60 pages • 2-hour read
Buckeye
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Part 1, Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, racism, and mental illness.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary
One morning, shortly after Cal Jenkins opens his father-in-law’s store, Hanover Hardware in Bonhomie, Ohio, a woman comes in and asks him to turn on the radio. He complies, and they learn that Hitler has surrendered. Margaret, as she introduces herself, is overcome with emotion. She kisses Cal passionately and then leaves.
Bonhomie is a small town with a long history of profitable industry and business, and its growth trajectory has matched that of the Midwest as a whole during the century or so since its founding. Its Black population grew during the years of the Great Migration from the South, and then its immigrant communities expanded as families made their way from various countries in Europe. By the time World War II began, its small downtown was surrounded by distinct neighborhoods, each with its own majority population of different races and ethnicities.
Cal was born in Bonhomie, Ohio, in 1920, and he has escaped fighting in WWII because he was born with one leg shorter than the other. He feels guilty for his luck, especially when other young men he knows begin dying overseas. Cal tried to enlist when the war started, but the recruiter turned him down.
After his visit to the recruiter, Cal paid another visit to his father, Everett. He wasn’t as disappointed as Cal: He still has PTSD as a result of his own military service during World War I. He hoards food, supplies, and what Cal and the rest of the town categorize as “trash.” Everett is all Cal has; Cal’s siblings died when he was young, and his mother died when he was 11 years old.
After Cal leaves his father’s house, he runs into Becky Hanover, an eccentric young woman he knows from school. Becky is studious, something of a loner, and believes that she can talk to spirits. The two begin dating, and while they might not have much in common, they realize that they deeply love each other. Cal appreciates Becky’s individuality: Before one of their dates, she hands him an envelope. She explains that this is a letter she wrote to herself as a child and that she’d like him to keep it for her until her 60th birthday. No one else, Cal muses, would even think to do such a thing.
After a whirlwind courtship, Cal proposes. Everett says little about the decision, but Becky’s father, Roman, notes, in a private conversation with Cal, how difficult marriage can be. Cal does his best to listen respectfully to this piece of advice, but he loves Becky and doesn’t foresee problems. The pair is married not long after.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary
Becky and Cal will have to wait until the war ends for a honeymoon. Cal joined the Citizens Defense Corps, and he spends some of his nights patrolling, working for the air raid team. Because there are never any air raids, Cal has little to do.
The couple moves into a small apartment in town and begins their married life. They are happy together. Some nights they spend together, others they spend with their families, and on others, Becky’s friend Janice comes over. The two hold séances, consult a crystal ball, and paint each other’s nails. Becky and Cal both work, and they share the household duties.
When Becky and Cal find out that Becky is pregnant, her parents are thrilled. Everett seems less interested, but Cal is not surprised. The two have a strained relationship, and it is as evident to Cal as it is to everyone else in town that the war changed Everett.
Roman gives Cal a job at his hardware store and buys a house for Cal and Becky. He does this, he explains, not out of generosity but because he can see that Cal lacks ambition. Cal is offended but realizes that without Roman’s caveat, the gesture might be seen as a nice gift. Roman has an intractable personality, but he is a successful businessman. With his help, Cal will have a better career than he would have with his current job at the local cement plant.
The house is sandwiched between a white working-class neighborhood and another inhabited by mostly Black and Mexican American families. This doesn’t bother Cal or Becky, but it bothers Roman, who is anti-immigration and not ashamed to say so out loud. Cal and Becky do their best to ignore Roman’s bigotry as they prepare to welcome their first child into the world.
The baby, Cal Jr. (nicknamed “Skip”), comes after a difficult pregnancy during which Becky is often uncomfortable and unhappy. The birth is hard and long, and afterward, the doctor explains that because of her high blood pressure and a host of other issues, this baby should be their last.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary
After Skip’s birth, life mostly returns to normal. The only part of Cal and Becky’s relationship that has changed, however, is their sex life. They can’t seem to reconnect physically, but both try not to worry too much about it. Becky grows bored at home, and one of their neighbors, Mrs. Dodson, offers to babysit while Becky goes back to work, part-time.
Becky has been helping Mrs. Dodson contact the spirits of several deceased relatives, and the two strike up a friendship. After a few séance sessions, Mrs. Dodson tells her friends and neighbors about Becky, and Becky soon has a host of new clientele—because of the war, most people are eager to communicate with someone they have lost.
Cal, however, is not pleased. He learns of her new status as the town medium from the gossip that erupts as people begin to seek her out. When he finds an advertisement that she placed in the paper, they have an argument. Cal doesn’t think it is proper, even though she isn’t taking money for her services. Becky is upset that Cal doubts her abilities.
Becky seeks out her mother Ida’s advice, and Cal consults Roman. Ida explains to Becky that marriage is tricky and that sometimes you have to ignore what your spouse says. Roman advises Cal to apologize for the argument and suggest that Becky see her clients in the parlor; that way, strangers will not have access to the private areas of their home. Becky agrees, but after the matter is settled, they both feel drained.
