Ungifted

Chapter 1 introduces Donovan, the novel’s central protagonist, and his struggle to control his impulses, which provides the inciting incident that drives the plot: Donovan’s inadvertent destruction of the Atlas statue. Despite having seen the statue countless times, on this occasion, Donovan notices its “big butt” and cannot resist whacking it with a branch (8). He does not understand why this impulse comes over him and feels powerless in its grip. Impulsivity is in his nature, as evidenced in the many pranks he plays. In searching ancestry.com, Donovan seeks a rational, quantifiable explanation for his nature through genetics. He does not find the answers he is looking for, but he does discover James Donovan, an Irish ancestor who survived the Titanic’s sinking and who becomes for Donovan an inspiration for persevering through hard times.

The first chapter also introduces two intertwined symbols that recur through the novel: the Titanic and Atlas. The massive luxury ocean liner Titanic was proclaimed to be unsinkable but sank on its maiden voyage. Historically, it has been a symbol of unpredictability and the humbling of human arrogance. The novel explores the implications of unpredictability as they relate to Donovan and his classmates. Unpredictability has neither positive nor negative value in itself but is a fact of life that must be reckoned with. Even the most extraordinary and brilliant are subject to human error, just as average people can accomplish extraordinary things. In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan, an earlier generation of Greek gods who lost a war to the Olympians. After the war, Olympian Zeus punished Atlas for siding with the Titans by forcing him to hold up the sky, represented by the globe on his shoulders. In its initial trajectory, the Atlas statue’s globe rolls down the hill towards the school parking lot. At the last moment, it swerves and crashes through the gym’s doors. Its destructive force is unpredictable and uncontrollable, as are human actions and outcomes.

One of the novel’s central antagonists, Dr. Shultz, narrates the second chapter. Dr. Shultz’s “no screwups” policy is unrealistic and arrogant, just as proclaiming a man-made ship unsinkable is unrealistic and arrogant. He catches Donovan but promptly misplaces the slip of paper on which he wrote Donovan’s name. This sets the plot further in motion: How and when will Dr. Shultz, or someone in his orbit, come face-to-face with Donovan, and what will the consequences be?

Donovan knows his transfer is the product of a clerical error but fears discovery by Dr. Shultz and the consequences on his already-strained family. His motives for accepting his appointment to ASD are thus both selfish (to hide from Dr. Shultz) and caring (he does not want to disappoint his parents, who are so happy for and proud of him). Chapter 3 also introduces Katie, Donovan’s pregnant sister, who is living with her family while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan, and her husband’s dog, Beatrice. Katie, her pregnancy, and Beatrice will all become key figures as the plot unfolds.