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Chapter 28: Shoshanna Weber
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Restart, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity, Memory, and Responsibility
Reputation vs. Reality
Masculinity
Social Hierarchies and Bullying
Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
The police arrest Chase, and he stays out of school until his appearance in juvenile court. While he waits, he stews about what everyone must think of the kid who stole from war hero Mr. Solway and bitterly regrets having wronged “the person [he] respect[s] more than anybody.” He thinks Mr. Solway will never want to interact with him again—and he wishes he didn’t have to interact with himself. Though Brendan, Shoshanna, Aaron, and Bear call Chase’s house, Tina won’t let them speak to Chase. Chase is fine with that. He can’t bear Shoshanna’s criticisms, and he doesn’t want Aaron and Bear’s thanks for taking all the blame, since as their former leader in crime he feels responsible. He thinks he might end up in juvenile detention and wonders whether he was a “delinquent” influence on Aaron and Bear.
This passage makes clear that Chase has concealed Aaron and Bear’s involvement in his crime not because he’s still loyal to them but because—full of self-loathing—he believes he bears the most responsibility. He even wonders whether his influence turned Aaron and Bear into “delinquent[s],” though given Aaron and Bear’s behavior toward the video-club kids and the assisted living facility residents, the two boys seem perfectly capable of cruelty and bullying on their own.
Themes
Tina continues to support Chase, and Johnny visits home to be with them during the trial—but that just makes Chase feel bad, like he’s ruining Johnny’s time at college. Chase also spends time with Frank, Corinne, and Helene. Oddly, Corinne is emotionally supportive and positive about “the kind of person” Chase is. When Chase tries to apologize for how he treated her and Helene before his accident, Corinne dismisses it, implying that the present is more important. Moreover, because Helene is too young to understand Chase’s problems, Chase finds some solace in playing dolls with her.
Johnny comes home from college to support Chase, suggesting that Johnny is a kind, generous, mature person. Meanwhile, Corinne now believes in “the kind of person” Chase is, even though she used to dislike him on Helene’s behalf—which shows that the adults who have had the opportunity to observe Chase recognize the positive changes he’s made.
Themes
One day, Chase is helping Helene play with her dolls when he notices Frank filming them on his phone. Chase expresses confusion, given Frank’s previous slighting comments about Chase befriending a little girl. Frank says that if they show the video in court, it will prove to the judge that Chase is a good brother and help him get back to football.
Up to this point, Frank has seemed like a one-dimensional character: a macho man unhealthily fixated on his son’s middle-school football career and dismissive of anything “feminine.” This scene suggests that Frank at least recognizes that Chase has become a better brother to Helene by doing “feminine” things with her, even if Frank only wants to use that fact to get Chase out of legal trouble.
Themes
Chase comments that Frank probably thinks he’s stupid for returning Mr. Solway’s Medal of Honor. Frank disagrees: while it would have been smarter for Chase to return the medal anonymously, Chase didn’t “earn” it, and it mattered to Mr. Solway—so Chase “did the right thing.” Chase questions whether the medal mattered to Mr. Solway, who can’t remember earning it any more than Chase can remember his own past. Frank points out that past events exist whether you can remember them or not.
While Frank has previously enabled Chase’s bad behavior—and even praised Chase for hitting Joel in the face—he admits here that Chase shouldn’t have taken something he didn’t “earn” and so “did the right thing” by giving back Mr. Solway’s medal. Despite Frank’s monomaniacal machismo, then, he does have some moral standards: he thinks people should have to earn the kind of excellent reputations symbolized by the Medal of Honor rather than getting them through dishonest means. He also seems to believe that because the past objectively exists whether people remember it or not, you should hold yourself responsible even for past actions you’ve forgotten.
