The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship

These final chapters draw attention to the themes of inequality, both racial and socio-economic. To a certain extent, Lopez has become accustomed to Skid Row and visiting Ayers at the Ballington. However, the book revisits the challenging conditions when Jennifer arrives from Atlanta. She has never seen Skid Row, and Lopez writes: “But even at the edges of the epicenter, the streets are littered with trash and with lost souls, the majority of them African-American” (267). Here, through Jennifer’s visit, he underlines what a poor neighborhood borders other more prosperous areas of Los Angeles. He also underlines the racial divides—most of the homeless people are African American.

While visiting Disney Hall, Lopez emphasizes the divide that exists between the musicians who regularly play there and Ayers. They see Yo-Yo Ma, one of Ayers’s classmates and contemporaries at Julliard. The two musicians have experienced radically different trajectories in their lives, largely due to Ayers’s mental health issues. Lopez emphasizes this when he writes: “But for a curse, his photo might be on this wall, too” (278). The curse here is Ayers’s untreated schizophrenia.

Lopez’s character also continues to develop. Throughout the book, Lopez has been on a mission to change Ayers’s life. However, he begins to accept that it might not pan out the way he envisions: “I begin to confront my own limits and try to accept that although I can help him, I’m not ever going to heal him” (253). There is a certain acceptance of the reality of mental illness here—it is not linear, and a person cannot be forced to recover. In this way, Lopez begins to see himself as more of a helper than a healer—someone who is by Ayers’s side rather than someone who is directing change.

Lopez’s commitment is put to the test when Ayers angrily attacks him: “[H]e’s turned on me in a way I never would have imagined” (258). However, Lopez does not abandon Ayers, and the latter soon apologizes. Lopez notes: “I didn’t need an apology from him. I only needed to know our friendship still meant something to him” (264). Here, the friendship that has developed between the two transcends feelings of pride or hurt. Towards the end, Lopez acknowledges the impact Ayers has had on his life for the better: “He has wiped away my professional malaise and shown me the dignity in being loyal to something you believe in” (285). Through all this, Lopez acknowledges the deep impact Ayers has had on him as a person. 

So, too, does Ayers’s character continue to develop. He continues to hit both high and low points. He signs a contract saying he will adhere to the Ballington rules, which represents him returning to normalcy and respecting authority. However, he still continues to cause issues in the courtyard when he gets angry at people for smoking. In another instance, he agrees to let Jennifer manage his financial affairs. However, he has a manic episode when he becomes convinced that Lopez is trying to commit him. During a heated argument, Ayers says, “I’m not schizophrenic, and NOBODY, I said NOBODY, is going to take me to a hospital” (257). He tells Lopez he never wants to see him again, effectively threatening to kill him if he shows up again. Two days later, he apologizes to Lopez. In this way, the author emphasizes the continual peaks and valleys of Ayers’s mental health, thus connecting to the theme of the ravages of mental illness.

The book, however, ends on a high note. Lopez and Ayers have just attended a concert at Disney Hall, and Ayers is filled with his love of music. He is speaking and thinking clearly, and he expresses his desire to play in an orchestra again one day. Lopez ends the book thematically on the significance of art—music is the one thing that has sustained Ayers through the years, and ending on this note implies that it will be the thing keeping him moving forward.