Martin continues walking away from Pecksniff’s toward the road to London without stopping. He looks inside the book Tom gave him, and finds the money Tigg had just returned to him through John—the only money Tom had left.

Martin spends some of the money at an inn, where he meets a coachman named Bill Simmons who is headed to London. He catches a ride with him. Bill tells Martin about someone who left England for New York without a penny and made a fortune as soon as he got to the United States. After Bill drops him off a little outside London, Martin sells the belongings he has on him for money for passage to America. In a pawn shop, he runs into Tigg, haggling with a shopkeeper for more money. Tigg helps him sell a pocket watch. Afterward, Martin tells Tigg he doesn’t want to see him again, even though Tigg mentions he is no longer friends with Slyme. They go their separate ways.

Martin writes a note to Tom to send for his belongings, and sells as much of the rest of his wardrobe as he can. Martin reflects on how much he has fallen since leaving his grandfather’s house, and waits for answers to the several letters he sent asking friends for help, receiving none over several weeks. Five weeks after arriving in London, he receives an unmarked letter with 20 pounds inside, and treats himself to a feast.

He is called upon by Mark Tapley, who recognized him from the Blue Dragon. Mark mentions that he is looking for a position as a manservant, and doesn’t care about pay, and has sought out Martin for this purpose. Martin tells him he is going to America, and Mark becomes determined to go as well, with or without him. Martin shows Mark the letter and asks if he knows about it, which he doesn’t. He trusts Mark enough to tell him the story of his misfortunes. As he is telling Mark about Mary, Mark mentions that he has seen her in London, and looks much happier than she did at the Blue Dragon. Mark agrees to secretly deliver a letter to Mary from Martin.

Mark delivers Martin’s letter and arranges a meeting between him and Mary the next morning. Mary worries for Martin after seeing his reduced station, and even more so when he tells her he is going to America so he can make a fortune to marry her.

Martin tells her not to trust Pecksniff; she will receive letters from Martin through his trusted friend, Tom Pinch. Mary tells Martin that Old Martin has never mentioned his name since their separation, but asks Martin to think of his grandfather and eventually forgive him. As Mark escorts Mary home, she buys a diamond ring to give to Martin so that he may sell it if he needs funds to travel.

Though they face rough waves and crowded quarters during their trip to New York, Mark remains jolly as he looks about his fellow passengers and gives them aid and favors. Mark becomes quite popular among the ship’s travelers, and continues to wonder whether he can consider his jollity credible in such easy circumstances. By contrast, Martin is irritable, seasick, and keeps to himself.

They finally arrive in America, and Mark jokes that he is happy to see any land after so much water.

As he gets off the ship, Martin is bombarded by boys selling a myriad of sensational newspapers. He is greeted by an American man named Colonel Diver, the editor of the New York Rowdy Journal. Martin is fascinated by the way Diver speaks and how he discusses information in America. The man invites Martin to his office at the journal for a glass of champagne.

At these offices, Martin meets Jefferson Brick, the young war correspondent of the Rowdy Journal, whom Martin initially thinks is Diver’s son. Diver wants to know which of Brick’s articles have been most offensive in England, but Martin has never heard of the man. Martin notices how the men often work in forgery and care more about selling papers than authentic journalism.

They visit another man named Major Pawkins, whom Martin finds to be just as much of a beloved swindler as the other Americans he has met so far. Martin is rapidly whisked along through the city, where he is met with excess and exaggerations, and the narrator remarks how nothing is more important to any of these Americans than the dollar. Martin meets one man at dinner who seems more honest than the rest, with whom he earnestly discusses journalism and free speech.

