The Plastic Age · Chapter
The Big Game and the Serenade explained
As the Sanford-Raleigh football game approaches, the campus buzzes with excitement.
What happens
As the Sanford-Raleigh football game approaches, the campus buzzes with excitement. Girls arrive for fraternity dances, and Hugh Carver, feeling envious and anxious about his fraternity prospects, joins classmates in serenading a fraternity house. His singing of Shelley's 'Indian Serenade' captivates the crowd, and he is pulled inside to dance with a mysterious girl in a corn-colored frock, who kisses him. The chapter captures the football mania, the arrival of alumni, and the buildup to the big game, ending with Hugh's romantic reverie.
Themes in this chapter
College Life: Idealism vs. Reality
The excitement of football and fraternity dances contrasts with Hugh's anxiety about not receiving a fraternity bid, highlighting the gap between idealized college life and personal insecurities.
Love and Romantic Confusion
Hugh's encounter with the girl in the corn-colored frock and his subsequent romantic reverie, comparing her to Helen, illustrates his emotional confusion and burgeoning romantic feelings.
Alcohol and Excess
Alumni and undergraduates get drunk to celebrate the moon before the game, reflecting the culture of excess surrounding the big event.
Characters to notice
- Hugh Carver
Sings a serenade at a fraternity house, dances with a girl, and is kissed; his thoughts drift from the game to the mysterious girl.
- Jack Collings
Suggests the serenade and brings a guitar; part of the group of freshmen.
- Carl Peters
Mentioned as a confidant; Hugh does not tell him about the kiss.
- Harry Slade
Sanford's great halfback, discussed as a potential All American and the hope of the college.
- Jim McCarty
Proprietor of the Sanford Pool and Billiard Parlors, official stakeholder for bets on the game.
- Alling
Latin instructor who dismisses class humorously on game day.
Key passages
“I arise from dreams of thee In the first sweet sleep of night, When the winds are breathing low And the stars are shining bright.”
Hugh sings a passionate love song by Shelley, set to music, which captivates the audience at the fraternity house.
The serenade marks a pivotal moment of social connection and romantic possibility for Hugh.
“He passionately envied the dancers in the fraternity houses but consoled himself with the thought, 'Maybe I'll be dancing at the Nu Delt house next year.' Then he had a spasm of fright. Perhaps the Nu Delts—perhaps no fraternity would bid him.”
Hugh feels envy and anxiety about his social standing, hoping to join a fraternity but fearing rejection.
This internal conflict underscores the theme of social class and fraternity snobbery.
“When he went to bed that night, he did not think once about the coming football game. Before his eyes floated the girl in the corn-colored frock.”
Hugh's mind is consumed by the mysterious girl he danced with, overshadowing the excitement of the big game.
Romantic intrigue takes precedence over the communal football fervor, highlighting Hugh's personal emotional journey.