Look Homeward, Angel · Chapter
Chapter XXI explained
Gant's health declines as he struggles with illness and alcoholism.
What happens
Gant's health declines as he struggles with illness and alcoholism. The chapter recounts the town's local option vote on prohibition, Gant's hypocritical support for the drys, and his subsequent secret drinking and lecherous behavior. It also depicts family tensions, including a confrontation with the cook Annie and Gant's flirtation with a widow boarding at Woodson Street, while Eliza observes bitterly from Dixieland.
Themes in this chapter
Family Conflict and Dysfunction
The chapter depicts intense family conflict: Gant's lechery and hypocrisy, Helen's fury, Luke's nervous laughter, and Eugene's hysterical reaction, all set against a backdrop of illness and alcoholism.
The American Dream and Materialism
Gant's hypocritical support for prohibition while secretly drinking and his lecherous gift-giving to women highlight the gap between public morality and private desire, a critique of the American Dream's illusions.
Loss, Innocence, and the Passage of Time
Eugene's memory of the prohibition vote as a child contrasts with the present decay; Eliza's reflections on her 'youngest, oldest, final bitter fruit' evoke loss and the passage of time.
Characters to notice
- Oliver Gant
Gant's health declines; he votes for prohibition but continues drinking secretly, engages in lecherous behavior with a widow, and has a confrontation with the cook Annie.
- Eliza Gant
Eliza observes Gant's activities from Dixieland with bitterness, confronts him about his behavior, and reflects on her losses.
- Eugene Gant
Eugene recalls going proudly with his father to vote for prohibition; later he reacts with hysterical laughter during the family fight over Annie.
- Helen Gant
Helen furiously confronts Gant about his behavior with Annie, tries to appease Annie, and expresses anger about the scandal.
- Ben Gant
Ben lopes in scowling, snickers contemptuously at the family chaos, and moves quietly about the house.
- Luke Gant
Luke fidgets nervously, bursts into laughter at Annie's refusal, and prongs her ribs.
- Annie Patton
Annie, the cook, is outraged by Gant's advances, refuses to stay despite Helen's offer, and leaves with grieved decorum.
Key passages
“The saloons had been closed for years: the town had been one of the first to vote on 'local option.' Gant had piously contributed his vote for purity.”
The town had banned saloons years ago through a local option vote, and Gant had proudly voted in favor of prohibition.
Highlights Gant's public support for temperance despite his private drinking.
“He grew old, he was sick, he still drank. A slow trickle of lust crawled painfully down the parched gulley of desire, and ended feebly in dry fumbling lechery.”
Despite his age and illness, Gant continued to drink, and his desires manifested as feeble, fumbling lechery.
Illustrates the decline of Gant's physical and moral state.
“They laughed wildly, helplessly, draining into mad laughter all the welled and agglutinated hysteria that had gathered in them, washing out in a moment of fierce surrender all the fear and fatality of their lives, the pain of age and death.”
The family's hysterical laughter released the accumulated tension and fear of their lives, including the pain of aging and mortality.
Captures the cathartic yet dark humor in the family's response to crisis.
