Arrowsmith · Chapter
VII explained
Martin Arrowsmith, caught between the boisterous Clif Clawson and the rigid Angus Duer, resigns from the Digamma Pi fraternity and spends the summer working as a lineman in Montana.
What happens
Martin Arrowsmith, caught between the boisterous Clif Clawson and the rigid Angus Duer, resigns from the Digamma Pi fraternity and spends the summer working as a lineman in Montana. He finds peace and clarity in the physical labor and the vast prairie, though he still carries Gottlieb's Immunology and occasionally thinks of Madeline Fox. By the end, he returns to his thoughts of Madeline, Clif, Duer, and Gottlieb.
Themes in this chapter
Individual vs. Society
Martin rejects the conventional, respectable path of the Digamma Pi fraternity and chooses a barbarian loneliness, working as a lineman and seeking his own way.
The Ideal of Pure Research
Martin carries Gottlieb's Immunology and longs for the laboratory, showing his dedication to scientific inquiry even while doing manual labor.
Characters to notice
- Angus Duer
His studiousness and reverence for correct manners are offended by Clif's behavior; he snaps at Clif during supper and cowed him with a magistrate's eye.
- Clif Clawson
His bawdy singing and noisy antics provoke a feud with Duer; he eventually leaves the fraternity, and Martin resigns with him.
- Martin Arrowsmith
Resigns from Digamma Pi with Clif, spends the summer as a lineman in Montana, experiences a moment of clarity on the prairie, and carries Gottlieb's Immunology.
- Max Gottlieb
Martin plans to work with him next year and carries his book Immunology during the summer; he is one of the few people Martin holds affection for.
- Madeline Fox
Martin occasionally thinks of her during the summer and feels devastatingly lonely for her.
Key passages
“Clif was so noisy thereafter that he almost became tired of his own noise.”
Clif's noise-making was so relentless that he nearly grew weary of it himself.
Illustrates Clif's stubbornness in the feud with Duer.
“He was atop a pole and suddenly, for no clear cause, his eyes opened and he saw; as though he had just awakened he saw that the prairie was vast, that the sun was kindly on rough pasture and ripening wheat...”
While on a pole, Martin had a sudden awakening, perceiving the vastness of the prairie and the kindness of the sun on the land and animals.
A moment of epiphany and connection with nature during his summer work.