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Uncle Tom's Cabin Summary

How It All Goes Down

Uncle Tom’s Cabin opens as Mr. Shelby and a slave trader, Mr. Haley, discuss how many slaves Mr. Shelby will need to sell in order to clear up his debt. Despite his misgivings, Mr. Shelby decides to sell Tom, a faithful and honest man, and Harry, the son of his wife’s favorite slave, Eliza.

Eliza overhears that her son has been sold and makes a split-second decision to take him and run away to Canada that very night. Earlier that day, her husband, George Harris, had let her know that he planned to leave his own master, and she hopes they will both be able to escape and reunite in Canada.

As Eliza takes off, the slave trader Mr. Hadley follows her and almost catches her. She escapes into Ohio by crossing a river on a piece of floating ice. Mr. Haley sends slave catchers after her, and returns to collect his remaining property, Tom. Tom chooses not to run because he knows his master (at this point, Mr. Shelby) relies on his honesty.

Tom and Mr. Haley leave for the South. En route, Tom saves a little girl from drowning. The girl's father decides to buy Tom to be his daughter's personal servant. Tom has lucked out (insofar as being sold can be called lucky) because the girl’s father, Augustine St. Clare, treats his slaves relatively well. The little girl, Eva, is also a sweet child, devoted to her servants and family. Unfortunately, the mother, Marie St. Clare, is a more typical slave owner and runs her slaves ragged as they try to satisfy her endless demands.

Tom grows fond of little Eva. They discuss their mutual Christian faith on a daily basis. Eva even transforms the life of a hardened young slave girl named Topsy, and begins to teach another slave, Mammy, to read.

When it is clear that Eva is ill and going to die, she calls all the slaves together to give them a speech about God’s love (and her love) for them. She gives each slave one of her blonde curls so they will remember her. Then she dies of consumption (known now as tuberculosis).

Meanwhile, Eliza and her husband George are reunited in a Quaker camp. From there, they escape to Canada successfully, though not without a couple of run-ins with slave catchers on the way.

Back at St. Clare household, Augustine St. Clare is heartbroken at his daughter Eva’s death, as are all the slaves. St. Clare promises Tom his freedom but, before he finishes making out the papers, he is killed in a barroom brawl. Tom is sold at auction, along with many of the other St. Clare slaves.

Tom’s new master is Simon Legree, an evil and violent man who works his slaves until they die, then buys new ones cheaply in a never-ending cycle. Despite Legree’s treatment, Tom maintains his honest, kind behavior. Legree does his worst to "harden" Tom so that he can use Tom as an overseer on the plantation, but Tom refuses to change no matter how hard or how often Legree beats him.

When Tom encourages two female slaves, whom Legree uses as prostitutes, to escape, Legree beats Tom to death. It takes a few days for him to die, however, and in the meantime, his old master’s son, George Shelby, arrives to emancipate (or free) Tom – too late. Instead, "Master" George buries Tom then leaves.

The two female slaves who escaped Legree’s house, Cassy and Emmeline, end up on the same ship as George Shelby. Cassy confesses her story to him, realizing that George’s heart is soft towards the plight of escaping slaves. Another woman on the ship soon confesses her story to George as well, and it turns out that she is George Harris’s sister, sold south into slavery many years earlier.

George Shelby relates that George Harris married Eliza and they both escaped to Canada. Cassy, overhearing the story, puts two and two together and realizes that Eliza is her own daughter, who was taken from her many years before.

The two women travel to Canada together and are reunited with their families. Although Tom’s life ended in tragedy, there is much happiness among these slaves who survived and escaped the trials and tribulations of slavery, either through emancipation or by fleeing to Canada.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

How It All Goes Down

We start off with a little action: a duel between the servants of two enemy families of Verona: the Montagues and the Capulets. Exciting! After the swords are sheathed, Verona's Prince shows up to say that the next person who fights is going to get killed, and he means it this time.

Along comes Romeo Montague, mooning over some chick named Rosaline. Meanwhile, Juliet Capulet, age thirteen, has just heard that Verona's most eligible bachelor Paris has his eye on her. They're going to check each other out that night at a masquerade ball at the Capulets' house. (At least it's parentally sanctioned child abuse.) Romeo and his friends have decided to crash the Capulet ball—in costume—because Rosaline is on the guest list.

Things take a turn when Romeo meets Juliet. They fall instantly in love, obviously, but then—gasp!—find out they're from rival families. It's all very dire, but, being two crazy kids in love, they have a secret meeting and decide to get married. Vegas road trip, wooooooo!

Oh wait. No Vegas. Instead, Romeo meets with Friar Laurence to arrange the marriage, and Juliet gets her nurse to be a go-between. The Nurse meets Romeo and his friend Mercutio (who thinks the whole situation is hilarious), and they arrange to get Juliet to Friar Laurence.

Get ready for some more names: Benvolio, another member of the Montague posse, runs into Tybalt Capulet, who is angry about the Montagues crashing his family party the other night. Romeo, freshly married, strolls into the middle of a tense situation—which gets way tense when Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo promptly kills Tybalt in return. Romeo jets, but the Prince still shows up to banish him. (Hey, at least he's not going to be killed.)

Juliet hears from the Nurse that her new husband has murdered her cousin, which is a major bummer—but not enough of a bummer to keep her from being super stoked about her wedding night. The Nurse finds Romeo hiding at Friar Laurence's, and the Friar hatches a plan. Romeo can spend his wedding night with Juliet, but then he has to leave town while the Friar finds some way to get the Prince of Verona to pardon Romeo.

Meanwhile, back at the Capulet house, Lord Capulet decides a wedding (to Paris) is just the thing to distract Juliet from her grief. Oops! After Juliet's awesome, romantic wedding night, she finds out that she's supposed to marry Paris in two days. Even her nurse thinks she should marry Paris, since Romeo is "as good as dead" to her.

