Summary

Epitome – Julia arrives home in the middle of an intense discussion (not quite an argument) between Jacob, Max, Benjy, Irv, and Deborah. The argument includes a discussion of the word “epitome” (which means “essence of” [73], according to Deborah). As Julia calms the upset Benjy (who, at one point, says “amn’t” instead of “aren’t”), Jacob erupts in anger, suggesting that in his family, there is too much acceptance of people’s opinions and not enough challenging wrong ideas. The argument is broken up by the sound of a pair of dogs quarrelling in the street. Julia then goes up to have a shower, and ends up masturbating with the doorknob she put in her purse. As she climaxes, she has a hallucination of herself in her grave, and then hears a strange buzzing sound. She traces it to a...