Pages 319-353 Summary and Analysis

Wallace devotes the last and longest section of the essay to his attempt to experience as many scheduled activities on the ship on Thursday, one of the two days when the ship never pulls into port. Wallace organizes his activities by using the Nadir Daily, which is the ship's tiny newspaper that is left in every passenger's room each night.

Wallace begins the day at Early Seating Breakfast where he sits alone because all of the other passengers assigned to his table stayed up late the night before. Wallace lovingly describes his table's head waiter, Tibor, a Hungarian who dreams of returning to Budapest to start a sidewalk cafe. At breakfast, Wallace is able to make small talk with Tibor since there are no other diners, leaving Tibor relatively free.

Next, Wallace attends a Catholic mass, which is followed...