Eleanor and Park

This is one of the shortest chapters in the entire book. It conveys Eleanor’s desire to surrender herself totally to Park and his love. However, she is worried that if she lets him into the darkness of her home life, he will no longer want anything to do with her. 

The next day Eleanor wakes up feeling better. When she greets Park at the bus stop, she excitedly tells him that she will come to his home after school and that she is sorry for how she behaved the previous day. Park is tempted to tell Eleanor about his mom’s opinion of her, but decides not to ruin the moment. Later that day, in Spanish class, Eleanor writes Park a goofy note that says “I want to eat your heart” in Spanish. She cannot help but be nervous about her visit with him later. 

Park uses the school counselor’s telephone to tell his mom that Eleanor will be joining their family for dinner that night. As the couple rides the bus to Park’s house, Eleanor is visibly nervous, so he keeps her mind off the visit by talking about superheroes. However, all Eleanor can think about is kissing Park on the lips. They are welcomed in by Park’s mother, and Eleanor can sense that she doesn’t like her.

As the two sit down on the couch together, Park is excited to just be sitting next to Eleanor. She comes over again on Thursday and Friday evening, and she even stays for dinner on Saturday. After dinner on Saturday, Eleanor stays and watches a movie with Park’s family, before Park walks her home. They step into the driveway of Park’s grandparents’ house on their way and Parks finally kisses Eleanor. They enjoy the kiss so much that they both lean back in for another one.

When Eleanor finally arrives home, Richie asks “Where have you been” (173). Eleanor tells him that she has been hanging out with Tina, and Richie says that she must have given up on men already. Eleanor promptly walks to her room and gets into bed with her clothes on. The chapter ends with Eleanor staring out of her window.

This is yet another incredibly short chapter. It begins with Eleanor arriving at her bus stop and giggling at the sight of Park. In return, Park feels a strong desire to clasp her in his arms. Eleanor thinks to herself that Park looks bigger than she remembered, and Park becomes obsessed with her freckles. The two spend the morning’s bus ride talking about Beatles’ songs, laughing happily the entire way. 

Lately, Park’s friend Cal has been trying his best to hook him up with Kim. Cal invites Park to a basketball game but he also secretly invites Kim. Park is not interested in going at all because he knows it’s not something that Eleanor would want to do, and he does not want to go if Eleanor won’t be there.

Later, Park’s mother tells him that he and Eleanor will need to start working on their homework together if they intend to spend every school evening together. As a result, the couple begins working on their homework in the kitchen of Park’s house. As they are sitting together, Park notices a lewd message written on Eleanor’s notebook that she has not seen. Park asks her who wrote it: “Do you know who’s doing it” (178)? Eleanor says she thinks Tina wrote the message.

Park is shocked, as Tina has defended him from bullies before. Park tells Eleanor that he and Tina used to be friends and they even used to date. Park can’t believe that Tina wrote the message and he asks Eleanor if she wrote it herself. Eleanor is insulted that Park would suggest such a thing, so she grabs her things and quickly leaves Park’s house.

As Park lies down that night to sleep, he tries to figure out why he defended Tina. He wonders if the fact that he once dated Tina is the reason why bullies have left him alone for the most part over the past few years. Park also considers the possibility that Tina still has feelings for him. Before falling asleep, Park comes to the conclusion that he has betrayed Eleanor.

It is the final day of school before Christmas break and Eleanor decides that she is going to skip it. Park had intended to apologize to Eleanor for defending Tina yesterday, but her absence means he cannot. Eleanor is alone at her house, but instead of doing anything worthwhile she merely lies in her bed. After several days of the Christmas break pass, Park’s father asks his son whether or not he is still seeing Eleanor, as she has not been around in some time. Park explains what happened and his dad tries to console him.

During the second week of the Christmas break, Eleanor’s mother asks Eleanor to accompany her on a walk to a nearby store. It is freezing outside, but at the store, Eleanor’s mother buys them coffee and breakfast and they look through the bargain bins before returning home. On the walk back, Eleanor “almost [tells] her [mother] everything” (187) about Park, but in the end she cannot bring herself to and silently cries instead. Park cycles by Eleanor’s house one day after Richie leaves for work, and he asks her little brother Ben if she is home, but he refuses to answer so Park leaves.

It is the day before Christmas, and Eleanor’s siblings bicker over who will receive what from the gift basket they have received from Eleanor’s uncle. In the accompanying letter, Eleanor’s uncle invites her to come and stay with him during the summer. Richie starts yelling about how that would be a bad idea, and then he distributes presents to Eleanor’s sibling by throwing boxes on the floor in front of them. When it’s Eleanor’s turn, he hands her fifty dollars and tells her to “buy some normal clothes” (190). Later, the family goes to the store and Eleanor gives the money to her mom, who does not even thank her daughter for it.

