Chapters 24-34
Chapter 24
What Happens
Penny goes to her room and finds “a brand-new set of paints and a tin of brushes.” The paints are her favorite colors. She remembers how much she loved starting new portraits but also how the artist discouraged her work. He tried to make her more “ruthless” in her art because she always struggled to finish a portrait. Shelley interrupts her, and Penny realizes she has been standing there, deep in thought, for much longer than she realized.
Why it Matters
Penny again loses track of time—probably several hours—and when Shelley comes in, Penny feels “bewilder[ed].” The paint supplies suggest that someone in the residence cares about her and wants her to practice her art. Perhaps it is part of Shelley’s “theory” about extending her residents’ lives. This chapter also proves that the artist’s voice is still in Penny’s head, impacting her art.
Chapter 25
What Happens
At dinner, the residents discuss the upcoming party. Shelley notes that Pete has been practicing his violin. Penny remembers she used to love to dance; Hilbert and Shelley assure her she still can. She recalls her favorite Annette Hanshaw song to dance to when she was young.
Shelley connects Penny’s love of art and her own passion for studying anatomy, but Hilbert interrupts to ask Penny a question. Penny tells everyone she wanted “to float” when she was young. Hilbert is the only one to really engage with her answer, but Jack is suddenly very attentive. Shelley loses patience with Hilbert’s talk, urging him and the others to focus on “common ground” and asking Jack to take Penny upstairs.
Why It Matters
Penny finds Shelley’s behavior suspicious: “Everything she says seems almost scripted and rehearsed.” In addition, she controls the conversation between Penny and Hilbert, and discourages them from “get[ting] too philosophical.” It is unclear why Shelley is threatened by their bond, but the comment Penny makes about Shelley’s “rehearsed” speech implies that Shelley does not like conversations to stray out of her control.
Chapter 26
What Happens
In Penny’s room, Jack says he relates to what she said. However, when he hears Shelley approaching, he stops talking. He studied art briefly in college and says his younger self would be surprised that he ended up at Six Cedars. Penny tells Jack she thought her life was over when she was in her apartment alone, and she begins crying. She admits how good she has felt at the residence and asks where the paint came from, but Jack has disappeared.
Why It Matters
Jack seems hesitant to say certain things about his past when Shelley is in the hallway, which creates more mystery. Penny becomes emotional thinking about how much better her life suddenly is at Six Cedars. She says, “I feel good. I’ve slept. I’ve eaten. I’ve talked with other human beings my own age.” Though she was resistant at first, it did not take long for Penny to be won over by the residence.
Chapter 27
What Happens
Penny wakes up to Shelley in the corner of her room. Shelley touches Penny’s face and gives her water before announcing Penny will have a “spa day” tomorrow.
Why It Matters
Shelley’s presence especially disturbs Penny, as Shelley is “just standing there,” then “very softly touches [Penny’s] cheek with the back of her hand, the way a parent might do to a young child.” This action raises the question of how Shelley views her residents: Does she want them to be autonomous adults, or is she infantilizing them?
Chapter 28
What Happens
Shelley accompanies Penny in the shower, though...
(This entire section contains 1697 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
she would rather be alone and feels uncomfortable as Shelley rubs her back with a washcloth. Shelley tells her it is time for bed, and Penny again is confused about how much time has passed.
Why It Matters
The eeriest moment of this chapter is when Shelley hums the old song Penny mentioned to the group in chapter twenty-five. Shelley takes total control over Penny’s nightly routine here, forcing her into bed, and despite the strange behavior, Penny feels “protected.” This ambiguity continues to lead the reader to wonder about the positive and negative sides of Six Cedars.
Chapter 29
What Happens
Penny wakes up in the dark, unsure of where she is. She remembers she is at Six Cedars and feels “alert,” taken by the urge to paint. Only when she tires of painting does she go back to bed.
Why It Matters
It is significant that Penny is painting “for the first time in years,” which seems to indicate that Six Cedars has a positive influence. However, she gets up in the middle of the night almost as though she is possessed by the need to paint. She is utterly exhausted when she finishes, and the frantic way she acts causes readers to wonder about her mental state.
Chapter 30
What Happens
The next morning, Jack appears in Penny’s room with towels. She “feel[s] muddled, disoriented.” Penny thinks Jack looks different, and he does not reply when she asks how he slept. Her canvas from last night has disappeared.
