Chapter 2 Summary

Minke begins his story by boasting of his education at one of the best schools in the Indies, which has given him general and scientific knowledge, as well as the ability to take notes. He then describes the progress seen upon the island in recent years, such as trains and reproductions of photographs. In the course of this, he identifies his location as the island of Java in the Netherland Indies. He segues from general exclamation about progress to tell of one particular photographic reproduction that is dear to him. He has a photograph of a beautiful lady, one renowned for beauty, of high class, and remote from his current city of Surabaya, who happens to share his birthday of August 31, 1880.

After setting the scene of the general time, place, and location, Minke dives into more details of the story. His schoolmate, Robert...