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Independence Day | Introduction

Independence Day, by Richard Ford, is set in the fictional New Jersey town of Haddam (reportedly based on Princeton) and also roams over Connecticut and upstate New York. The plot is not complex. Frank Bascombe, a divorced realtor in his mid-forties, goes on a road trip over the Fourth of July weekend in 1988. After trying to sell a house to a couple who do nothing but complain and find fault, he visits his girlfriend at her house on the Jersey shore. Then he heads for Connecticut to pick up his troubled fifteen-year-old son Paul, who lives with Bascombe’s former wife and her second husband, whom both Bascombe and Paul dislike. Bascombe plans to use the trip to establish a deeper relationship with his son. They visit the Basketball Hall of Fame and then the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where a distressing and unexpected incident disrupts Bascombe’s plans and forces him to end their trip early.

Bascombe’s constant ruminations on life in general and in the United States in the 1980s give Independence Day much of its depth and character. The novel can be seen as an inquiry into the nature of independence, a quality that Bascombe seeks to cultivate and tries to pass on to his son. But Bascombe also realizes that independence is a complex notion that may carry its dangers, too, in terms of social isolation and lack of community. During the course of the weekend, he discovers a new sense of optimism about his future and his willingness to connect with others in a meaningful way.

Independence Day Summary

Chapter 1
Independence Day begins early on a Friday morning on the Fourth of July weekend in 1988, in Haddam, New Jersey. The narrator is Frank Bascombe, a forty-four-year-old divorced realtor, the father of a son and a daughter who live with Ann, his ex-wife, in Connecticut. Bascombe is about to set off for a weekend trip with his fifteen-year-old son, Paul, but before he collects Paul, he plans to visit his girlfriend Sally Caldwell, who lives in South Mantoloking on the Jersey shore. He feels their relationship may have reached a crisis point and that they may not be seeing each other much longer. But his main concern is with Paul, who has recently been arrested for shoplifting condoms and for assaulting a female security guard who apprehended him. He is due to appear in court on the Tuesday, July 5th. Since that incident, and Paul’s psychological evaluation, Bascombe has tried to keep more in touch with Paul, taking him out and also talking to him in early morning telephone conversations. Now he will be picking Paul up in Connecticut and going on a road trip in which they will visit the basketball and baseball halls of fame. He hopes this will be an opportunity for him to connect with his wayward, highly intelligent but emotionally immature son and steer him back on the right course.

Chapter 2
Bascombe’s day starts with a visit to one of the two rental houses he owns to collect the rent. The houses are adjacent to each other in a quiet black neighborhood. The house he visits now is rented by a mixed-race couple, the McLeods, and Larry McLeod tends to act aggressively when Bascombe stops by for the rent. On this occasion, however, no one answers the doorbell, even though Bascombe is certain that someone is at home.

After a quick visit to his office, he drives to a motel where he picks up Joe and Phyllis Markham. They want to move into the area from Vermont, and Bascombe hopes to sell them a house by noon. The problem is that the Markhams cannot really afford to buy the kind of house they want in this area, which means that up to now they have been disappointed with all the forty-five houses that Bascombe has shown them. When Bascombe arrives, he finds that the Markhams have just quarreled and that Joe is in a sour mood. Bascombe tells him he wants to show them a house in nearby Penns Neck, and Joe reluctantly agrees.

Chapter 3
Bascombe shows them the house, a remodeled farmhouse owned by Ted Houlihan, a recently widowed engineer. Bascombe knows the house is not exactly what they want, but he also knows they can afford it, and he thinks they may be dispirited enough to buy it. When he arrives, he realizes it is the nicest house on the street. Joe immediately inspects the house carefully but appears to be unimpressed, while Phyllis is delighted by what she finds. However, her enthusiasm is soon curbed when she finds out from Houlihan that the property adjoins a minimum security state prison. Houlihan insists that it is more like a country club than a prison and presents no problem to the residents of the house. But Phyllis is not convinced, thinking it might be a problem for Sonja, their twelve-year-old daughter and also indicating that she herself does not want to live next door to a prison. Meanwhile, Joe has changed his mind and says he likes the house. Bascombe tries to encourage them that the house is a good value, and they would be happy there. He takes them back to their motel so they can consider their options.

Chapter 4
Bascombe recalls the events that led up to his becoming a realtor. Before that he had been a short-story writer and a sports journalist. His son Ralph had died of Reye’s syndrome, and this loss had negative effects on his marriage, eventually leading to a divorce. Bascombe quit his job, moved to Florida and then to France, where he had a brief affair with a much younger woman, and then returned to Haddam and looked around for a fresh challenge. In 1984, he was thinking of reconciliating with Ann, but Ann announced she was getting married to Charley O’Dell, an architect about fifteen years older than she, and they were moving to Connecticut. Bascombe was deeply disturbed by this news, since he had never expected her to remarry, and they had remained close friends after the divorce. When she moved, he sold his house and bought hers. He then took some training and became a realtor at the Lauren-Schwindell firm in Haddam. He liked the work and felt happy with his life, which, broadly speaking, he still does.

Bascombe makes a second call on the McLeods to collect the rent. As he stands on the porch, a neighbor, Myrlene Beavers, thinks he is trying to break into the house and calls the police. Bascombe talks to Betty McLeod, who tells him that Larry is not at home. Bascombe knows this is not true. A policeman arrives, and Bascombe has to explain that he not breaking in; he is just trying to collect the rent.

Chapter 5
Bascombe goes to check on a hot-dog stand he co-owns in a semi-rural location near Haddam. His business partner is an older man named Karl Bemish, a widower. Bascombe discovered the place by accident and went into partnership with Karl to help the business out of a financial mess. He soon sorted it out, changing the name from Bemish’s Birch Beer Depot to Franks and decided he would sell only root beer and... » Complete Independence Day Summary