40 pages • 1 hour read
Monument 14
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Chapters 23-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 23 Summary: “Mr. Appleton’s Story”
The older students meet with Mr. Appleton and Robbie while the younger ones give Luna, the dog, a bath. We learn that Mr. Appleton is the school chancellor of the county. Mr. Appleton provides information on what is happening on the outside. The earthquake injured many, such as a woman at the store where Mr. Appleton was shopping. As the black plume rose, “the people around [him] started acting in ways that were beyond [his] comprehension” (203). He drives home but sees that all the houses in the development are on fire. He goes to Lewis Palmer, where Robbie and some parents and teachers are gathered. Robbie relays the message that Mrs. Wooly gave about the students being trapped. People with O-type blood attack those in the school; some escape, while others die. Mr. Appleton is unsure whether Mrs. Wooly survived.
Alex and Dean set up beds for Robbie and Mr. Appleton in the Automotive aisle. Mr. Appleton goes to bed; Robbie says he wants to look at the bus.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Buses Have Types, Too”
Robbie goes to inspect bus. All the younger children follow him. Robbie offers to tune up the bus and work on the flat and damaged tires. He says it will take more than one day, and the younger children beg for him to be allowed to stay. Dean says, “it didn’t seem to me like it would be the worst thing in the world if Robbie stayed more than one day” (212). Niko resists this idea. Chloe takes notes on all the necessary repairs.
Sahalia sits alone in the kitchen, biting her cuticles. Robbie urges Sahalia to come help with the bus. He squeezes her knee when she agrees to help.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Hands”
Dean makes tuna sandwiches for lunch while the other kids work on the bus with Robbie. While they eat, Robbie has the children play “I’m Thinking of an Animal” (216). Everyone works on the bus during the afternoon, and they make progress. Work still needs to be done the next day, and Alex assures Robbie that Niko will let them stay.
At dinner, the kids become “worked up” when Niko insists that Robbie and Mr. Appleton leave in the morning, according to their agreement (219). Niko storms off, and Josie and Dean search for him. In his berth, they discover drawings all over his walls, some detailing the students in the store, others detailing hands of the people in his life, including his mother’s. Niko is adamant that the men should leave and says he doesn’t like Robbie: “The way he’s all over everyone. It doesn’t feel right” (224). However, Josie and Dean convince Niko to let Robbie and Mr. Appleton stay two more days.
That night, Robbie tells bedtime stories to the younger kids.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Evacuation”
The younger kids give Robbie a tour of the store after breakfast. Jake comes into the kitchen crying, saying that the pills he keeps taking make him feel like, he “squeezed all the good feeling out [his] brain and now [he’s] out” (228). Dean consoles him and tells him to stop taking the pills.
Mr. Appleton reveals that the government is evacuating areas in Colorado via Denver International Airport and moving them to Alaska. Mr. Appleton tells everyone to write letters to their parents, and he will send them out once he reaches Alaska.
Alex rigs a video walkie-talkie to give to Mr. Appleton so the students can see outside. Dean rounds up food supplies for the men as they ready to leave and load up the car. Robbie confides to Dean that Mr. Appleton isn’t well enough to travel and urges him to let them stay. Dean offers to let them stay longer, and Mr. Appleton agrees to stay for dinner.
Chapter 27 Summary: “The Big Send-Off”
Dean and Batiste “really went to town for the farewell dinner,” making chicken, soufflé, and cake (236). Mr. Appleton thanks everyone for their hospitality but then falls to the ground and faints. Robbie insists they stay in the store for the night, since the hospital is closed. The students try to revive Mr. Appleton with smelling salts, but he remains unconscious.
The students take turns keeping watch over Mr. Appleton; the young kids are very happy that the men are staying.
Chapters 23-27 Analysis
The arrival of Mr. Appleton and Robbie upsets the existing power dynamics within the group. Mr. Appleton praises everything the students have done, but, “[t]he compliments seemed like the type of compliments that come when you’re doing something and then a grown-up comes and takes it over from you” (209).Robbie wins the affection of all the younger children, and they are very upset over the prospect of his leaving. Niko’s authority is challenged since he is the only one who is adamant that they men leave after one day. Josie asks Dean, in regard to Niko, “you think he’s just insecure about losing his power?” (221). Niko bows to group pressure and relinquishes some of his power as leader.
Jake also loses some of his power. He is less in the spotlight, and “Robbie was definitely the big man on campus” (228). Jake feels the effects of his pills and does not assert his opinion or dominance. Rather, Robbie becomes the most popular person in the group.
Dean’s character continues to struggle. He feels distant from his brother, Alex, who now seems closer to Niko than to Dean. Dean notes, “It’s hard to take care of someone who doesn’t want or really even need your help” (232). Since Dean has now adopted more of a caretaker role, he notices that he is unable to take care of Alex, even though he has this new ability. He continues to contend with jealousy in relation to Niko’s new role as the person closest to Alex. Dean does, however, stop taking pain pills. In this way, he connects to his original sense of self and stubs relying on substances as a crutch.
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