Part 3, Chapter 2
Dean tells Sal that things are not good: He wants to go on the road; Camille is unhappy; they are unhappy together; the car was repossessed; an accidental second baby is on its way. Sal thinks to himself that Dean has driven Camille mad. Dean had been spending time spying on Marylou, who had a different sailor come by every night.
Previously, he had refused to believe that she had become a whore. He smoked some bad marijuana and got very sick. Dean had gone somewhat crazy, believing that he loved Marylou not Camille. He found Ed Dunkel and got a gun from him. Then he went to Marylou and wanted her to kill him in some sort of death-pact scenario. Marylou wouldn't do it. She ended up marrying a used car salesman. Dean broke his wrist terribly by punching her, but it didn't hurt her at all. His wrist was poorly set and became infected. Now he needs daily injections of penicillin, to which he is allergic.
Dean is addicted to the penicillin antidote and says he feels great. He talks to Sal about his kid and about growing older. In the morning, Camille throws them both out because they had someone over to drink while they were taking care of the child. She goes into the room and sobs. Dean ignores her. Sal feels bad and wants to go to a bar. He sees a picture of Galatea and has a revelation:
"I suddenly realized that all these women were spending months of loneliness and womanliness together, chatting about the madness of men. I heard Dean's maniacal giggle across the house, together with the wails of his baby." Part 3, Chapter 2, pg. 187
Dean packs his stuff while Camille sobs. They leave and Sal alludes to Dean's infected hand as a final evolution, or devolution "because he no longer cared about anything" Part 3, Chapter 2, pg. 188. Dean looks like hell as he totters and rambles in tattered clothing. Nevertheless, Sal is glad that Dean needs him. They cannot figure out what to do next and Dean suggests that they walk to New York. They talk about going to Italy, because Sal is expecting money from publishers. Dean gets embarrassed with himself. Sal is confused. They look at each other, then notice a Greek family taking a group photo. They watch the happy family together and decide to leave San Francisco.
Topic Tracking: Dean 12
Topic Tracking: Generosity 11
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