Chapter 85 'Like the Time': Summary, Analysis, and Study Notes
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 85, "Like the Time," is a list poem — a litany of remembered moments in which someone denies, conceals, or avoids the truth. The narrator strings together a series of recollections, each introduced by the same refrain, building a catalog of dishonesty that spans her friendships, family, school, and community.
The chapter opens with lies among her peers. Ronique denies liking Russ. Serenity denies liking Ronique. Inga claims she did not watch a girl being hit at the bus stop — a moment of complicity disguised as ignorance. The narrator then recalls her own small deceptions: walking a different route so she could talk to Justin, and later doing the same to talk to Irving. Raymond claims he did not know she was afraid of snakes. Lay Li, whose father came home early, insists she was home alone and asleep.
The litany widens to include adults and institutions. Mama says Daddy will be home soon. Politicians promise to fix the softball field. The superintendent promises to remove the metal detectors. A nurse repeats a soothing phrase — telling someone it is okay, just breathe — during a difficult moment. Students practice hiding their bodies between bookcases in the dark during a school intruder drill.
The chapter then turns to a violent family memory. Uncle Lenny punches Russ square in the chest. Russ insists it did not hurt and that he did not even cry. The family tells Mama nothing happened. Finally, the narrator turns to her own denials: she said she did not find the ashtray under Essa's bed, she said she was not drinking beer, she said she was not smoking, and she said she was not exactly who she is.
The chapter has no dialogue or action in the traditional sense; instead, the accumulation of these moments creates the meaning. Each "like the time" builds on the last until the pattern becomes unmistakable: dishonesty is not an exception in the narrator's world but a recurring way of surviving.
Key Events
- Ronique lies about not liking Russ, and Serenity lies about not liking Ronique.
- Inga denies witnessing a girl being hit at the bus stop.
- The narrator recalls taking different routes to talk to Justin and later to Irving.
- Raymond claims ignorance of the narrator's fear of snakes.
- Lay Li claims she was home alone and asleep when her father arrived early.
- Mama assures that Daddy will be home soon.
- Politicians promise to fix the softball field; the superintendent promises to remove the metal detectors.
- A nurse repeats a calming phrase during a difficult moment.
- Students practice hiding between bookcases during an intruder drill.
- Uncle Lenny punches Russ, who denies that it hurt and denies crying.
- The family tells Mama nothing happened.
- The narrator denies finding an ashtray under Essa's bed, drinking beer, smoking, and being her true self.
Character Development
The narrator is the central figure here, and the chapter functions as a confession of sorts. She does not exempt herself from the catalog of liars. Her own deceptions — the alternate routes to talk to Justin and Irving, the denial of the ashtray, the beer, the smoking — are placed alongside the lies of adults and institutions. The final line, in which she admits she said she was not exactly who she is, suggests a growing awareness that the deepest concealment has been about her identity. This is a chapter of reckoning: the narrator sees the pattern clearly enough to name it.
Russ appears as someone who absorbs violence and denies its effects. After Uncle Lenny punches him, he insists it did not hurt and that he did not cry. This denial is a form of self-protection, but it also shows how the people around the narrator learn to hide pain.
The family's collective lie — telling Mama nothing happened — shows that concealment is a shared strategy in the household. The narrator is not the only one who hides the truth; the family protects itself by agreeing on a version of events.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The litany structure: The repeated "like the time" refrain turns the chapter into an incantation. The rhythm suggests that these moments are not isolated but part of a continuous pattern.
- Lies and denial as survival: Many of the lies in the chapter are protective — Russ denying pain, Lay Li claiming she was alone, the family telling Mama nothing happened. The chapter suggests that dishonesty is learned as a way to endure.
- Complicity: Inga's claim that she did not watch the girl being hit at the bus stop is a lie about witnessing violence. It connects personal denial to the broader problem of people looking away.
- Systemic dishonesty: The politicians' promise to fix the softball field and the superintendent's promise to remove the metal detectors are institutional lies. They parallel the personal lies and suggest that dishonesty runs from the top down.
- Physical concealment: The intruder drill — hiding bodies between bookcases in the dark — is a literal image of concealment. It echoes the emotional hiding throughout the chapter and ties the theme of secrecy to the reality of school violence.
- Identity concealment: The final line, about not being exactly who she is, points to a deeper, ongoing lie about identity. The ashtray, beer, and smoking denials are about actions; this last denial is about the self.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 85 is a turning point in the narrator's self-awareness. By cataloging the lies of everyone around her — and then her own — she demonstrates that she can see the pattern of dishonesty clearly. The chapter's structure forces all these moments to be held together, revealing how pervasive concealment is in her world.
The final line is the most significant. When the narrator admits she said she was not exactly who she is, she names the lie that matters most. This sets up the possibility of change: recognizing a lie is the first step toward telling the truth. The chapter also connects the personal to the systemic, showing that the narrator's family secrets and the school's empty promises are part of the same culture of denial.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does the narrator group her own lies with those of her friends, family, and institutions?
The grouping shows that dishonesty is pervasive and normalized in her world. By placing her own small deceptions alongside the politicians' empty promises and the superintendent's broken word, the narrator recognizes that denial is a shared response to difficult circumstances. Some of these lies are survival strategies — Russ denying pain, the family protecting Mama — while others, like the institutional promises, are betrayals of trust. The structure suggests the narrator is beginning to see the whole pattern, including her own place in it.
2. How does the final confession differ from the other lies in the chapter?
The other lies are about specific facts or events: not liking someone, not seeing something, not being home, not finding an ashtray. The final lie — saying she was not exactly who she is — is about her fundamental identity. It is not a one-time denial but an ongoing concealment. Its placement at the end of the litany gives it special weight, suggesting that this is the lie the narrator most needs to confront.
3. What role does the school intruder drill play in the chapter's catalog of concealment?
The drill is a physical image of hiding — students must conceal their bodies between bookcases in the dark to survive. It parallels the emotional and verbal concealment throughout the chapter. The drill also connects to the theme of systemic dishonesty: the school teaches students to hide rather than addressing the danger that makes the drill necessary. The image of children learning to hide their bodies is a powerful symbol of what the narrator and her peers have been taught to do in every area of their lives.