Juliet runs over to Friar Laurence's, where she has a weird kiss with Paris and then threatens to kill herself. The Friar comes up with a plan that is 100% guaranteed to work and doesn't sound risky At All (not): giving her an herbal concoction that will make her appear to be dead for 42 hours. Yes, exactly 42. So, she runs home, agrees to marry Paris, and takes the poison so she can be taken to the Capulet tomb where Romeo can find her and everyone can live happily ever after.

Sadly, Romeo is a little out of the loop off in Mantua, and the news of Juliet's "death" makes it to Romeo before word of the Friar's plan. He buys some poison so he can go to Juliet's grave and kill himself, which is obviously the mature response. But first, he murders Paris and then spends some time with Juliet's "dead" body.

He drinks the poison and dies just in time for Juliet to wake up and find him dead. Argh! We hate missed connections! The Friar, who apparently shows up at some point, tries to convince Juliet to run away, but she refuses and kills herself with a dagger. Just then, literally everyone shows up to the tomb at the same time and finds the dead lovers. Friar Laurence confesses everything, and the two lords of the rival houses are moved by their dead children's love story and agree to end the feud. Happy ending?

The Sun Also Rises Summary

How It All Goes Down

Jake Barnes and his expatriate friends live in the topsy-turvy, hedonistic (sensual and self-indulgent) world of post-World War I Paris. There, they occasionally work, but spend most of their time partying, drinking, and arguing. From Jake’s perspective, we meet the cast of characters that populates his story: the most important among them are Robert Cohn, a weak-willed, down-on-his-luck Princeton grad and unsuccessful writer, and Lady Brett Ashley, an exciting, beautiful, and unpredictable British divorcee.

Although Jake and Brett are actually in love, they aren’t together, presumably because a mysterious war wound has rendered Jake impotent. Cohn falls in love with Brett (as everyone does) and, despite the fact that she’s not terribly impressed with him, she secretly goes on a trip with him to the Spanish resort town of San Sebastian. Cohn is infatuated with Brett – he’s completely smitten. We’re talking truly, madly, deeply in smit. Unfortunately for Cohn (and for everyone, for that matter), Brett is engaged to a wealthy, charming, and utterly inept drunkard named Mike. Jake’s whimsical friend Bill returns to Paris from a trip and a plan is born: everyone agrees to decamp to Spain for some fishing and the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

On their brief fishing trip, Bill and Jake have a splendid time communing with nature and with each other, but the relaxation quickly comes to an end. They return to civilization and meet up with Brett, Mike, and Cohn in Pamplona for a weeklong orgy of bullfights, alcohol, and high drama. Jake has a true passion (aficion) for bullfighting, but everyone else is simply there to have a good time. Brett begins a rather scandalous affair with a passionate and talented young bull-fighter, Pedro Romero. Jake feels terrible for many reasons – among them is the fear that he has corrupted Romero in some way by introducing him to Brett. Cohn’s thwarted infatuation with Brett leads to arguments with everyone and, finally, he beats the unfortunate Romero to a bloody pulp. As the fiesta winds down, everyone leaves Pamplona in various states of anxiety, depression and frustration.

Jake heads to San Sebastian, where he intends to decompress alone for a while. Unfortunately, desperate telegrams from Brett arrive immediately. He goes to her in Madrid, where she is alone, having sent Romero away. For the first time, we see Brett truly vulnerable, afraid, and guilty. The future looks just as bleak – Jake and Brett agree again that, even though they love each other, they can’t be together.

The Scarlet Letter Summary

How It All Goes Down

After a brief authorial digression about how his stuffy coworkers at the Custom House kept him from writing this book until he was fired, Hawthorne starts us off with a tour of the jail of the mid-17th centuryMassachusetts Bay Colony.

Inside the jail is one Hester Prynne, an adulteress who's just about to be released from prison so that she can be paraded through town, displaying the scarlet "A" that she's been forced to wear as evidence of her adultery. How do we know she's an adulteress? She's got a baby daughter, Pearl, but her husband has been away for two full years. Even we can do the math on that one. Despite all the shaming, Hester protects Pearl's father from punishment by refusing to give up his name.

The adultery parade (worse parade ever) is winding through town when… Hester Prynne's long-lost husband arrives in disguise! Once she's back in prison, he shows up and orders her to keep her mouth shut so he can carry out his Nefarious Plan of ferreting out and seeking revenge on her lover. For some reason, she agrees.

Hester's husband tells the townspeople that he's a physician named Roger Chillingworth. He's a smart fellow, so he realizes pretty quickly that the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is the likely father of Hester's baby. Obviously, his next step is to stalk the minister day and night. The minister is too afraid to confess his sin publicly, but he's feeling pretty guilty, not to mention antsy from Chillingworth's constant examination, and also maybe in a little pain from strange red mark that's on his chest

Oh, and this goes on for seven years.

Finally, Hester realizes that her husband has been doing some really wack psychological manipulation to the man she loves, and she reveals Chillingworth's true identity to Dimmesdale. They concoct a plan to settle in England and create a new life together. Yay, happy ending!

Or not. Dimmesdale ultimately backs out and confesses his sin to the townspeople on the scaffold where Hester was publicly shamed seven years earlier. He goes out with a bang by ripping his shirt open (à la Jean Valjean) to reveal the mark on his chest, just before dying.

That's all very dramatic and satisfying, but it's not the end. About a year later, Chillingworth dies and leaves all his money and property to Pearl, which means she and her mom can finally get themselves out of that awful community and return to England to build a new life. Yay, happy ending for sure this time!

Not quite. Years later, Hester actually returns to the colony, resuming the scarlet letter of her own will. When she dies, she's buried near the minister, and they share a gravestone marked with—what else?—the letter "A."

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary

How It All Goes Down

Algernon Moncrieff welcomes his friend Ernest Worthing in for a visit. Through an incident with a cigarette case and an unlucky inscription, Ernest is forced to confess that his name is really Jack. The story goes like this: in the country, Jack must lead the boring life of responsible guardian for his pretty, young ward Cecily. So he made up a seedy younger brother named Ernest, who is the urban socialite.

