After Darkness: Chapter 8: Loveday, 1942 Summary & Analysis

One day, Dr. Ibaraki encounters a group of men playing a makeshift game of baseball in the camp. Ibaraki remembers how much he loved baseball as a child and young man, reflecting that he hasn’t picked up a bat in 10 years. The internees encourage him to play, showing him their makeshift ball (a rock covered in fabric strips) and bat (a tree branch). The men playing baseball remind Ibaraki of some divers he knew in Broome—specifically, of their strong community and ease together. Ibaraki agrees to hit one ball and laughs as he immediately gets an out.

One night, as Dr. Ibaraki walks back to the compound after his shift at the infirmary, Johnny Chang approaches him. Johnny tells Ibaraki that the Australian men in the camp want to play baseball too, but no one else wants to join their team or play with them. Ibaraki internally reflects that, if the Australian-born and mixed-race internees feel like outcasts, it’s their own fault due to their perceived clique and their friendliness with the officers. Johnny asks Ibaraki to suggest a camp-wide baseball competition to Mayor Mori. When Ibaraki suggests that he would have more luck approaching Mr. Yamada first, the two men get into a fight over Yamada’s alleged attack on Stan. Johnny tells Dr. Ibaraki that he used to like him in Broome but has realized in the camp that he is a coward.

Sometime after Dr. Ibaraki’s encounter with Johnny Chang, he has a nightmare. In the dream, Dr. Ibaraki tries to stop his mother (who turns into Kayoko) from going down a long hallway into the laboratory where he used to work. Mr. Yamada wakes Dr. Ibaraki and tells him that an officer needs him at the infirmary.

Officer McCubbin takes Dr. Ibaraki to the infirmary. On the walk, he tells Ibaraki that Stanley Suzuki tried to kill himself by slashing both of his wrists. He also tells Dr. Ibaraki that Stan’s is the third suicide attempt that year by a Japanese internee. Dr. Ibaraki reflects that he is unfamiliar with treating a suicide patient and that failed suicide attempts in Japan were usually handled privately rather than in hospital. McCubbin and Ibaraki get to know each other on the walk to the infirmary. When they arrive at the infirmary, Johnny Chang is standing over Stan’s bed. He blames Ibaraki for Stan’s suicide attempt, saying that Stan hasn’t been the same since Ibaraki accused him of lying about Mr. Yamada. After they transfer Stan to the hospital in town, Dr. Ibaraki lies awake thinking of Johnny’s comments.

As the weather gets colder, materials to build sleeping huts finally arrive at the camp. Because the project requires many men, Dr. Ibaraki must train new orderlies at the hospital. Though this keeps him busy, he cannot stop thinking about Stanley Suzuki and the possibility that he himself is to blame for Stan’s suicide attempt. He begins to internally question Mr. Yamada, wondering if he really attacked Stan. Ibaraki resolves to observe Mr. Yamada’s reaction to discussion of Stan and decide on his innocence for himself. That night, he dreams that he is a diver searching for oysters, unable to find them.

The next afternoon, Dr. Ibaraki walks into a news committee meeting in the mess hall. He listens to the latest news about the Japanese war effort and is surprised at their losses. The committee decides that the Australian media is lying about these losses and resolves to withhold the news from the camp. The committee then discusses the plan for hut building. After that, discussion turns to Stanley Suzuki’s suicide attempt and the committee asks Dr. Ibaraki to speak. He tells the committee about the suicide attempt and mentions the beating, noticing Mr. Yamada’s face change. The committee dismisses the issue.

Dr. Ibaraki pitches the idea of a baseball competition. Though the committee is interested, they worry that Major Locke will not allow them to move between camps. They decide to start a competition within their camp and, if it goes well, move towards a competition between camps. Dr. Ibaraki looks at Mr. Yamada and notices that his expression has gone back to normal.