Buckeye: Questions and Answers
Why does Cal Jenkins feel compelled to tell strangers about his leg condition early in the novel?
Cal’s compulsive disclosure about his shortened leg stems from his deep-seated guilt over being rejected from WWII service. In Chapter One, he points to his shoes from a medical supply company and claims his condition causes hip problems, though he has yet to experience any. This behavior reflects his need to justify his absence from the war, a shame that worsens as the conflict continues without him, making his limp seem worse.
Evidence context: The narrative explains that Cal was so conscious of not being overseas that his limp worsened on its own. His constant referencing of his leg is a defense mechanism against the accusations he imagines others, and he himself, level at his masculinity and purpose.
How does Becky Hanover’s first meeting with Cal in the drugstore foreshadow her role as a medium?
When Becky meets Cal in Chapter One, she is described as intuitive and hears voices from the dead. She gifts him a sealed childhood letter, an act that suggests she has access to hidden truths from the past. This moment establishes her as someone who bridges the living and the dead, offering a connection to what is lost or sealed away.
Evidence context: The chapter notes that Becky’s ability to hear voices and her gift of the letter set her apart from other women. This early gesture prefigures her entire mediumship practice, where she relays messages between spirits and the grieving.
What causes the deep marital rift between Cal and Becky in Chapter Four, and how does it change their relationship?
The rift comes when Cal and his father-in-law Roman forcibly remove Casey LaGrange, a researcher who made a physical pass at Becky, by stealing his suitcase and putting him on a train. Becky is furious at this intervention because it undermines her autonomy. She had placed a newspaper ad for her séances without telling Cal, and the conflict reveals their lack of communication and respect for each other’s boundaries.
Evidence context: The chapter details Becky’s anger and her subsequent decision to place an ad for a group séance to contact President Roosevelt. The event deepens their separation, with Cal reflecting on his lack of purpose and the growing distance between them.
In Chapter Seven, what is the significance of Felix’s father’s ultimatum, and how does it shape Felix’s life?
Russ Salt demands that Felix prove he is not a fairy, citing the incident behind the toolshed years earlier. Felix responds by staging a fake engagement with Helen Greene to secure a job. This ultimatum forces Felix into a lifelong performance of heterosexuality, hiding his true desires and leading him into a marriage with Margaret based on convenience rather than love.
Evidence context: The chapter describes how Felix’s father’s command to provide evidence leads to the fake engagement. The narrative later shows Felix battling conformity, using the metaphor of “the mold” for a successful man.
Why does Margaret decide to work at Anton’s cafeteria after Mr. Higgs coerces her into sex, rather than leave Columbus?
Margaret accepts the job out of economic necessity and a desire to reinvent herself. In Chapter Six, after Mr. Higgs takes her to an apartment and coercively has sex with her, he still hires her. She uses her first paycheck to buy a new wardrobe at Lazarus, transforming how she is treated. She chooses survival and a fresh start over vulnerability, even if it means enduring trauma.
Evidence context: The chapter highlights Margaret’s determination to escape her orphanage past and build a life in Columbus. She hides her background and uses sex as a currency to advance, a pattern that continues into her marriage.
How does the affair between Cal and Margaret in Chapter Ten serve as a parallel to Felix’s encounters with Augie?
Both affairs are secret, rationalized by the characters, and take place during the war—Cal and Margaret in Bonhomie, Felix and Augie on Espiritu Santo. Cal and Margaret use protection and secret entrances to maintain their marriages, while Felix and Augie share an unspoken bond that culminates in intimacy. Both affairs end ambiguously, leaving the characters with unresolved feelings.
Evidence context: The chapter shows Cal and Margaret’s careful, guilt-ridden affair and Felix’s encounter with Augie, followed by Felix avoiding him. The parallel highlights the theme of hidden identities and the cost of secrecy.
In Chapter Twelve, why does the Manila doctor advise Felix to never tell the story about Baxter, and what does this reveal about war trauma?
The doctor advises Felix to keep silent because the story of fighting a shipmate for a life jacket would be seen as discreditable. This reveals how war trauma is compounded by the pressure to conform to heroic narratives. Felix is already grappling with survival guilt, and the doctor’s order effectively silences him, preventing any emotional processing.
Evidence context: Felix kicks Baxter away during the sinking, leading to Baxter’s drowning. In the hospital, the doctor’s advice is part of the medical bureaucracy that prioritizes appearance over psychological healing.
What does the buckeye tree in the Jenkins’ yard symbolize throughout the novel?