Cecily, we learn, is a bit too interested in Ernest for her own good. Whenever Jack feels like it, he visits London on the pretense that he’s cleaning up Ernest’s messes. After all, as the older brother he must be responsible for getting his younger brother out of trouble. Instead, Jack takes on the name Ernest and goes partying around town. Algernon is amused by this discovery and reveals that he has a similar nonexistent friend. Algernon's friend is a perpetual invalid named Bunbury, who allows Algernon to visit the country whenever he likes.

We learn that Jack is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, who is Algernon’s cousin and coincidentally scheduled to visit that day. (Both Algernon and Gwendolen think that Jack’s name is Ernest.) Jack cuts a deal with Algernon; if Algernon can get Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, out of the room, then Jack can propose to Gwendolen. In return, Jack will dine with Algernon tonight so that Algernon will avoid dining with his Aunt Augusta (a.k.a. Lady Bracknell).

The plan works. We learn that Gwendolen is smitten by the name, Ernest. She is just accepting Ernest’s proposal when Lady Bracknell re-enters the room, discovers them, and furiously sends Gwendolen down to the carriage. Lady Bracknell gives Ernest a chance to prove his worthiness by interviewing him. Once she decides that he is not fit for her daughter, she makes it clear that Gwendolen is not engaged to Ernest.

In a way, it is ironic that Lady Bracknell doesn't approve of the engagement to Ernest. Ernest is rich, has a good reputation around town, and seems to be perfectly suitable for Gwendolen. Except for one thing: he’s an orphan, abandoned at birth for unknown reasons, and found in a handbag at Victoria train station. This doesn’t fly with Lady Bracknell, who tells him to find his parents ASAP and then dismisses him. Furious, Jack and Algernon concoct a scheme for getting rid of Ernest. They decide that he’ll die in Paris of a severe chill.

In the meantime, Gwendolen has found an opportunity to slip back into the room and confess her undying love for Ernest. Having heard her mother’s furious remarks, she’s fascinated about his mysterious background and asks for his country address. As Ernest gives it, Algernon discreetly copies it down and later announces to his servant that he’s going Bunburying tomorrow.

At Jack’s country estate, young Cecily does everything she can to avoid studying her German grammar. She lies to get her governess, Miss Prism, to take a break. Miss Prism allows this only because she’s distracted by Dr. Chasuble, the local reverend. Just as Miss Prism leaves, the arrival of Ernest Worthing is announced. It turns out to be Algernon. Algernon and Cecily flirt outrageously. Cecily reveals that she's been fantasizing about Earnest for quite some time, and has even imagined that she's engaged to him. She invites him in for dinner.

At that moment, Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble return from their walk, only to meet Jack dressed in black mourning clothes. He’s come home early to announce that his brother, Ernest, has died tragically in Paris, of a severe chill.

Right on cue, Cecily comes out to tell her Uncle Jack that Ernest has come to visit. When Jack sees it’s Algernon, he is furious and arranges for Ernest to leave via the dog-cart. When the cart comes, Algernon promptly sends it away. Cecily pays Algernon a visit and they engage in more flirtation, where we learn that Cecily is obsessed with the name, "Ernest."

When Algernon leaves (to arrange a baptism), Gwendolen arrives. Cecily entertains her. When each lady learns that the other is supposedly engaged to Ernest Worthing, they immediately start fighting. Luckily, both Jack and Algernon show up in time to clear up any doubt. Their true identities are revealed, as well as the fact that there is no Ernest. The women, realizing they’ve been tricked, suddenly become as close as sisters and go up to the house arm-in-arm, turning their backs on the men. Meanwhile, the men take out their frustration on the remaining tea items, fighting over the muffins, while they figure out what to do.

Eventually, they enter the house, and confess to the women. The Ernest business, they say, was done only so that they could see their beloved ladies as often as possible. The women forgive them. But their joy is interrupted by the arrival of Lady Bracknell. She has come to bring Gwendolen home. When she sees Cecily holding Algernon’s hand, she gives her an icy glare, but politely asks Jack how big this girl’s inheritance is. When she finds out that the girl is extremely wealthy, Lady Bracknell’s attitude toward Cecily changes and she gives consent for her and Algernon to marry. But Jack, as Cecily’s guardian, refuses to give his consent unless Lady Bracknell allows him to marry Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell wants nothing to do with it.

Dr. Chasuble shows up to tell Jack and Algernon that everything is ready for their baptisms and happens to mention Miss Prism. Lady Bracknell’s ears prick up at the name. Miss Prism is brought before her and shamefacedly confesses the truth: she was once Lady Bracknell’s servant and was in charge of a certain child. One day, she took the baby out in his stroller for a walk and brought along some leisure reading– a three-volume novel that she had written – and kept in a handbag. Distracted, she switched the two – putting the novel in the stroller and the baby into the hand bag. She dropped the handbag off at Victoria train station.

At this discovery, Jack freaks out and runs upstairs to find something. When he comes back down, he’s holding the handbag (remember, Jack is an orphan who was found in a handbag). Jack mistakenly thinks Miss Prism is his mother, but is corrected by Lady Bracknell, who tells him that a Mrs. Moncrieff is his mother. That makes Jack Algernon’s older brother.

Then, they all wonder what Jack's real name is. Remember, Gwendolen will only love him if his name is Ernest. Lady Bracknell tells Jack he was named after his father, but nobody can remember what the General’s name was. Jack looks up "Moncrieff" in his book of Army Lists. The results? His father’s name was Ernest. So he’s been telling the truth all along. His name really is Ernest. And now he can marry Gwendolen. There’s general rejoicing. Gwendolen hugs Ernest. Cecily hugs Algernon. Miss Prism hugs Dr. Chasuble. And Ernest closes the play by insisting that he’s now learned the "importance of being earnest."