Meanwhile, Park is also out with his family who are shopping for ingredients for their Christmas day dinner. In one store, Park’s mother sees Eleanor and asks whether or not he would like to say hello. Park thinks that it would be a bad idea, as Richie must be nearby. When his family finally arrives home, Park’s mother goes to her room and stays there for the rest of the day. When she finally emerges, her eyes are bloodshot and her makeup is running as a result of her crying.

Later, after dinner, Park’s mom enters his room with a gift for Eleanor and she apologizes for the way that she acted towards Park’s girlfriend. She tells him that she just wants him to be happy. Later that night, Park sneaks out and runs over to Eleanor’s house. He taps on her window and she tells him to go to the nearby elementary school. Eleanor meets Park at the school and they start kissing and then crying.

Park apologizes for defending Tina and Eleanor apologizes for her previous behavior as well. They continue kissing and Eleanor says that she will visit Park the day after Christmas. They both return home.

This chapter opens with a description of how Eleanor slept through all of Christmas morning. She only wakes when her mother enters the room with the news that Richie will allow her to stay at her uncle’s this summer, but Eleanor responds that she does not want to go and turns over to go back to sleep.

Park sleeps in on Christmas morning too. When he wakes up, all of his family members greet him in the living room. His family opens their presents together, but all Park can think about is seeing Eleanor again. They next visit with each other behind the local elementary school. Eleanor talks about her siblings and explains that Park cannot come to her window anymore as she shares a room with her younger brothers and sisters. Park asks whether “Richie hates her brothers and sisters, too” (202). They talk about Richie and Park asks Eleanor if she is afraid of him. Eleanor says that she is not scared of Richie, but she knows to stay out of his way

Later on Christmas day, Eleanor is eating with her family. The food has been excellently prepared by Eleanor’s mother, but Richie has been drinking all day, which is not unusual. When he sees the dessert Eleanor’s mom has made, he throws the dish against the wall and storms out to buy the type of pie that he really wanted. The chapter ends with Eleanor’s mom collecting the remains of the dessert and serving it to her children.

This chapter opens with Eleanor and Park exchanging Christmas gifts at Park’s house. She gives him a second-hand copy of the famous novel The Catcher in the Rye and he gives her two gifts: one from his mom and one from him. Park’s mom’s gift is perfume and his gift is a necklace with a pansy-shaped pendant. Park was worried that she would not like the necklace, but to his delight she loves it.

Next, the couple plays card games in Park’s kitchen. While they play, Park’s mom talks to Eleanor and Eleanor tells her about herself. She still feels very guarded about her personal life, so she does not reveal how difficult her family Christmas was and merely mentions the tasty treats that her mom had served her family. For the rest of the Christmas break, Eleanor and Park are inseparable, though Eleanor’s mom is still under the impression that Eleanor is spending her time with Tina.

Once school is back in session, Cal begins to pester Park about his relationship with Eleanor. He says that everybody knows they are together, so he does not understand why Park has not officially told him yet. Cal begs Park to tell him whether or not he and Eleanor are having sex yet, but Park merely replies that that question is “why I didn’t tell you” (214).

This chapter begins with Eleanor leaving Park’s house after dinner. Park’s father pulls her aside and says that she is welcome to have dinner with their family anytime; he knows her stepdad can be difficult so she is always free to spend time at their house. This invitation results in Park and Eleanor spending every day together. Eleanor asks Park’s mom what it is like to be a beautician, and Park’s mom says that she should submit to a makeover so that she can show her.

Eleanor agrees and sits in the Park’s garage while his mother proceeds to “beautify” her. After the makeover, Eleanor looks totally different and Park’s family gathers around. Eleanor feels really uncomfortable but after everything settles down, Park asks her to kiss him. Park’s mom later says that she will make Eleanor a kit full of different kinds of makeup “that I never use anyway” (224).

Later, Park thinks about the fact that Eleanor’s makeover seemed to have disturbed her deeply. Park decides to wear makeup to school that day in an act of solidarity with Eleanor, so he does his best at applying it to his face. That morning at breakfast, his father is angry with Park for wearing makeup, but his mom says to let him go. When Park arrives at the bus stop, Steve tells him he looks just like Ozzy Osbourne. Later on the bus, Park and Eleanor make out.

When Park arrives home from school that day, he quickly washes the makeup off face in order to placate his father. Worried that his father might still be mad, he calls Eleanor and tells her to stay home this evening. Park’s mom asks him how his makeup went over at school, and Park explains that a lot of his peers really liked his new look. She asks him if he wants to dress like a girl because Eleanor dresses like a boy, but Park merely says the eyeliner makes him feel like himself. At dinner that night, Park’s father doesn’t know what to say to Park, which suggests that he is quite upset about Park wearing makeup that day.