47 pages • 1 hour read
Jesse AndrewsMe and Earl and the Dying Girl
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 21-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary: “Two Poncy Dudes”
Rachel goes in for her first day of chemotherapy while Greg and Earl watch an obscure British film and discuss how they would remake it. Earl suggests they visit Rachel in the hospital after they finish watching the movie, which surprises Greg. He hadn’t even known if visiting was allowed, but Earl has made a phone call to find out, and it disheartens Greg that he didn’t think to do that himself. They bike to Earl’s and stumble into a fight with Earl’s half-brothers, Maxwell and Brandon. Greg tries to escape and dives headfirst off the front porch, breaking his arm.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Spider Versus Wasp”
Greg ends up in a different area of the same hospital as Rachel when his broken arm becomes infected. He lists the conversations and reactions of his various visitors in bullet-point style. Mom visits alone. Mom visits with Gretchen, then with Grace. Earl visits, bringing with him homework assignments, a review of Mulholland Drive, and admonishments for being so upset about showing Rachel their films. Dad visits with a horrifying story about his own hospitalization in the Amazon beneath a thatched roof full of fist-sized spiders. Earl visits again, this time with Derrick. And, to Greg’s astonishment, Madison Hartner visits him in the hospital. She informs him that she has just come from Rachel’s room, where Rachel was watching one of his films. This causes Greg to flop and sweat, but he calms when Madison reassures him that Rachel shut it off immediately after Madison entered the room, stating that she was not allowed to show the films to anyone. Madison’s continual complimenting of Greg’s friendship with Rachel causes him to freeze up, so Madison wishes him a speedy recovery and leaves him to marinate in his overwhelming crush on her.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Gilbert”
On his way to visit Rachel, Greg notices a lethargic boy in a wheelchair, and fears he’s died without anyone noticing. He names the boy Gilbert and jokes to himself that Gilbert is a reminder that we all die eventually. Rachel greets Greg with a quote from one of his films, Hello, Good-Die: “The most beautiful thing about you is that you’re not a sock puppet” (177). Greg, mildly embarrassed, tries not to stare at Rachel’s bald, lumpy head. He tries to make Rachel laugh, but she asks him not to because it hurts her. Rachel strives to fill the conversation, so Greg won’t have to, but Greg can tell this puts a strain on her. A nurse alerts them that visiting hours are over. Greg is disappointed that he ran out of time to cheer Rachel up and leaves.
Chapter 21-Chapter 23 Analysis
Any time Greg starts to get comfortable in his new, more visible status of living, something happens to disrupt that comfort. He relaxes into the familiar once Rachel goes in for treatment, sensing he can lapse into a sort of off-duty mode. But when Earl suggests they go see her during visiting hours, Greg is not only surprised that Earl found out about visiting hours but also that he did not think to do so on his own.
Greg breaks his arm while trying to avoid a fight at Earl’s house. He dives headfirst from their porch in a panic to get away from one of Earl’s surlier younger brothers. Not only does he break his arm, but somehow it becomes infected, so Greg must stay in the same hospital as Rachel for several days. With Greg able to loosen his grip on their films, Earl continues to show them to Rachel, despite Greg’s strong disapproval.
When Greg is well enough to visit Rachel, he reverts to his now-established role as her jester and tries to make her laugh. But laughter hurts Rachel now, and she asks him not to amuse her. Unsure what to do, Rachel tries to fill in the silence, but she’s not strong enough to do so. When visiting hours end, Greg feels upset not that Rachel is in pain, but that he ran out of time to make her happy.
Finding out about the visiting hours seems an obvious step if you want to see someone you care about, but Greg doesn’t think to take this step. Lying in a hospital bed with a broken, infected arm that will eventually heal, Greg still gets upset that Earl gives their films to Rachel, even after Earl tells Greg that with all the chemicals pumping through her body, their films are the only thing cheering Rachel up. When Rachel’s illness worsens to the point that it requires Greg to alter his role, he is unsure about how to behave. Her illness challenges Greg’s previously established rules, preparing him for her inevitable demise while also showcasing his self-centeredness.