Why It Matters
Jack’s appearance is worrisome; Penny notes, “his eyes are baggier than yesterday. Darker.” Between this and his behavior when Shelley was walking in the hall a few chapters earlier, Reid builds mystery around Jack’s character and possibly his relationship with Shelley. The canvas’s disappearance is also strange, and though Penny assumes she “hid it” herself, she is not sure.
Chapter 31
What Happens
Penny eats breakfast and goes to the spa, where Jack washes her hair. Jack admires her painting style and suggests she create portraits of the residents. At some point, Shelley is the one washing her hair, and Penny asks where Jack went.
Shelley compliments Penny’s artistic talent, and Penny retorts that her work is “private.” Penny knows very little about Shelley and begins to ask her about herself, learning that Shelley studied sciences but is more interested in the “theoretical.” She tells Penny about lichen, which is a “symbiotic fusion” of algae and fungi. They discuss whether it is best to want more time or to appreciate that time is finite.
Shelley thinks Penny has a crush on Hilbert. She gives Penny a haircut without consulting her first and asks if she can paint Penny’s nails. Penny bleeds when Shelley cuts one of her nails too short, and Shelley makes a strange comment about how “healthy” Penny’s blood looks.
Why It Matters
Reid continues to build tension, as Shelley replaces Jack without explanation. Shelley’s theories are also suspicious, and readers wonder if she is testing them on the residents. For example: Is the example of the lichen meant to serve as a model for what she hopes to achieve with her residents? Shelley insists that everyone should want “more time,” so readers wonder if she aims to extend the residents’ lives—or even her own.
Chapter 32
What Happens
Penny returns to her room and thinks about how she has not dreamed while at Six Cedars. Jack walks in and encourages Penny’s reignited interest in painting. He brings her noise-canceling headphones to tune out “all the background sounds” that Penny thinks she has not noticed. When she puts the headphones on, she is stunned by the “utter silence” they create but would rather listen to music than work in silence.
Jack changes Penny’s sheets, which calls up a memory of her father from when Penny was a child. She questions whether her sheets could be dirty after three days, and Jack tells her: “Ruth hates dirty sheets.”
Why It Matters
Her time at Six Cedars has impacted Penny in positive ways: She sleeps more soundly and connects with long-forgotten memories. However, the reference to “background noises” and the effort to shut residents off from hearing what is going on in the house, along with Jack’s comments about Ruth, confuse both Penny and the reader. She will continue to think about this comment and examine her relationship with the other residents.
Chapter 33
What Happens
At dinner, Jack’s comment about Ruth continues to bother Penny. She keeps looking at Ruth, who is uncharacteristically quiet. Ruth asks Penny to go talk somewhere alone.
Why It Matters
Jack’s comment was strange enough to lead Penny to mull over it at dinner and to draw Ruth’s attention. The reader imagines that Ruth will reveal something to Penny that will help her understand the comment.
Chapter 34
What Happens
In their conversation, Ruth refers to herself and Penny as: “Then you. Now us,” clarifying that all the residents are now there together. Penny asks Ruth about the noise issue, but Ruth simply replies that they are lucky to be able to work. Ruth has never been married but says she may marry one day and have children.
For a moment, Penny can no longer hear Ruth’s voice. They look in the mirror together, and Penny notices their identical haircuts, while Ruth comments on how it “feels good” but does not explain what she means. They discuss Hilbert, and Penny says she likes his way of thinking. Penny then talks about how difficult it was to live with her partner because he was “only ego.” They hear a noise, and Ruth whisks Penny away, saying Shelley will be upset if she finds them.
Why It Matters
Ruth’s behavior is odd. She refers to herself and Penny as “us” and “we,” and she also repeats an earlier name—“Pennies”—that seemed like a quirk at first but now raises questions. Between this chapter and the comment about Ruth’s sheets, readers begin to wonder about the connection between the two women or whether they are two versions of one person.
Ruth’s reference to Shelley as being “livid” and Ruth’s “fearful” eyes make Penny uncomfortable, so she “sneaks” off to escape Shelley’s wrath. This leads readers to wonder what happened between Shelley and Ruth, creating even more suspense and mystery.
