Ordinary People: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Conrad tries to keep calm as he takes a pop quiz in trigonometry class. Looking around the room, he notices Suzanne Mosely, a girl he'd known since junior high school. She, too, is struggling with the quiz. At the end of the period Conrad sees Suzanne crying in the hallway. He approaches her and tries to ease her worries about the quiz, offering her to help her study. Suzanne is suspicious of his offer and refuses. As she walks away, he hears Stillman's voice calling out to him. Later, Stillman and Van Buren tease him about the encounter at swim practice, asking if Mosely and Conrad plan to go out on a date that weekend.

In bed, Conrad rehashes the day's events in his mind. The mild embarrassment of Suzanne's refusal returns, but he remembers something else too—his math teacher, Mr. Simmons, had been watching him intently throughout the quiz. Conrad is suddenly reminded of a hazy string of events from the previous year, just before his suicide attempt: Mr. Simmons noticing Conrad's deepening depression, his homeroom teacher's probing questions, him lying motionless in bed as his family spent Christmas vacation at the beach.

Conrad dreams he is walking alone on a bright moonlit beach. Ahead of him he sees a large metal tunnel, which he enters. As he moves further and further into the tunnel the walls close in, until he is trapped in a tiny space on hands and knees. He tries to escape from the small dark space, but is trapped and thrown into a panic. He screams and is jolted awake.

Conrad discusses the dream with Dr. Berger at his next therapy session. In his typically casual way Berger downplays the dream at first, but eventually admits that he finds it fascinating. He suspects that Conrad is extremely anxious about something. He's right; Conrad confirms that he no longer enjoys swimming. His skills are waning, he's annoyed with his teammates, and he considers Salan insensitive to his mental issues. Berger urges Conrad to solve his problem in a way that feels right, even if it looks ridiculous to everyone around him. True to form, Conrad mocks the doctor's nebulous advice.