In Country Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 2: Chapter 17 Summary

Part 2: Chapter 17 Summary

It is the day of the dance. Lonnie calls but Sam does not mention that she is going to the dance. She goes, but leaves the ring Lonnie gave her at home. Sam overhears two veterans talking about a friend suffering from the affects of Agent Orange. The men spend time looking at a display of war snapshots and plastic replicas of guns and military gear. Anita and Emmett dance together. Sam sees Tom. They talk and dance. He spikes her Coke with whiskey. Sam becomes drunk and is surprised to talk to a veteran who claims to have known her father. She asks him several questions but is frustrated by his vague answers. Later in the bathroom, a veteran's wife confides to Sam that her husband brought home a collection of "ears of the enemy." They still keep the dried human ears in a little box. Sam does not...
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