43 pages • 1 hour read
Crow Lake
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.
Part 4
Chapter 16 Summary
For a long time, adult Kate thought that her family wasn’t relevant to her life anymore. She rose to the top of her class in zoology and had many opportunities. She started staying in Toronto to work, visiting home less and less. Her siblings attended her graduation, “dressed in their best. I was touched, but I was embarrassed by them. I did not introduce them to my friends” (188).
Kate’s professional focus crystalized during a field trip to a lake, when she found a water boatman covered in motorboat oil. She was deeply saddened imagining aquatic life disappearing and began studying surface tension and pollutants. She met Daniel in the department, and they started going out. Kate struggles to think of a gift for Simon, eventually deciding to buy his book for his first year at university. She also makes him a small gyroscope.
The week before the party, Kate has a crisis in the middle of teaching class. She dislikes teaching and doesn’t feel that she’s particularly good at it. During class, she has a vivid memory of visiting the ponds with Matt and how he approached wildlife with wonder. Thinking about this, Kate stumbles, and one student yawns. Feeling she is failing Matt by not communicating the wonder of her subject, Kate abruptly leaves the classroom.
Later that night, Daniel reassures her that she can teach. Still, she feels like she has betrayed Matt and that he should be there instead.
Chapter 17 Summary
The Pyes continue to be very isolated through winter. They stop attending church, and the children don’t come to school. Miss Carrington worries about them. Laurie, unlike Calvin, stands up to his father, which likely makes the violence escalate. Mrs. Pye has a broken arm, claiming it was the result of a fall.
Dr. Christopherson visits the Morrisons to tell them there’s no shame in admitting their attempt at self-sustenance has failed, but Luke tells him they’ve worked it out. Dr. Christopherson lets it go, making them promise that they will resolve their issues peacefully and will seek help if they need it. Luke gets a job as the school janitor, and Matt goes back to school. Mrs. Stanovich starts coming to their house two evenings a week to tidy up and watch the girls.
Chapter 18 Summary
After a big fight with his father, Laurie Pye leaves home. The weather is cold the night he leaves, and Luke guesses it will drive Laurie back home. The fight occurred while Matt was at the Pye farm. Matt, Laurie, and Calvin were slaughtering a bullock together, and Calvin shouted at Laurie for not working hard enough. Laurie talked back, calling Calvin stupid. Calvin approached him aggressively, but Laurie said he would never let Calvin hit him again. He said that he hoped Calvin would be killed and ran off the farm. As if nothing had happened, Calvin ordered Matt to start cleaning up.
Chapter 19 Summary
That spring is the last sustained period Kate spends with Matt. Luke is getting more work maintaining the school, and Rosie Pye is back in class. Kate is starting to come out of her shell. She turns eight, and the family realizes they’ve missed Bo’s birthday. Mrs. Stanovich makes up for it by giving them two cakes. Laurie is still missing. Matt studies hard for his final exams and takes them. Kate overhears Matt and Luke remarking that it’s been a full year, but she isn’t sure what they’re talking about.
Matt suggests that Luke could still go to teachers’ college, but Luke says he’s staying with the girls no matter what. They’ve reached some peace about this. Matt does exceptionally well on his exams. Everyone is proud and excited. Kate overhears Dr. Christopherson asking Matt when he’s leaving, which bewilders her.
Kate hasn’t fully understood that Matt will have to leave to attend university. He explains that he’ll be gone a few years and will visit only occasionally. Kate weeps, and Matt takes her to look at their great-grandmother’s portrait. He tells Kate that their great-grandmother desperately wanted to learn, but she had too many responsibilities to pursue her education. Instead, she instilled the importance of education in her children, and those children instilled it in their children. Matt tells Kate that when their father was young, his older brother did his share of the work so their father could go to high school. He has to go to university—the whole family history has been working toward it. Matt confesses that he hopes he can make enough money to send Kate to university, and then they can work together to pay for Luke and Bo to attend as well.
Part 4 Analysis
While Kate deals with her complicated relationship with her family and history, she also symbolically helps pave the way for the future by paying for Simon’s university books. Simon’s entry into the university implies that the Morrison family has a hopeful future, with the next generation able to access higher education if they so desire. Having someone to buy his books is also meaningful, as only a generation ago, Matt’s ability to attend university was predicated on whether the family could secure a loan to cover his basic living expenses. Kate’s guilt surrounding her position continues to be a major aspect of her life, but the figure of Simon suggests that she might be the last Morrison to feel that her success depended on someone else’s tremendous sacrifice.
Laurie leaves home in this section, marking a pivotal event for both the Pyes and the Morrisons, although the siblings don’t yet realize it. At first, it simply looks like Laurie is enacting the same rite carried out by generations of Pye boys who have been abused by their fathers. One difference is that Laurie is the only remaining son in the family, meaning there will be no one left to inherit the farm. Laurie’s departure will mark the end of the Pyes’ cycle in that it leads to his death, but if he managed to get away and start a new life, the farm would still be forever changed.
Kate grapples with the idea that Matt will have to leave Crow Lake to attend university. Although she theoretically knew this was his goal and felt proud of him, she is still shocked by the idea of living without him. This emotion leads to the highly meaningful scene between Matt and Kate when he shows her their great-grandmother’s portrait and explains that pursuing education is their destiny. Kate embraces this lesson fully. Matt’s words will inform how she thinks about her life and about success for years.
Unlock all 43 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
