Chapters 12 & 13 Summary

The narrator begins learning sequence movements with his class, preparing to protect their fatherland, Russia, if war ever were to breakout. The narrator finds that mindlessly following orders is calming to him after the death of his parents and the news of Charlotte's rape. In these moments, someone else is clearly in control. During these sequence movements, the narrator becomes attracted to a young fifteen-year-old girl with russet colored hair. He finds her movements as she dismantles and reassembles Kalashnikov guns profoundly attractive. When he watches as tanks roll in, he feels profoundly jealous of the soldiers who stand at attention. The narrator believes that no outside thoughts can penetrate these serious soldiers' minds. They have a clear stream of thinking, "simple and direct, like the orders they executed" (Page 154).

In joining the crowd and doing what he is told, the narrator also...