39 pages 1 hour read

John Irving

The Cider House Rules

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1985

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Chapters 8-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 8 Summary: “Opportunity Knocks”

Melony gets a job at a shipyard in Bath, working on an assembly line. She makes a good friend at her new job, a tough young girl named Lorna. One night, she and Lorna go to see a Fred Astaire movie. Homer and Candy go to see the same movie, as does Mary Agnes, a girl from the orphanage, with her new adopted parents. While Melony and Mary Agnes run into each other afterwards in the theatre, they both miss seeing Homer. Mary Agnes tells Melony that she saw a vehicle with the Ocean View Orchard insignia on it, and Melony makes Mary Agnes promise to tell her if she sees Homer.

Meanwhile, Homer and Candy ultimately skipped the movie because of an embarrassing accident. Homer has been keeping a tuft of Candy’s pubic hair in his wallet, left over from her abortion at St. Cloud’s. This intimate memo blows out of his wallet while he is getting money for the movie, and Candy immediately recognizes it and its significance. The two of them leave the movie to discuss their relationship; Homer confesses to Candy that he loves her, and Candy tells him that she loves him but also loves Wally.