63 pages • 2 hours read
The Art of Racing in the Rain
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BetaChapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
The trust and friendship that Denny and Enzo build together is interrupted by the appearance of Denny’s girlfriend, Eve. Enzo feels her driving a wedge between them: “We were both satellites orbiting Denny’s sun, struggling for gravitational supremacy” (16).
In particular, Enzo envies the human traits and physical characteristics that he lacks, as if Eve’s humanity has given her the upper hand in the relationship.
Chapter 5 Summary
Enzo starts watching television while Denny is away at work. Here he learns about life to the point of feeling existential and introspective about it in ways that were previously inaccessible.
Even as he longs to be a human, Enzo critiques Darwinism and the evolution of monkeys to humans. His philosophies bridge the scientific and the spiritual, placing particular emphasis on the existence of the soul. Enzo argues that humanity’s closest relative is not the chimpanzee, but the dog.
He also theorizes that the domestication of dogs inhibited the evolution of a potentially superior species.
Chapter 6 Summary
Enzo further recalls his resentment of Eve. He dwells on the physical traits that he lacks, and her subtle ability to manipulate Denny to suit her will.
Denny and Eve finally get married. Denny’s parents are conspicuously absent from the ceremony and Enzo is exiled from it.
Though Eve has clearly exerted her unique influence on the household, Enzo learns to respect her more when he notices her developing pregnancy. The ability to bear young is not a trait that Enzo envies, but one he finds worthy of admiration.
While Denny is away at a race, Eve gives birth at home with a team of midwives. Enzo is touched when he’s invited to stay in the birthing room. Eve shares the experience with him, engaging with Enzo in Denny’s respectful manner. She enlists Enzo to protect the baby. This gives him a renewed sense of purpose in the household.
Eve’s family is painted as elitist. They question the wisdom of home birth.
Denny comes home upset because another driver’s carelessness totaled his car before he had a chance to even race. He doesn’t care about the money, but that he was absent for the birth of his daughter, Zoe.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
The name “Eve” is evocative of the biblical Eve and offers a spiritual context for Denny and Enzo’s relationship. In this sense, Denny symbolizes Adam, Enzo his beast, and they share the Garden of Eden in harmony. Following this theme, the television could be seen as a metaphor for the Tree of Knowledge, as it teaches Enzo many of life’s great lessons.
The absence of Denny’s family during his marriage to Eve as well as Enzo’s resentment over her arrival demonstrates Eve’s powerful influence on the household. Dynamics are shifted and suddenly Enzo feels left out. However, things change slightly when he is invited in to witness Zoe’s birth. This is important as it gives Enzo a renewed sense of purpose.
Denny’s absence from the occasion of his daughter’s birth foreshadows several occasions in which his career and his family life come into conflict. Additionally, Eve’s choice to have her baby at home, instead of the hospital, is consistent with her later decision to avoid hospitals altogether during her illness.
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