Prologue Summary and Analysis – Summers at the Saint
⚠️ 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
Traci Eddings, age six or seven, sees the pink turrets of the Saint Cecelia resort rising from the marsh while fishing with her grandfather. When she asks to visit, he tells her “People like us don’t belong over there.” At thirteen, she is invited to a classmate’s birthday party at the Saint. She lies to her mother, bribes a friend’s brother for a ride, and is awed by the lobby’s marble floors and grand staircase. She later tells her best friend Shannon that they will someday live at the Saint. Two years later, at fifteen, Traci and Shannon get summer jobs at the Saint’s ice-cream parlor. Manager Gayla warns them not to flirt with guests, explaining the resort’s social hierarchy: guests and members are “Saints,” while local workers are “Ain’ts.” Traci realizes she lives on the wrong side of the causeway. The prologue ends with the line, “until she met Hoke Eddings,” hinting at the change to come.
Key Events
- Traci, as a young child, sees the Saint for the first time from a fishing boat and is told she does not belong there.
- At age thirteen, she attends Meredith’s birthday party at the Saint, sneaking away from her background and feeling awe at the luxury.
- She reports the experience to Shannon, vowing they will one day live at the resort.
- At fifteen, Traci and Shannon both land summer jobs at the Saint’s ice-cream parlor.
- Manager Gayla explains the “Saints” vs. “Ain’ts” class division, and the girls learn they are considered outsiders.
- The prologue concludes with the mention of Hoke Eddings, a figure who will later change Traci’s life.
Character Development
Traci Eddings – We see her childhood wonder, her adolescent longing for status, her willingness to deceive (lying to her mother, bribing Joe) to gain access to the Saint, and her dawning class consciousness. The prologue tracks her from a naive girl who sees a fairy castle to a teenager who understands the social rules that exclude her. Her ambition is born here.
Pops – Traci’s grandfather, a factory worker who accepts his place in the social order. His disappointment when Traci misses the fish symbolizes the gap between her dreams and the opportunities he believes are closed to them.
Shannon – Traci’s best friend, initially resentful of the class divide but later joins Traci at the Saint. She represents loyalty and shared background.
Meredith – A wealthy classmate whose party introduces Traci to the Saint’s interior. She and her mother are portrayed as snobbish.
Gayla – The ice-cream parlor manager who delivers the harsh truth about the class system at the Saint. She is a messenger of social reality.
Hoke Eddings – Mentioned only in the final sentence but positioned as the catalyst for change. No further characterization yet.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
The Saint as a Symbol of Class Divide – The pink resort appears as a fairy castle to young Traci, but her grandfather immediately corrects her: it is a place for “rich people.” The building itself becomes the central emblem of the socioeconomic boundary that governs the community.
The Causeway as a Motif – The causeway connecting Bonaventure to the Saint physically separates the working-class neighborhood from the resort. Traci and Shannon bike across it, and the phrase “wrong side of the causeway” crystallizes the division.
The Term “Ain’ts” – Gayla’s blunt explanation that local workers are called “Ain’ts” reveals the resort’s informal caste system. The word is a pun on “saints” and a demeaning label that the staff internalize. It underscores the dehumanizing effect of class labeling.
Fishing and Missed Opportunity – The opening fishing scene, where Traci loses the fish while daydreaming about the Saint, foreshadows her lifelong struggle to choose between fantasy and practicality.
The Bikini and the Bribe – Traci’s use of babysitting money to buy a new bikini and her reliance on a bribe to get a ride illustrate the lengths she will go to fit in with the Saint’s world, even as a teenager.
Why This Chapter Matters
The prologue establishes the protagonist’s origin story and the central conflict of the novel: Traci’s desire to cross the class boundary that has defined her life. It shows how her childhood dreams, adolescent scheming, and early job experience shape her ambition and her understanding of social power. The final mention of Hoke Eddings promises that a turning point is coming, hooking the reader into the main plot. Without this prologue, Traci’s later actions and motivations would lack context. It also introduces the Saint not just as a setting but as a character in its own right—a place of beauty, exclusion, and aspiration.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does Traci’s initial perception of the Saint differ from the reality she later encounters?
As a child, Traci sees the Saint as a fairy castle, a place of pure enchantment. By the time she works there at fifteen, she understands that the resort is a site of rigid social hierarchy where she is labeled an “Ain’t.” The wonder never entirely disappears, but it becomes shaded by the knowledge that she is an outsider.
2. What does the term “Ain’ts” reveal about the community’s class structure?
The term shows that the resort’s culture explicitly derides local workers. It is a dismissive label that equates them with “saints” (the guests) in a mocking way, reinforcing the idea that the help are less worthy. Gayla’s warning that fraternizing is forbidden demonstrates that this separation is enforced.
3. How does Traci’s relationship with Shannon change after they start working at the Saint?
Shannon is initially resentful and refuses the birthday invitation, but later joins Traci at the ice-cream parlor. Their shared experience of being labeled “Ain’ts” likely deepens their bond, though Shannon’s earlier jealousy and her shoplifting hint at a different path. The prologue leaves their friendship intact but under economic and social strain.