The buckeye tree first appears in Chapter Two when Cal and Becky move to Taft Street, and it becomes a symbol of rootedness and family legacy. Later, it is associated with Tom Salt, who is nicknamed Buckeye by Skip. The tree represents hidden connections—Tom’s unknown paternity—and the endurance of love across generations, as seen in the final chapters when it remains a fixture of the Jenkins home.
Evidence context: The nickname is given in Chapter Sixteen when Skip calls Tom “Buckeye” after they become friends. The tree recurs as a backdrop for family gatherings and key revelations.
How does Becky’s decision to stop her medium sessions after Skip’s death in Chapter Twenty-Two reflect her grief?
Becky stops her sessions because she cannot reach Skip’s spirit, and the practice that once brought comfort now deepens her loss. She encounters sympathizers but finds their presence hollow. The chapter shows her refusing to perform a séance when Cal asks five months later, indicating that her grief has rendered her connection to the dead inaccessible.
Evidence context: The narrative states that Becky fails to contact Skip and that the funeral ritual brings no comfort. Her cessation of mediumship underscores the novel’s theme that some losses are too profound to be bridged.
In Chapter Eighteen, why does Margaret write letters to Felix and Becky confessing everything rather than confront them in person?
Margaret chooses letters because she fears direct confrontation and cannot bear the emotional weight of seeing their reactions. Having discovered Felix’s note and confessed her affair, she decides to flee Bonhomie. The letters allow her to control the narrative and avoid the messy reality of reconciliation, mirroring her earlier pattern of abandonment when she leaves Tom.
Evidence context: The chapter describes Margaret packing her belongings after writing the letters. She drives away, witnessed by Tom, repeating the cycle of her own mother leaving her in a basket.
What is the significance of the letter Cal gives Becky in Chapter Twenty-Five, written by Becky to herself at age eight?
The letter represents Becky’s childhood hopes and the innocence she lost. In the final chapter, Cal returns it to her during their trip to Huron, showing that he has preserved her past. It underscores the novel’s theme of memory and self-correction—Cal’s life’s work has been correcting mistakes, and this gesture affirms his love.
Evidence context: The chapter mentions that Becky wrote the letter to herself, and Cal gives it to her as they ride the Ferris wheel at Cedar Point. It symbolizes the endurance of love and the importance of holding onto one’s true self.
How does the revelation of Tom’s paternity in Chapter Fourteen change the reader’s understanding of Margaret’s earlier actions?
When Margaret notices two swirls in Tom’s hair, confirming he is Augie’s son and not Felix’s, it reframes her pregnancy ambivalence. Her earlier fear that she was allergic to her baby and her discomfort with motherhood are now tied to the trauma of her affair and the uncertainty of Tom’s father. The revelation deepens her guilt and explains her eventual abandonment.
Evidence context: The chapter describes Margaret’s internal conflict after the goldfish argument. Her suspicion about the hair swirls confirms what she had feared, leading to a deeper marital divide with Felix.
In Chapter Twenty-One, what motivates Skip to enlist in the Marines despite his parents’ shock?
Skip’s enlistment in 1967 is driven by a desire for purpose and escape from his stagnant life, but also by the draft lottery and peer pressure. He sees his friends like Ron Burgess and Vincent Deeds being called up, and his impatience with dead-end jobs makes the military seem like a decisive choice. His decision baffles Cal and Becky, who fear for his safety.
Evidence context: The chapter shows Skip’s restlessness after multiple jobs and his conversations with friends about the war. His enlistment follows a period of indecision, and his fate remains uncertain at the chapter’s end.
Why does Felix choose not to confront Cal about Tom’s paternity until Chapter Twenty-Three, and what precipitates the confession?
Felix keeps the secret for years out of shame and fear of losing Tom. The trigger is Tom’s near-miss in the draft lottery in 1969, which makes Felix feel that truth is more important than protection. He reveals the secret to Tom, devastating the young man. This confession comes after Felix has already accepted his own homosexuality and found peace through Becky’s mediumship.
Evidence context: The chapter describes Felix’s long-held secret and Tom’s devastation. Felix’s earlier sessions with Becky allowed him to accept his love for Augie, clearing the way for this reckoning.
How does the ending in Chapter Twenty-Five reconcile the novel’s themes of secrecy and forgiveness?
Cal and Becky revisit Huron, site of their postponed honeymoon, and hear Skip’s spirit deliver a message of love and forgiveness. Becky’s ability to finally reach Skip, and Cal’s realization that his life’s work has been correcting mistakes, underscore that forgiveness is possible even after decades of lies. The chapter emphasizes the endurance of love across the spiritual divide.
Evidence context: The chapter describes Becky hearing Skip in the laundry room and Cal giving her the childhood letter. Their day at Cedar Point symbolizes a new beginning, affirming that love persists beyond secrecy and death.