first skateboard the town of Waterford had ever seen. Jordan sassed a police officer, inspiring the boys to invite Jordan to baseball practice. From that point on, the four boys were nearly inseparable. Jordan taught his friends to surf, and they spent a memorable evening floating on a board far out in the ocean.

Later that summer, after their team lost a championship baseball game, Jordan invited his friends to his house. There, not realizing that Jordan’s friends were in the car, the general hit his son multiple times, berating him for losing the game.

Jack and Jordan both have abusive fathers; this forged a strong bond between them. When Jordan was in seventh grade and living in California, his mother sent him to see a psychiatrist after he tried running away. The therapist saw through Jordan’s lies and bravado, recognizing that the boy was being abused and suffered from moving around a lot. Jordan came to trust the therapist and they discussed how Jordan could stay out of his father’s way.

Part 3 Analysis

Jack’s conversation with General Elliot in Chapter 20 develops the theme of The Line Between Duty and Loyalty. The two men speak explicitly of this topic, with Jack telling the general, “For the love of your son […] Yes, sir. I’d trample on my flag” (323). General Elliot embodies the concept of duty. As a career Marine, the general holds his obligation to his country and the military in high esteem. In this conversation with Jack, the general expresses that his duty to America is greater than his love for his son. General Elliot will undergo a powerful transformation at the end of the novel when he reconnects with Jordan. For Jack, loyalty to his friend Jordan has led him to take many risks. Jack feels a stronger loyalty toward the people he loves than toward any nation or religion.

The scene between Jack and General Elliot is also a powerful instance of Forgiveness as Difficult but Necessary Work. As Jack notes, “By the time I showed him to his room, each of us had seen the other in a way we never had before” (325). While Jack and General Elliot still don’t see eye-to-eye, they are able to speak civilly with each other, forgiving one another enough to have a thoughtful conversation. This is emblematic of Jack’s inner state at this stage in the novel; he has not forgiven the wounds of his past, but he is beginning to grapple with them on the road to forgiveness.

Part 3 centers mostly on the sub-plot of Jordan Elliot. Jordan’s characterization is furthered in Chapter 21; the story of his arrival in Waterford and Jack’s memories from their first summer together underscore Jordan’s troubled relationship with his father, as well as Jordan’s profound religious beliefs and his willingness to take risks. It is significant that the novel develops Jordan’s character in such detail before the circumstances of the 1971 murder are revealed. Conroy establishes our empathy and trust for Jordan before sharing the details of his alleged crime.

The events of Chapter 18 mark a dramatic turning-point for Jack’s character. Jack’s life changes radically once he and Leah travel to South Carolina in Part 4. Jack’s gunshot wounds and coma are symbolic of this transition, acting as a sharp division between Jack’s life in Rome and his life reunited with his past in the US. The incident is also symbolic of the emotional difficulty of Jack’s return to his hometown. The shooting occurs as Jack, Leah, and Lucy are preparing to fly to South Carolina, interrupting their plans and delaying Jack’s return. He is forced to take time to heal from his physical wounds, just as he needs time to continue the emotional process of healing and forgiving before he is truly ready to welcome his family back into his life.