Mrs Dalloway Summary

How It All Goes Down

Mrs Dalloway is not your typical day-in-the-life story, but it is a day-in-the-life story – a revolutionary one at that. It covers one day for Clarissa Dalloway (with some other central characters, too) as she prepares for a big party that will take place that evening.

As the novel begins, Clarissa strolls through Westminster, her neighborhood in London, on her way to a flower shop. Along the way, a few big things go down: she runs into an old friend named Hugh Whitbread, an explosion comes from a diplomatic car on its way to Buckingham Palace, and an "aeroplane" does a little skywriting. (Wow, that’s way more than what typically happens to us on the way to get flowers.)

When she gets back from her errand, an old friend and former suitor, Peter Walsh, shows up unexpectedly. They’re happy to see each other, but there’s still some tension. Peter is clearly still in love with Clarissa, and she feels like he judges her for the decisions she’s made – among them marrying the conservative but loyal Richard Dalloway (instead of him). Numerous flashbacks – including one of Clarissa's kiss with a girl named Sally – fill in the story as it happened years ago at her family’s country home, Bourton. Feeling desperate over his own unfulfilling life, Peter gets weepy and asks Clarissa if she really loves Richard. Before she can answer, Elizabeth (her daughter) interrupts, and Peter heads out to Regent's Park.

We then move to the perspective of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked World War I veteran who saw Evans, his friend and officer, killed in war. Septimus' wife, Lucrezia, is trying to distract him as they wait for an appointment with Sir William Bradshaw, a mean old psychiatrist.

The third person omniscient narrator takes us back to Septimus’ life before the war: he was an aspiring poet, read Shakespeare, and loved Miss Isabel Pole. After the war and Evans' death, Septimus becomes emotionally numb – he can't feel anything. On a total whim, he becomes engaged to Lucrezia, whose home he’s staying at in Milan, Italy. Back in the present day, Septimus is driven deeper into madness, including some crazy hallucinations. Lucrezia is also miserable, homesick for Italy, and tired of taking her husband to various soulless doctors. Whereas Dr Holmes thinks Septimus is just "in a funk," Dr Bradshaw diagnoses that he "lacks Proportion." Neither acknowledges the fact that the war has impacted Septimus (which seems pretty obvious to us).

While Clarissa rests and prepares for the party, Richard has lunch with the impressively rich and British upper crust Lady Bruton. After lunch, Richard wants to go home and tell Clarissa he loves her, but he cops out and just gives her flowers instead. Clarissa actually cherishes the independence she has in her marriage, knowing that she could never have that with Peter. In the meantime, Clarissa’s daughter goes off shopping with her friend Miss Kilman, whom Mrs Dalloway hates. And by hates, we mean despises, loathes, and absolutely cannot stand.

Meanwhile, Septimus and Lucrezia wait at their apartment for Sir William Bradshaw, who is coming to take Septimus to a psychiatric home. The couple shares a rare moment of joy, but before Bradshaw enters the apartment, Septimus throws himself out the window and is impaled on the fence outside. He would rather die than have the doctor steal his soul. Yikes.

When Clarissa’s party begins, she circulates, making sure to pay attention to every guest – especially the prime minister (um, yeah, we’d do the same). Peter and Sally patiently await some attention from Clarissa as they talk about their memories of Bourton. A late arrival, Sir William Bradshaw, shows up with his wife, who announces that Septimus has killed himself. Clarissa is annoyed that Lady Bradshaw mentioned death at her party, but she is envious of Septimus’ ability to embrace the moment. Finally, she returns to the party and her appearance fills Peter’s heart with joy.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary

How It All Goes Down

When we meet our narrator Huck Finn, he's in Missouri getting "sivilized" ("civilized") by two sisters, an unnamed widow and a woman named Miss Watson. See, Huck Finn came into a bit of money at the end of Tom Sawyer, and now he's supposed to stop being a street urchin and start learning to be a gentleman. But it's hard out there for a street urchin, and he spends most of his time avoiding baths and teaming up with Tom to punk innocent bystanders—like Miss Watson's slave Jim.

When Huck's spidey sense starts a'tingling, he signs over all his money to Judge Thatcher. Just in time: Huck's deadbeat dad shows up and demands the money. Huck's all, "too bad you didn't get here yesterday, dad," and then dad effectively kidnaps Huck and takes him off to live in filthy poverty in a van down by the river. (Only without the "van" part.)

Well, Huck isn't too cool with this, so he (naturally) fakes his own death and hides out on a nearby island, where he meets another runaway: the slave Jim, who's hiding out to avoid being sold down South and separated from his family. After running across a dead body, which Huck doesn't see, they decide to team up and then start out on what just might be the first American road movie, only via the Mississippi River rather than I-90.

Cue a series of wacky hijinks/ life-threatening situations, like:

• Huck pretending to be a girl to get some info
• Accidentally ending up on a wrecked steamship full of thieves
• Being separated after a near-drowning
• Huck being taken in by the wealthy Grangerfords, who are embroiled in a deathly feud with another family
• Joining up with some theater con artists who scam whole townfuls of people
• Pretending to be Tom Sawyer

Meanwhile, Huck keeps wrestling with his conscience: is he helping an innocent man escape slavery, or is he just stealing Miss Watson's property? He decides that helping Jim escape is the right thing to do—even if he goes to "hell" for it—but, unfortunately for Jim, it's not up to Huck. Jim is recaptured, and things quickly go south. Pun intended.

Eventually, Tom shows up and teams with Huck to help Jim escape a hut where he's being held captive. Their elaborate plan goes awry. Tom is shot, and Huck falls asleep while waiting for a doctor. When he wakes up, the situation is out of his hands. Jim is about to be executed, when Tom announces that (1) Jim saved his live, and (2) Miss Watson actually freed Jim in her will when she died two months ago. Hooray!