However, the situation becomes more difficult. A newspaper does a feature on Becky, which is reprinted in multiple smaller papers, including the local one. Her business increases, and Cal’s frustration mounts. Becky also receives a letter from a man, Casey, who is writing a book on mediums. He asks if he could interview her, and Becky tells him that if he is ever in town, he can.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary
Cal is not pleased when Casey arrives. Casey takes a room at a local hotel and comes to the house every morning to interview Becky and observe her sessions. Roman is just as unhappy about this new development as Cal, and the two consult regularly by phone to discuss the situation.
Becky, however, is happy. She finally has someone who not only understands her work but also respects it and respects her. However, Becky’s happiness is short-lived. She realizes that Casey doesn’t know as much as he should about spiritualism and doesn’t actually think that she is able to speak to spirits. She realizes that he is sure that Becky is just the best at faking her ability.
Eventually, Casey reveals that he is not writing a book but organizing a traveling act: His performers will hold spirit-contacting sessions live in theaters around the country. As he explains this to Becky, he puts his hand on her knee. Becky rebuffs his pass and tells him that she’ll consider his offer, but it doesn’t sound like a good fit.
She admits her worries to Cal, who again consults Roman. Roman hatches a plan, and he and Cal pick up Casey at his hotel, threaten him with a hammer, and bring him to the train station. Afterward, Becky is angry; she wanted to deal with the situation on her own. She moves Cal’s things into the spare bedroom, and a stalemate follows.
Becky and Cal become roommates and co-parents. Cal muses about the state of his marriage as Roosevelt and then Hitler and Mussolini die and the war winds down. He wonders how life might have been different if he’d been able to be a soldier or if he’d dated more than one woman before getting married.
Part 1, Chapters 1-4 Analysis
Setting is important to this novel’s thematic messages, and these early chapters establish the small town of Bonhomie, Ohio. The choice to create a fictional town allows Ryan to portray it as a microcosm of larger regional and national change, an illustration of the way that important 20th-century events impacted small Midwestern towns. Because Bonhomie is fictional, Ryan can imbue it with qualities from multiple different towns in the area, allowing it to represent not just change in one place but cultural change in the Midwest, writ large: The narrative notes how the Great Migration (the post-Civil War, mass migration of African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the north) impacted Bonhomie’s population, as well as how European immigration created new neighborhoods, each with their own ethnic majority. The novel pays particular attention to how Bonhomie grew and changed at an exponential rate during the early decades of the 20th century: “The town was built with local lumber, shale, and limestone, and granite from North Carolina, marble from Vermont and Colorado, and steel from Pennsylvania, all of it brought in by rail” (4). Characters like Roman display prejudice and resentment, but overall, change is perceived as positive in the region: Bonhomie’s industrial growth allows it to prosper economically, and its position within the burgeoning US rail system allows it to profit from growth in other regions. Because so much of this novel unfolds against the backdrop of 20th-century history, the author’s characterization of Bonhomie as a US “everytown” places his characters within a broader historical context and expands the scope of the novel’s thematic concerns.
Individual characterization is also important during these early chapters of the novel, and it is often framed in the context of family dynamics. Cal Jenkins is introduced through the context of his fraught family background. Cal’s father, Everett, a WWI veteran, has PTSD, and his personal struggles and neglectful parenting have adversely impacted the young Cal. Cal does not yet have a context for his father’s behavior, but as he learns more about his father’s past, the narrative delves into one of its main thematic concerns: The Impact of War on Individual and Cultural Identity. Everett hoards trash and hurls insults at his son, not because he is an inherently bad person but because he remains traumatized by his experiences in the war. Cal, too, struggles with the way that war shapes identity, as the difference in the length of his legs prevents him from serving in WWII. While he is in no rush to die in Europe or the Pacific, he can see that military service has already become a defining experience for the men of his generation, and he is not sure how to approach adult identity development as a male civilian.
This uncertainty about his identity leads to a passivity that is intrinsic to Cal’s character in these early chapters. He is unsure what kind of career he might pursue once the military is ruled out, and he falls back on working at the hardware store when his father-in-law offers the opportunity. Cal’s propensity for inaction will characterize him for much of the novel, and during these chapters, it is additionally visible during the fateful, symbolic kiss he shares with Margaret Salt. Margaret kisses Cal, not the other way around. This moment simultaneously serves to develop both characters: Unlike Cal, Margaret is assertive and has little trouble acting out her own desires.
The novel also introduces Becky Hanover during these chapters as the narrative begins to explore Individualism Versus Conformity in Small Communities. Becky is seen locally as eccentric due to her belief that she is able to communicate with the dead. Unlike Cal, she has very little interest in conformity and begins to pursue (unpaid) work as a medium. Once married to her, Cal becomes uncomfortable with Becky’s interest in individuality and grows increasingly irritated with her séances. Cal’s problem with the séances is not merely because he doubts Becky’s ability to speak with spirits; he is also uncomfortable with the negative attention that they bring to his small family. Because Cal has been deemed unfit for military service, he feels like a social outcast. Becky’s séances further label the pair as “different,” and Cal struggles with the label because he is so invested in conformity. This tension will cause conflict in their marriage throughout the novel, foreshadowed in important conversations between Becky and Ida and between Cal and Roman. Both of Becky’s parents note the difficulties of being married, and each cautions the younger generation to manage their expectations and prepare for a relationship that may not fit their ideal.
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