71 pages • 2 hours read
All The Bright Places
A 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 21-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary: “Finch”
Finch and his sisters, Kate and Decca, arrive at their father’s house for dinner, and the young man immediately intuits that something is amiss. When their stepmother, Rosemarie, advises them that their father is in the basement, Finch knows that the older man is in a dark, abusive frame of mind. He ventures down the stairs to find him. When his father declines to come upstairs for dinner, Finch reminds him that “[w]e’re here […] and we didn’t come all this way to hang out with your new wife and child” (159). Finch is currently trying on the persona of “Badass Finch,” who is unafraid of his abusive parent. In response, his father slams Finch’s head into the wall. Finch thanks the older man for the fact that his “skull is pretty tough now” (160).
Minutes later, the elder Finch appears for dinner in a cheerful state. On the way home, Kate reprimands her brother, noting that their father might have hospitalized him. Upon arriving home, Finch surprises his mother by kissing her cheek, which is an unusual display of affection in this family. He tries to calm himself by driving the family car, “Little Bastard,” in an attempt to overcome the flood of bad memories involving his father’s abuse of his mother and. He briefly ponders suicide by allowing the garage to fill with exhaust but discards the idea when realizing that his mother and sisters might be overcome by fumes as well.
Finch recalls visiting “French Lick,” originally known as Salt Spring, a few months earlier in search of allegedly healing spring water, which he hoped would calm his racing thoughts. He now visits a place named “Mudlavia,” also purported to have healing properties. Following the visit to their father’s, Kate asks about his relationship with Violet and tells him to “be careful with that heart of yours” (165). Eight-year-old Decca, who is largely without parental supervision, is cutting out “the mean parts and the bad words” from books that she finds in the house (165). Finch realizes that the little girl is collecting the bad words to keep; she advises him that “they shouldn’t mix in” with the kind words (166).
Finch’s mental state is wavering; his room looks different to him and he does not recognize his own face in the mirror. He wraps himself in a quilt and ponders surrounding Violet with “only the good” (168).
Chapter 22 Summary: “Violet”
Violet, following Finch’s advice, makes notes about their visits to the bookstore and the Purina Tower. She recalls describing the view from the tower as lovely, to which Finch responded, “‘Lovely’ is a lovely word that should be used more often” (169). She begins a brainstorming bulletin board, starting with the word “lovely” on a Post-it. She includes possible story ideas and thoughts about her proposed online magazine. She sends Finch a photo to let him know that she used his suggestion; however, he does not respond.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Finch”
Finch experiences numerous symptoms, such as a rapid heartbeat and inability to read or concentrate. He compulsively cleans his room and paints the red walls a deep shade of blue. The walls require many coats to cover the red, and he notes that they appear to be “bleeding.” He ponders the fact that white contains “all the wavelengths of the visible spectrum at full brightness” and sends a note to Violet telling her, “You are all the colors in one, at full brightness” (172).
On page 173, there is a small graphic depicting a flower and a bird, presumably a Violet and a Finch.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Violet”
Violet is concerned when Finch does not appear at school for a week. The principal shut down the school gossip rag that had named Finch as the most suicidal student; the editor of the legitimate school newspaper distributes candy in celebration. When Violet approaches Charlie to express concern about Finch, he says that Finch is “moody” and “comes and goes when he wants” (176).
A new version of Finch appears in school the following morning and Violet thinks he looks homeless. A fire alarm interrupts the class and Finch tells Violet to meet him in the parking lot. He brings her to a nearby river and shows her a rare hooded crane before removing all his clothing and diving into the cold water.
Violet’s former boyfriend, Ryan, accompanied by Roamer, who is cruel to Finch, come sliding down the embankment. Roamer taunts Finch and the two engage in a fistfight. Violet sees that Finch is losing control and nearly drowning the other boy. When she snaps, “Let him go” (181), Finch immediately releases his opponent. Finch leaves the group at the river without looking back. Violet visits the Finch family home after school, where she meets Kate, but Finch is not in his room. Kate tells Violet that Finch runs “about fifteen times a day” (183).
Chapter 25 Summary: “Finch”
Finch is having further trouble focusing and cannot read The Waves, by Virginia Woolf. He wishes to “stay awake” and almost calls his school counselor, Mr. Embry, but cannot complete the task.
He considers informing his mother of his mental state but realizes that she will tell him to take Advil and “stop getting […] worked up” (185). He recalls the first time he felt overwhelming sadness, which occurred upon the death of a cardinal that flew into the glass doors of the living room repeatedly. He had implored his parents to let the bird live in the house, thinking it would prevent the bird from hurting himself; they told him not to be overly sensitive. The young man notes that death is part of being a Finch: death of a marriage; death of love.
After going for his daily run, Finch finds the white ceiling in his room overly bright. He covers it with bright blue paint.
Chapter 26 Summary: Violet”
Principal Wertz tells the Markeys that Violet had failed to return to school following the fire alarm. When she returns home, they question where she had been, and her mother comments that they are “very disappointed” in her (188). Violet is uncharacteristically angry and explains that she has no friends now; she has quit cheerleading and can no longer seem to write.
Her mother talks to her privately and asks questions about the new online magazine that Violet is considering. The pair brainstorm for nearly two hours and Violet registers the online name “Germ” for the magazine.