And to wrap things up just a little more neatly, it turns out that the dead guy from the island was Huck's dad, so that loose plot point is all tied up; plus, Huck still has all the money he found at the end of Tom Sawyer. Time to stick around and get a little of that civilizing he keeps talking about?

Not quite. Instead, Huck heads out west, ready for more adventures.

The Merchant of Venice Summary

How It All Goes Down

The Merchant of Venice opens on a street in Venice, where Antonio, a Venetian merchant, complains of a sadness he can't quite explain. His friends suggest they'd be sad too if they had as much merchandise to worry about as Antonio. Apparently all of his money is tied up in various sea ventures to exotic locales. But Antonio is certain it's not money that's bothering him.

Antonio's friend Bassanio enters the scene, and we learn that Bassanio has been at the forefront of Antonio's mind. Apparently Bassanio just got back from a secret trip to see an heiress named Portia in Belmont. Bassanio financed his trip (and in fact, his entire lifestyle) by borrowing tons of money from Antonio. Portia is beautiful, intelligent, and, most important, rich. If Bassanio could only get together the appearance of some wealth, he would be in a good position to compete with all the other guys vying for Portia's attention. If they marry, he's all set financially. Antonio would be happy to lend Bassanio the money he needs to woo Portia, except, as we know, all of Antonio's money is at sea. The two friends part ways, agreeing that they'll try to raise the funds on Antonio's credit around town.

Meanwhile, even rich heiresses have their troubles. Portia is plagued by suitors from the four corners of the earth but isn't allowed to choose the one she wants. Instead, her father, before his death, devised an unusual test. Three caskets – one gold, one silver, and one lead – are laid out before each suitor, and whoever picks the right one gets the girl. Portia complains about all of the important men who come to see her, as there's something wrong with each of them.

As Portia is trying to figure out how to avoid marrying, Bassanio is trying to figure out how to marry her. He negotiates with the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, asking for 3,000 gold coins (ducats). Bassanio borrows the money on his friend Antonio's credit. Trouble is, Antonio is an anti-Semite (he is prejudiced against Jewish people) and is offensive to Shylock whenever he has the chance. Slyly, Shylock says he'll try out Antonio's method of business by lending him the money interest-free. BUT, this is on the condition that Antonio signs a bond promising that if the debt goes unpaid, Antonio will give Shylock a pound of his own flesh. This seems like a good idea at the time, as Antonio is sure he'll have earned the money from his ships before Shylock's due date.

Before we have time to think about what a crazy idea it is to promise anyone a pound of your flesh, we're back at Belmont learning the rules of the casket game. Choose wrong, and not only do you fail to get Portia, but you cannot marry anyone for the rest of your life. We see suitors fail when they choose the wrong caskets.

Meanwhile, Jessica (Shylock's only child) tells us that living in Shylock's house is pure hell and that she's ashamed to be his daughter. She has decided to elope with Lorenzo and convert to Christianity. Jessica gets her chance to carry out her rebellious scheme when her dad leaves the house to go to have dinner. As soon as he is out the door, Jessica steals off with her lover, Lorenzo, and helps herself to a chunk of Dad's cash.

Bassanio and some of his pals set off for Belmont in hopes that Bassanio will snag the beautiful and rich Portia.

We also learn from some gossipy cats in Venice that Shylock was livid when he learned his daughter ran away, screaming "'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! / Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!" (2.8.2). This is good news for Antonio, who hates Shylock. But Antonio doesn't stay happy for long, as he is too busy recovering from the fact that Bassanio has gone off to woo Portia.

Back in gossipy Venice, we hear that Antonio's ships have been sinking left and right. Shylock shows up, still mad about his daughter's rebellion, but he's excited to hear that he'll get to take a pound of flesh from his enemy Antonio. He explains to the gossipy men that he hates Antonio because Antonio hates him for being Jewish. Shylock then gives a beautiful speech in defense of the humanity of Jews, including the well-known lines, "if you prick us, do we not bleed?" He concludes that a Jew is not unlike a Christian, and a Christian in this situation would seek revenge. Therefore, he will do the same, because the Christians have taught him hatred with their cruelty. Shylock is further angered to hear reports that his daughter is off lavishly spending his money, so he sets up arrangements to have Antonio jailed, cut, and killed.

Back in Belmont, Portia is batting off the men. But she is truly excited by Bassanio. Bassanio impressively chooses the lead casket (correct) and wins Portia and her wealth. Portia is falling all over herself with love for Bassanio when Lorenzo and Jessica arrive with news that Antonio is about to die at Shylock's command. Portia offers to pay off Antonio's debt, and she and Bassanio have a quick (as in shotgun-quick) wedding before she sends Bassanio back to Venice with 20 times the debt owed to Shylock. Portia gives Bassanio a ring and makes him promise never to take it off, which we're sure is going to be significant sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Portia has hatched a plan to cross-dress and pose as a lawyer to argue Antonio's defense at his trial. She tells Lorenzo to look after her house, disguises herself and Nerissa as men, and sets off for Venice in a hurry. Also, Graziano randomly marries Nerissa.

The scene moves to the court in Venice. Everyone has tried to plead with Shylock, but he won't hear reason. He wants justice, and that means having a pound of Antonio's flesh, as promised. It seems there's no hope until a young, effeminate-looking man shows up who happens to be a learned lawyer. He is called Balthazar (a.k.a. Portia).

Portia (as Balthazar) then begins to argue that Shylock should have mercy on Antonio, as mercy is a higher order good than justice. Shylock says he doesn't need mercy, he's fine with just justice, thank you very much. There's no way anyone can get around it – Antonio signed the bond, the Duke won't bend the rules, and Shylock won't relent. Antonio doesn't care if he dies. Bassanio says he wishes he could trade his wife and his life for Antonio's, which does not please his wife, but she doesn't say anything because she's disguised in drag.

