Summary
Donald’s condition has worsened substantially, and Bucky learns that he now needs an iron lung to breathe. Although Donald’s parents have been notified about their son’s health, they are unable to visit him since he is being kept in isolation. Bucky recounts these events to Marcia during their rendezvous at the lake. She feels the need to call her father and inform him of the events, since she fears for her loved one’s well being. While Marcia calls Dr. Steinberg, Bucky berates himself for bringing polio to Indian Hill. He even goes so far as to say that he also infected all of his former students while working at the Chancellor playground.
The following morning, Mr. Blomback informs the campers of Donald’s condition. The counselors and campers grow startled, since their lives have been invariably altered by the news. Mr. Blomback introduces the camp to Dr. Huntley, the camp physician. He urges the campers to continue with their normal activities and to notify him only if they develop physical symptoms. Marcia’s younger sisters, who are twins, are particularly dumbfounded by the news. They rush to Bucky for comfort, but he is too anxious to get near them for fear that he is an asymptomatic carrier.
Meanwhile, Bucky speaks to Dr. Huntley to address his concerns. Dr. Huntley urges Bucky to get a spinal tap in order to check his health. By that afternoon, nearly half of the campers had been picked up and taken home by their parents. Two more boys in Bucky’s cabin are diagnosed with polio, and nine other campers have to be hospitalized for their illness. One of the afflicted is Marcia’s younger sister, Sheila.
The reader is finally introduced to the story’s narrator, Arnie Mesnikoff. Arnie ran into Bucky in 1971, nearly 25 years after the story’s events. Arnie learns how the following events transpired. Arnie explains that Bucky’s spinal tap results from his hospital visit at camp came back positive. Although he was symptom-free for 48 hours, he soon developed a severe fever and headache. While the polio never affected his respiratory system, he became partially paralyzed. He worked hard to regain full muscle capacity in one of his legs, but Bucky was bound to either a wheelchair or braces for the rest of his life.
Following Bucky’s recovery, he left teaching entirely. He eventually found work as a clerk in a post office. Arnie informs the reader that he was one of Bucky's former students who contracted polio while frequenting the Chancellor playground. In his adulthood, he started an architecture firm to redesign buildings for those who continue to have residual, physical effects from polio. After running into Mr. Cantor on the street, Arnie arranges to have lunch with Bucky weekly. Over the course of their lunch sessions, Arnie learns more about Bucky’s past 25 years.
Arnie is particularly shocked that Bucky has never visited Chancellor in the years following his return to the neighborhood. When asked, Bucky replies that he feels too guilty to revisit the space, since he remains convinced that he was the source of the disease’s spread in the community. He also explains to Arnie how his embarrassment and shame caused his relationship’s demise. While hospitalized in Philadelphia, Bucky failed to contact Marcia. After three months, she came to visit him and declare her steadfast love. However, Bucky refused their marriage. He was ashamed that he had been maimed by polio and felt unfit to be a husband or father.
Bucky recounts a story told by Mr. Blomback at Indian Hill Camp. According to folklore, there was an “invisible arrow” that followed around the Native Americans and “pierced” the community with disease and other plagues. Bucky admits that he has lived his life feeling as though he personified the arrow. Arnie disagrees and tells Bucky that such a belief is nonsensical and self-sabotaging. In an effort to inspire Bucky, Arnie discusses his own battles with depression. However, he explains that finding love and being a father have ameliorated his self-hatred, and he now recognizes the beauty of life’s complications. As they continue talking, Arnie realizes that Bucky’s negativity is irrecoverable. As the story ends, Arnie recounts a memory from his days on the Chancellor playground. He vividly recalls watching Mr. Cantor throw the javelin, embodying strength of body and spirit. He chooses to remember Bucky this way, as the Weequahic community hero.
Analysis
The reader is finally introduced to the story’s narrator, Arnie Mesnikoff. During the duo’s reunion, Bucky divulges the events of the past quarter-century. The fates of Arnie and Bucky stand in stark contrast to one another. Although Arnie has also been paralyzed by polio, his experience has inspired him to advocate for the physically disabled within the field of architecture. On the other hand, Bucky's psychological state has worsened as he has aged. Now in the latter part of his life, Bucky is haunted by the memories he holds and the possibility that he “could have done more.”
Arnie is especially saddened to hear about Bucky’s fallout with Marcia. While in rehab with Philadelphia, Bucky's biggest concern is that he is no longer worthy of Marcia’s love. However, when Marcia visits Bucky, she reaffirms her commitment to him. Despite Marcia's sincerity, Bucky’s own demonic thoughts cause him to skew his sense of reality. Instead, Bucky rejects Marcia on the premise that she does not want a disabled husband. Ultimately, Bucky’s worst fear comes to fruition because his insecurity prohibits him from allowing love into his life.
Although he has rejected Marcia, Bucky never finds love again. His maimed body is now his biggest insecurity, and he fears being mocked and rejected by romantic pursuits. Bucky allows only his grandmother to be close to him because that is the only relationship in which he feels fully secure. He knows his grandmother’s love is unconditional. Once she passes away, however, Bucky feels misunderstood and judged by his community. In a way, Bucky has replaced Horace as the “village moron.”
Throughout the novel, Bucky is unable to distinguish what he can control from what he cannot. In life, the only thing that anyone can ever fully control is their thoughts and their emotional wellbeing. Bucky worries so much about life’s random whims that he fails to take care of himself. This eventually catches up with him, and he feels unworthy of love and affection.
After reuniting with Bucky, Arnie must reconcile his positive memories of the childhood playground director with the harrowing reality of Bucky's later years. Although Arnie remembers Buckie throwing the javelin, Bucky sees himself as the “invisible arrow” wreaking havoc on his communities. Nearly thirty years after the peak of the pandemic, it is clear that Arnie’s entire generation remains deeply traumatized by the summer of 1944.