Martin and his new friend, whom he learns is a visitor from Massachusetts named Bevan, walk back to the Rowdy Journal office to find Mark, who has been waiting all this time. Bevan is the only man Martin has met in America who doesn’t think the country is without fault. They meet with Mark, who tells them about a man he met who bought land, but was swindled as the land was untenable. Mark also befriended a formerly enslaved man named Cicero, who offered to help with their luggage, and learned of his enslavement, torture, how he bought his freedom, and how he is saving up to buy that of his daughter. Martin is astonished by both of these stories, and has to confirm with Bevan that such things occur in the United States. However, Bevan later dismisses Cicero, knowing that certain people do not look upon free men so kindly, and insisting that they shouldn’t be involved with a man of color as foreigners themselves.

Bevan takes Martin and Mark to see his family, the Norrises, who have all been to England and know several members of the peerage. Though the Norrises have some good qualities, like Bevan, Martin notices many of their hypocrisies as well.

They are joined by General Fladdock, a family friend who has just returned from Europe and shares the Norrises hypocritical interest in the aristocracy. General Fladdock came over on the same ship as Martin, yet the whole company is astonished to learn that Martin belonged to the lowest class on board and was poor. Martin leaves out of embarrassment, and Bevan follows, remarking how they could expect a similar scene in an English drawing room, but it seems more hypocritical in the supposed land of liberty. Once Martin and Bevan part for the night, Martin feels exhausted and dejected by his first hours in America.

Back in London, Anthony and Jonas Chuzzlewit argue over money, with Chuffey surprisingly chiming in to defend both men. Jonas believes that Chuffey is hoping to inherit Anthony’s money once he dies, but Jonas knows Anthony’s will is primarily made out to him, so he is just waiting for his father to die.

Suddenly, Pecksniff arrives, and once Jonas leaves, he reveals that he was summoned to London by Anthony. Pecksniff believes Anthony wants to apologize to him for previous remonstrances, but he discovers that Anthony believes he has been scheming to get his daughter to marry Jonas, who will be wealthy once Anthony is dead. He warns Pecksniff against his machinations. Anthony falls asleep, and Jonas returns. A few moments later from the other room, they hear Chuffey scream and see Anthony fallen on the floor. Jonas asks Pecksniff not to leave, feeling relieved that he was there to witness Anthony fall ill so no one would blame him for anything. Anthony is comatose for the remainder of the evening, except for one horrifying moment when he stands and tries to speak to Jonas.

Jonas sends Pecksniff to fetch someone to help prepare Anthony’s body, leading Pecksniff to a Mrs. Sarah Gamp, a disorderly nurse and caretaker. Pecksniff and Mrs. Gamp meet with the undertaker, Mr. Mould, who compliments both of the Chuzzlewits of the house. When Pecksniff comes upon Jonas, the latter emphasizes how much everything has been done properly, and how Pecksniff can vouch that no one will blame him for not taking care of his father. Mrs. Gamp is disturbed by Chuffey’s grief and asks that Pecksniff take him away from the body as she opens a bottle for a drink.

As the mourners watch over the body, Jonas fears he will see his father’s ghost, while Mrs. Gamp indulges in the food and drink the hosts provide for her. At the funeral, Mould and Gamp discuss why the business of death is more profitable than that of birth, and conclude that funerals are for the living. Pecksniff notices how Jonas becomes more pleasant throughout the course of the funeral, except when Chuffey makes a scene of his mourning.

Jonas blatantly asks Pecksniff what he would give for each of his daughters’ dowries, particularly if he were to be his son-in-law. Pecksniff admits he would give 4,000 pounds for Cherry’s dowry, a high price for him, but one he would think is worthy for a good son-in-law. Pecksniff plans to surprise his daughters with his and Jonas’s arrival from London, but he notices that Jonas is acting suspiciously boisterous. Jonas becomes violent when Pecksniff mentions his father, and he tells the man to never mention Anthony again.

Jonas and the Pecksniffs dine together, but when Pecksniff leaves for a moment, Jonas speaks to the daughters together. To everyone’s surprise, Jonas proposes to Merry, not Cherry, who runs off in tears. Pecksniff finds the daughters in their room once Merry has escaped, but thinks what Merry is saying is only jealousy of her sister’s new engagement. Pecksniff recognizes the truth when he meets with Jonas, who asks for an extra 1,000 pounds, since he is leaving Pecksniff with Cherry, his favorite.