Portia (as Balthazar) gets Antonio ready to go under the knife, but she stops just short as Shylock is sharpening his knife. She says the bond entitles Shylock to a pound of flesh, but if he spills a drop of Christian blood, then he'll be guilty of plotting to murder a Venetian Christian, the penalty for which is losing everything he has. Shylock says something like, "Fine, just give me the three-times-the-debt cash you offered me earlier," and Portia replies, "Actually, that offer's not on the table anymore." Then he says, "OK, just give me the 3,000 back," and she returns, "Actually, that's not on the table either."

The slippery downward slope continues until Shylock declares that, fine, he'll just leave, and Portia stops him and says since he conspired to kill a Venetian he actually has to forfeit everything he owns. And beg for his life.

Finally holding the upper hand, Antonio decides that as punishment, Shylock has to sign an agreement saying that when he dies, all his money will go to Jessica and her new Christian husband. Also, Shylock must convert to Christianity. Shylock leaves a broken man.

Portia grabs Nerissa and tries to get home before the men return and find out their wives were the ones in court that day. Antonio and Bassanio try to get Balthazar to accept a gift before he goes, and though Portia (as Balthazar) tries to refuse it, the men press her. She asks for Bassanio's ring (which is really her ring, symbolizing their marriage trust). Bassanio refuses to give it to her, but then Antonio suggests he's whipped and foolish, so Bassanio caves in and gives Balthazar the ring at the last minute.

Finally everyone gets home to Belmont; the women have narrowly arrived before the men. Nerissa launches into a fight with Graziano about the missing ring (as it turns out, she too gave a ring symbolizing marital fidelity), accusing him of giving it to a woman. Portia then lights into Bassanio for the same thing. Portia complains about the men breaking faith for this lawyer guy, and she pledges to sleep with this learned man too, breaking her marriage vows like Bassanio did by giving up her ring.

Antonio has come home to Belmont with them and he feels responsible for the fights. To make up for it he promises his soul as a guarantee that Bassanio will be faithful to Portia. Portia accepts the offer of Antonio's soul and she gives him a ring to give to Bassanio. Turns out it's the original ring. Portia explains that she and Nerissa were the young lawyer and the clerk who rescued Antonio from Shylock. Also, she's got a letter that says some of Antonio's ships have come home with cash after all. The play ends with happiness for most of the characters in the play – all except Shylock.

The Great Gatsby Summary

How It All Goes Down

Our narrator, Nick Carraway, begins the book by giving us some advice of his father's about not criticizing others. (But—but what if they're lying, possibly sociopathic murderers?) And now it's time to meet our cast of characters: Nick's second cousin once removed Daisy Buchanan; her large and aggressive husband, Tom Buchanan; and Jordan Baker. Jordan's a girl, and she quickly becomes a romantic interest for our narrator. Probably because she's the only girl around who isn't his cousin.

While the Buchanans live on the fashionable East Egg (we're talking Long Island, NY in the 1920's, by the way), Nick lives on the less-elite but not-too-shabby West Egg, which sits across the bay from its twin town. We (and Nick) are soon fascinated by a certain Mr. Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and mysterious man who owns a huge mansion next door to Nick and spends a good chunk of his evenings standing on his lawn and looking at an equally mysterious green light across the bay. Ookay.

Tom takes Nick to the city to show off his mistress, a woman named Myrtle Wilson who is, of course, married. Myrtle's husband, George, is a passive, working class man who owns an auto garage and is oblivious to his wife's extramarital activities. Nick, who has some good old-fashioned values from his childhood growing up in the "Middle West," is none too impressed by Tom.

Back on West Egg, this Gatsby fellow has been throwing absolutely killer parties, where everyone and his mother can come and get wasted and try to figure out how Gatsby got so rich. Nick meets and warily befriends the mystery man at one of his huge Saturday night affairs. He also begins spending time with Jordan, who turns out to be loveable in all her cynical practicality.

Moving along, Gatsby introduces Nick to his "business partner," Meyer Wolfsheim. Hm. This is starting to sound fishy. Next, Gatsby reveals to Nick (via Jordan, in the middle school phone-tag kind of way) that he and Daisy had a love thing before he went away to the war and she married Tom, after a serious episode of cold feet that involved whisky and a bath tub. Gatsby wants Daisy back, and he enlists Nick to help him stage an "accidental" reuniting.

Nick executes the plan; Gatsby and Daisy are reunited and start an affair. Everything continues swimmingly until Tom meets Gatsby, doesn't like him, and begins investigating his affairs. Nick, meanwhile, knows all about it: Gatsby grew up in a poor, uneducated family until he met the wealthy and elderly Dan Cody, who took him in as a companion and taught him how to act rich. But Dan isn't the one who left him the money.

The big scene goes down in the city, when Tom has it out with Gatsby over who gets to be with Daisy; in short, Gatsby is outed as a bootlegger and Daisy is unable to leave her husband. Everyone drives home, probably in a really bad mood, and Tom's mistress, Myrtle, is struck and killed by Gatsby's car (in which Gatsby and Daisy are riding). Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy was driving, but that he's going to take the blame for it. Tom, meanwhile, feeds Gatsby to the wolves—or at least the ticked-off husband—by telling Myrtle's husband George where to find him. Bang-bang, and George Wilson and Gatsby are both dead.

Daisy and Tom take off, leaving their mess behind. Nick, who by now has had just about enough of these people, ends things off with Jordan in a way that's about one step up from breaking up via text message. He arranges Gatsby's funeral, which is very sparsely attended—although Gatsby's dad does show up with some more info about his past. Standing on Gatsby's lawn and looking at the green light (which, BTW, turned out to be the light in front of Daisy's house across the bay), Nick concludes that nostalgia just ends up forcing us constantly back into the past.

A Farewell to Arms Summary

How It All Goes Down

A Farewell to Arms is narrated by an American man driving ambulances for the Red Cross in Italy during World War I. We don’t get his full name until Book Two of the novel. During Book One he’s known as Mr. Henry, or "Tenente" (Lieutenant).