She sends Finch a Facebook message and leaves Eleanor’s eyeglasses in her sister’s bedroom. As she sets them down on the dresser, Violet explains that “they make my head hurt. And they’re ugly” (191). She thinks that she hears Eleanor laughing.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Violet”
Violet finds Finch eating breakfast with her parents on Saturday morning. He explains that he was the reason that she cut her classes the preceding week. Mr. Markey establishes ground rules for the continuation of their geography project, and Mrs. Markey says that “we’re putting our trust in [Finch]” (193).
When they request contact information for his parents, Finch lies and says that he has had no contact with his biological father for many years. When Violet sees the phone numbers that Finch writes out for her mother, she notices that the young man has changed his normally sloppy handwriting into a neat print for this purpose. In response to questioning about his college plans, Finch responds, “I like living as if I only have […] two days” (194). Mr. Markey, who launches into a lecture about the Hindu conception of an afterlife, is impressed when Finch knows the lyrics to an ancient Vedic hymn.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Finch”
Finch finds an unusual site to visit in Indiana. John Ivers, a local farmer, has built two single-seat roller coasters (Blue Flash and Blue Too) in his backyard. Ivers describes himself as an “adrenaline junkie” who enjoys the feeling of “impending, weightless doom” (197). Finch rides the coasters six times. Violet, who has avoided heights and fast movements since her sister’s death, rides the coaster and enjoys it very much.
The pair leave a toy car behind to symbolize Little Bastard and figures of a boy and girl. Violet writes notes on the way home and tells Finch that he is “interesting […] And I can talk to you” (199). He responds that he likes everything about her. The pair share a romantic moment in the back seat of the car. Finch undergoes a fit of mania upon his arrival home and writes extensively about Violet. He ponders writing about a hypothetical “Euthanasia Coaster” in his suicide journal but notes that he had not considered suicide that day. During his nightly run, Finch realizes that the phrase “elegance and euphoria” describes his feelings for Violet. He realizes that he would like his epitaph to read, “The Boy Violet Markey Loves” (203).
Chapter 29 Summary: “Finch”
Finch and Charlie converse while playing outfield during a baseball game in gym class. Roamer, a baseball team star, tries to injure them by driving a hardball directly at the pair, but Charlie catches it effortlessly.
Later, when Roamer is alone in the locker room with Finch, he assaults him viciously. Finch wishes to avoid trouble, as well as Violet’s disapproval, and refrains from defending himself. The coach approaches them to stop the altercation, but Finch realizes that the older man will protect Roamer because he is a valuable member of the team. Finch wipes blood from his face as he leaves but is gratified by the “sound of Roamer groveling” to the coach (209).
Chapters 21-29 Analysis
These sections explore Finch’s apparent genetic susceptibility to bipolar disorder, as well as the impact on his family. His father, who is subject to changing moods, serves as both a stressor and an indication that bipolar disorder might run in Finch’s family. Mr. Finch’s violence is particularly unbearable for Finch and his family. Finch recalls that his father had broken his mother’s chin when Finch was ten years old, “and then a year later […] it was my turn” (160). Finch’s father is also verbally and physically abusive when he and Kate visit him for dinner. In addition, eight-year-old Decca illustrates the long-term repercussions of parental abuse. She collects books in order to cut out all the “bad, unpleasant words” so that they will not be mixed in with the good (166). Inherently altruistic despite his own suffering, Finch attempts to brighten his younger sister’s outlook with a speech about “bright spots” existing in life (165). Tellingly, after being physically attacked by his brooding father during a dinner visit, Finch notes that he “would like to kill my father” (160).
These pages also further describe many signs and symptoms of Finch’s mental illness. Specifically, his fascination with methods of suicide continue to appear in the narrative. His consideration of carbon monoxide poisoning is immediately discarded when he recalls that family members might be killed as well. He recounts perceptual changes of physical surroundings and enters the closet of his bedroom “half expecting it to lead into the real version of my room, the right one” (167), all the while attempting to assure himself that he is all right. Goaded for years by the bullying former friend Roamer, Finch comes close to drowning his taunting adversary in a river until other boys, and, most importantly, Violet, intervene. Despite his desire to remain functional, attend school, and avoid excessive behavior in order to be near Violet, Finch is having increasing difficulty and is unable to attain help.
Conversely, Violet’s circumstances improve—largely due to Finch’s assistance. She continues to make notes about their “wanderings,” and the reader suspects that these may lead to a book in the future. Inspired by Finch’s bedroom wall filled with words and phrases, Violet brainstorms ideas for the new online magazine that she hopes to start. She is able to accept creative assistance from her mother, a writer, from whom she had maintained an emotional distance since Eleanor’s death.
More importantly, Violet is able to express anger; this is her first step in overcoming the crippling depression stemming from the loss of her sister. In a frank discussion with her parents, she loudly explains, “Everyone goes on with their lives, and maybe I can’t keep up” (188). This is her first vocalization of her unhappiness, and it is a turning point in her return to functionality. She gives up Eleanor’s outsized eyeglasses, ’which she has worn for almost a year in her sister’s memory, explaining, “they make my head hurt. And they’re ugly” (191). Violet makes more frequent journal entries in the book than Finch does now, an indicator of her increasing return to personal and emotional strength.
Unlock all 71 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
