Summary

Chapter 19 details Casey’s experience with the Wolf’s Head secret society at Yale, where he was given the name “Osiris” as all black male inductees before him. Casey first recalls how he coldly mediated a disagreement between Daniel and Elijah, thereby preserving the unity of the Yale Black Men’s Union but losing Elijah’s friendship. He regrets having made no effort to bridge the divide between them during what remained of his senior year. The narrative returns to Yale’s secret societies and the selection process, technically called “tapping,” for future inductees. In the contentious period leading up to “Tap Night,” Casey made enemies among his fellow members and inadvertently alienated his friend Daniel, a member of the Skull and Bones secret society. Casey recalls the biblical story of Lot’s wife, who, in her exodus from Sodom, turned back to...