You’ll notice that Mr. Henry narrates his story in the past tense; the story is a memory of the events being described. You might find yourself wondering where he is now, what he’s doing, how old he was during the events he recounts, and how old he is when he recounts them. The novel never reveals this information, nor offers any concrete details which might allow us to figure it out, so we can only imagine and speculate. We don’t even know how many years have passed since the events occurred. (Some critics claim it’s been at least six years – see the "Character Analysis" for Count Greffi.)

The novel doesn’t even give us the years during which it occurs. Only by looking up World War I battles mentioned in the text and carefully examining other given information do we understand that it’s set between 1916 and 1918. So if you’re confused, don’t worry! It’s normal, and we are here to help. Now, on with the summary!

In Book One, Mr. Henry meets Catherine Barkley, an English V.A.D nurse in Gorizia, Italy, where the Red Cross hospital he works for is located. They briefly begin a romantic relationship, but when Mr. Henry is wounded during a battle, he’s sent to a hospital in Milan.

In Book Two, Mr. Henry arrives at the American hospital in Milan, and we soon learn that his first name is Frederic and his last name is Henry. Catherine arrives promptly, and when Frederic sees her, he realizes he loves her. They begin a beautiful love affair over the course of about three months, while Frederic recovers from his injury and drinks lots and lots.

When Catherine tells Frederic she’s three months pregnant, they plan to vacation for six weeks while he completes his convalescent leave. But when Miss Van Campen, the head of the hospital, gets fed up with his drinking and brash tone, she revokes his leave and Frederic is ordered back to Gorizia. On Frederic’s last night in Milan, he and Catherine get a hotel room together, and spend a few hours there, eating, drinking, and talking. Then Frederic catches the midnight train. Catherine and Frederic don’t know if they will ever see each other again.

In Book Three, Frederic goes back to Gorizia and becomes involved in the Italian retreat from Caporetto. The ambulances Frederic and his crew are driving get stuck in the mud, and they eventually have to abandon them. Two soldiers had been riding with Frederic and his crew, and when they refuse to help free the vehicles from the mud, Frederic shoots at them, killing one. According to information we received in Book Two, this is the first time Frederic has killed a man. When it looks like he must either escape or be killed, Frederic flees from the retreat, and deserts his post in the army.

In Book Four, Frederic goes back to Milan to look for Catherine. He learns she is in Stresa (a town in Italy). After borrowing some civilian clothes from a friend, he heads in that direction. Miraculously, he finds Catherine and they are reunited!

Catherine and Frederic spend a few days together happily. Then, in the middle of the night, they learn that Frederic will be arrested for desertion in the morning. They make a bold and daring escape, by rowboat, to nearby Switzerland. They manage to convince the Swiss authorities that they are in Switzerland for the "winter sport," and are allowed to live in Switzerland.

In Book Five, Frederic and Catherine rent a mountainside cottage and enjoy themselves until a month before the baby is due. Then they move to a hotel to be closer to the hospital. Catherine has an awful labor and undergoes a Cesarean operation. The baby is born dead, or dies shortly after its birth. Catherine dies soon after, of multiple hemorrhages. Frederic walks back to the hotel in the rain.

Moby-Dick Summary

How It All Goes Down

Our intrepid narrator, a former schoolteacher famously called Ishmael, signs up as sailor on a whaling voyage to cure a bout of depression. On his way to find a ship in Nantucket, he meets Queequeg, a heavily tattooed South Sea Island harpooneer just returned from his latest whaling trip. Ishmael and Queequeg become best buds and roommates almost immediately. Together, they sign up for a voyage on thePequod, which is just about to start on a three-year expedition to huntsperm whales.

On board the Pequod, Ishmael meets the mates − honest Starbuck, jolly Stubb, and fierce Flask − and the other harpooneers, Tashtego and Daggoo. The ship’s commander, Captain Ahab, remains secluded in his cabin and never shows himself to the crew. The mates organize the beginning of the voyage as though there were no captain.

Just when Ishmael’s curiosity about Ahab has reached a fever pitch, Ahab starts appearing on deck – and we find out that he’s missing one leg. When Starbuck asks if it was Moby Dick, the famous White Whale, that took off his leg, Ahab admits that it was and forces the entire crew to swear that they will help him hunt Moby Dick to the ends of the earth and take revenge for his injury. They all swear.

After this strange incident, things settle into a routine on board the good ship Pequod. While they’re always on the lookout for Moby Dick, the crew has a job to do: hunting sperm whales, butchering them, and harvesting the sperm oil that they store in huge barrels in the hold.

Ishmael takes advantage of this lull in plot advancement to give the reader lots of contemporary background information about whale biology, the whaling industry, and sea voyages. The Pequodencounters other ships, which tell them the latest news about the White Whale. Oh yeah, and everyone discovers that Ahab has secretly smuggled an extra boat crew on board (led by a mysterious, demonic harpooneer named Fedallah) to help Ahab do battle with Moby Dick once they do find him.

Over the course of more than a year, the ship travels across the Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, through the Indian Ocean, among the islands of southeast Asia, into the Sea of Japan, and finally to the equator in the Pacific Ocean – Moby Dick’s home turf.

Despite first mate Starbuck’s misgivings and a variety of bad omens (e.g., all the navigational instruments break, a typhoon tries to push the ship backwards, and the Pequod encounters other ships that have lost crewmembers to Moby Dick’s wrath), Ahab insists on continuing to pursue his single-minded revenge quest. In a parody of the Christian ceremony of baptism, he goes so far as to dip his specially forged harpoon in human blood– just so that he’ll have the perfect weapon with which to kill Moby Dick.

Finally, just when we think the novel’s going to end without ever seeing this famous White Whale, Ahab sights him and the chase is on. For three days, Ahab pursues Moby Dick, sending whaling boat after whaling boat after him – only to see each one wrecked by the indomitable whale. Finally, at the end of the third day, the White Whale attacks the ship itself, and the Pequod goes down with all hands.