Suddenly, Tom Pinch enters the room, telling Pecksniff that he met Old Martin and Mary in the church, and they are coming to his house right away. The rapidity of these events confuses Pecksniff, who also doesn’t want Old Martin to see Jonas in his home, and cannot act before there is a knock at the door.

Martin and Mark head West on a train to a place called the Valley of Eden, where Mark says there are plenty of snakes and dangerous creatures. A nosy American man named La Fayette Kettle interrupts their conversation, advertising his paper, the Watertoast Gazette. Like Colonel Driver, Kettle wonders what the English, particularly Queen Victoria, will think when she reads his paper.

They also meet a General Choke, to whom Martin has a letter of introduction from Bevan. They discuss Martin’s interest in buying land in the Valley of Eden, and Choke says he will speak to an agent about selling the land to him. On reaching their destination, Martin sees no one he can differentiate from the Americans he has met thus far. Martin tells Mark that he should be a partner in his investments, largely in part because he has brought more money than Martin has, and Mark is willing to follow Martin’s plans to buy land in Eden. Though they are now partners, Martin still treats Mark as his servant.

Choke takes the men to see an agent, Mr. Scadder, who is selling the land, and the two Americans debate whether or not the Englishmen are worthy of buying the plots. Martin sees a map of Eden, seeing it is more of a city than a plot of land, as he thought, but Scadder assures him there is still building to be done, and there are no other architects in town. Martin and Mark buy a plot of land with the majority of their money, sight unseen, but Mark is contemplative once they leave Scadder.

Martin follows Choke to a gathering he is set to speak at for the Watertoast Association, only to discover it is a gathering of those sympathetic to an Irish politician, who particularly detests the British. However, during the meeting, Choke receives a letter saying that this politician supports emancipation, angering the whole crowd. They suggest disbanding their organization and using the funds they have raised to commit atrocities against abolitionists and people of color. Martin leaves the gathering as quickly as possible, again lamenting the hypocrisy of the idea of freedom in America.

Once word gets around that Martin has bought land in Eden, several locals, including members of the Watertoast Association, wish to speak to the now-famous man. So many people come to visit him that the landlord of their inn arranges a room for the locals to come get a look at him. He is forced to meet many people, including Mrs. Hominy, a writer who is traveling toward Eden and who is thrust upon Martin for his journey.

Meanwhile, Mark prepares for their steamboat journey to Eden, using some of the last of their money to do so. Before leaving, Mark asks their landlord, Captain Kedgick, why everyone is interested in Martin. The man tells them that “nobody as goes to Eden ever comes back alive” (493). Mark must run to the boat before he and Martin are separated, not having time to think about the captain’s statement.

Martin and Mark make their way toward Eden in better company than they found at their previous stop, but all the passengers disembark at the stop before Eden. Mark fears what they will meet in Eden the whole trip, and Martin does the same as they move further from the other passengers. As they approach Eden, they see it is a barren swamp. The first person they meet there asks for their food, as he is sick with a fever, and so are his children. The man says their land is near his, and that he buried its last proprietor with his own hands, all while Mark remains cheerful. They are taken to a small cabin, where Martin breaks down in tears, and Mark tries to cheer him up by setting the place to rights.

The next morning, when Martin sees Eden in a better light, he sees that there are several huts where others tried to establish civilization, but were duped as he was. Though the people there have all suffered greatly, they still offer help to Martin.

Martin does the best he can with what he has, and on their cabin, he hangs a sign he made reading “Chuzzlewit and Co., Architects and Surveyors” (504). Mark does his best to help, but Martin knows he is destined to die in this place. Mark thinks Martin might be coming down with a fever, and as he goes to get help, he understands that this is finally the proper situation to test his jolly disposition.