Even while his ship is sinking, Ahab, in his whaling boat, throws his harpoon at Moby Dick one last time. He misses, catching himself around the neck with the rope and causing his own drowning/strangling death.

The only survivor of the destruction is Ishmael, who lives to tell the tale because he’s clinging to the coffin built for his pal Queequeg when the harpooneer seemed likely to die of a fever.

Pride and Prejudice Summary

How It All Goes Down

Mrs. Bennet has five daughters and a big problem: none of them are married, there isn't much fortune to go around, and—thanks to a quirk of English property law—they'll all be kicked out of their house when Mr. Bennet dies. Enter Mr. Bingley, a rich, single man who moves into their neighborhood and takes a liking to the eldest Miss Bennet, Jane.

But don't save the date quite yet: Mr. Bingley might be easygoing and pleasant, but his sisters are catty snobs and his controlling friend Mr. Darcy isn't about to let Mr. Bingley marry beneath him. When they all meet up at a local ball, Mr. Darcy lets everyone around him know just how dumb and boring he finds the whole thing—including our new BFF and protagonist, the second Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.

It's clear to everyone that Mr. Bingley is falling in love with Jane, but Jane keeps her feelings on the down low, against the advice of Lizzy's good friend Charlotte Lucas. And, surprising no one, Mr. Darcy finds himself strangely attracted to Lizzy. The two get even more opportunities to snip at each other when Lizzy goes to Mr. Bingley's house to nurse her sister, who's gotten sick on a wet horseback ride over for dinner.

And now it's time to meet Bachelor #3: Mr. Collins. As Mr. Bennet's closest male relative, Mr. Collins will inherit the estate after Mr. Bennet's death. Mr. Collins has decided that the nice thing to do is to marry one of the Bennet girls in order to preserve their home. Unfortunately, he's a complete fool and Lizzy hates him on sight. Also unfortunately, he sets his sights on her.

As for the two youngest Bennet sisters, the militia has arrived in town and they're ready to throw themselves at any military officers who wander their way—like Mr. Wickham, who rapidly befriends Elizabeth and tells her a sob story about how Mr. Darcy totally ruined his life, which Elizabeth is happy to believe. Oh, and Mr. Collins's boss, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, just so happens to be Mr. Darcy's aunt. Small world!

Not too long after this, all the Bennet girls (including middle sister Mary, who's too wrapped up in books to notice boys) head to a ball at Netherfield (a.k.a. Mr. Bingley's mansion). It's kind of awful. Darcy, of all people, asks Elizabeth to dance, and Lizzy's entire family is unbearably embarrassing—like her mom loudly announcing that they all expect Bingley to marry Jane.

But it gets worse when Mr. Collins proposes the next morning. Elizabeth refuses, obviously, but hold your pity: Charlotte Lucas shows up to "help out," by which we mean "get Collins to propose to her instead." It works, which is good news for the 27-year-old Charlotte, who's too poor and plain to expect anything better; but bad news for Elizabeth, who can't believe that her friend would actually marry the guy—even when Charlotte explains that she's really out of options, here.

And then more bad news arrives: Jane gets a letter from Miss Bingley basically breaking up with her on her brother's behalf. Jane is super bummed, and she goes to stay with her aunt and uncle in London to get over it (and just maybe see Bingley, who's off to the big city). Elizabeth travels too: she's off to visit the newly married Charlotte, who seems to be holding up well. One problem: Mr. Darcy is on his way to visit his aunt, who's also, you might remember, Mr. Collins's boss.

Darcy almost acts like he's glad to see Lizzy, and even comes to visit her at Charlotte's house, but Lizzy is not having it: she learns from Mr. Darcy's friend that Bingley was going to propose to Jane until Darcy intervened. And that's exactly the moment Darcy chooses to propose. Can you guess how it goes?

Not well. During the proposal, mixed in with Darcy's "I love you" are some "I am so superior to you" comments, which, not surprisingly, don't go over so well. Elizabeth has some choice things to say to him, and the next day he hands her a letter with the full story about Wickham (he's a liar, a gambler, and he tried to elope with Darcy's underage sister) and Jane (Darcy was convinced Jane was just a gold-digger). Cue emotional transformation.

When Lizzy gets him, she finds that Lydia, the youngest of the Bennet girls, has been invited to follow the officers to their next station in Brighton. Elizabeth thinks this is a Very Bad Idea, but Mr. Bennet overrules her. Big mistake, as we'll find out soon.

But first, it's time for Elizabeth to accompany her aunt and uncle on a trip to Derbyshire, which, incidentally, is where Mr. Darcy lives. Uh-oh! Oh, but he's out of town. Phew. They visit his estate (Pemberley) as tourists—you can do that kind of thing in England—and Lizzy is impressed. Darcy's housekeeper also has nothing but compliments for her master. Weird, right? It gets weirder when they run into Darcy who's home early, and he's actually polite and friendly.

Before we can start practicing our wedding toasts, disaster strikes: Elizabeth learns that Lydia has run off with Wickham. This scandal could ruin the family, so Elizabeth's uncle and father try to track the renegade couple down. Elizabeth's uncle saves the day and brings the two young 'uns back as a properly married (and unapologetic) couple. When Lydia lets slip that Darcy was at her wedding, Elizabeth realizes that there's more to the story and writes to her aunt for more information.

Here's the full story: Darcy saved the Bennet family's honor. He tracked down the couple and paid off Wickham's massive debts in exchange for Wickham marrying Lydia. Why would he possibly do that? Well, we have some ideas—but we don't get to find out right away. First, Bingley comes back and finally proposes to Jane. And then, Lady Catherine visits Longbourn to strong-arm Elizabeth into rejecting any proposal from Darcy, which obviously doesn't work.

When Lizzy and Darcy finally get some alone time on a walk, we get the moment we've all been waiting for: they clear up all their past misunderstandings, agree to get married, and then make out in the rain. (Oh wait, that was the movie version.)

And they all live happily ever after. More or less.