Themes
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Frank goes on to say that though he “loved” Chase’s pre-accident self, he respects Chase’s new personality and recognizes that it makes certain things possible, like Chase’s friendship with Helene, which would never have been possible before. Chase says he thought Frank believed “that kind of stuff [was a] weakness.” Frank, blushing, says that he’s come to recognize the character it took for Chase to shield Aaron and Bear from blame, as well as to make restitutions to Mr. Solway and Joel. Chase has done some idiotic things, but everybody does, on occasion; Chase shouldn’t let that “cost [him] the game.” To Chase’s surprise, he realizes that Frank is proud of him.
When Chase reminds Frank that he used to think of Chase’s “girly” playing with Helene as a “weakness,” Frank blushes—an embarrassed reaction suggesting he knows how immature his past criticisms of Chase and Helene’s burgeoning friendship were. Frank’s admission that it took grit for Chase to take the blame and make amends for his past behavior, meanwhile, shows that he is coming to value Chase’s new strength of character as well as his physical strength and athleticism—though he still tends to talk about character in terms of sports, like how he tells Chase not to let his mistakes “cost [him] the game.” Unexpectedly, then, Chase gets the approval from Frank that he's always wanted by acting like his own person, not like a copy of Frank.
Themes
When Chase enters juvenile court, he has a sudden flashback to entering it with Aaron and Bear the last time. He remembered being furious that he, a great sports star, was being held to account for his behavior. Now he’s so conscious of his own guilt that he doesn’t even want to defend himself—an attitude that irritates his lawyer, Mr. Landau. Walking into the courtroom with Tina and Frank, Chase sees that a lot of people have come to the hearing: the football coach and some players, including Joey; Shoshanna, Joel, and their parents; Ms. DeLeo and some teachers. Chase assumes that they’ve come to gloat. He’s miserably shocked at how much they hate him.
Whereas Chase previously felt that he—a high-status athlete—shouldn’t face consequences, now he hates himself and believes that everyone in the court hates him too. The contrast between Chase’s past and present attitude shows how much he has changed for the better since his accident.
Themes
The judge enters, rereads Chase’s file, and asks what he has to say in his own defense. Chase says that he has no defense: he stole Mr. Solway’s medal, even if he can’t remember the crime and would never commit it now. The judge says that that admission should make the hearing “easier, if not any more pleasant.”
Once again, Chase is taking responsibility for his past actions and accepting that he earned his bad reputation (represented by the theft of the medal), showing how much he has grown since he committed the theft.
Themes
Mr. Landau asks to call character witnesses in Chase’s defense. On the stand, Tina explains how much Chase has changed since his accident. Then Frank suggests that Chase has improved so much as a person that it makes Frank wish he’d had a traumatic accident at Chase’s age; this testimony shocks Chase, who thought Frank only liked Chase insofar as Chase took after Frank. Afterward, Chase’s original doctor gives his expert opinion that Chase’s accident really was severe enough to cause both amnesia and a “personality change,” though neuroscience is still mysterious enough that he can’t say whether the change will be permanent.
Frank’s claim that he wishes he’d had a personality-altering head injury like Chase’s is humorous. Yet it makes clear that Frank not only recognizes the improvements in Chase’s personality but, as a result, is coming to realize that his own hyper-macho, bully-enabling personality could also use some improvement. Ironically, Chase has been a better role model for his father Frank than Frank has been for Chase. Meanwhile, the doctor suggests that Chase’s “personality change” is due to physical trauma—but it seems possible that amnesiac Chase simply forgot the negative influences that shaped his bully identity, allowing his better characteristics to surface.
Themes
When Shoshanna takes the stand, Chase assumes she’ll criticize him harshly and asks Mr. Landau to stop her. She testifies that Chase has behaved badly in the past and is guilty of the crime in question—but he’s trying to improve and, even though she’s been his harshest critic, she firmly believes that he’ll “be a good person” in the future. The judge thanks Shoshanna but points out that the issue is Chase stealing the Medal of Honor, not his future character. He asks whether anyone else wants to speak in Chase’s defense. Everyone stands: teachers, video club members, football players—and Joel and his parents. Chase, shocked, tears up.
At this point, Shoshanna and other people who interact with Chase in regular life care more about who he is now and whether he’ll “be a good person” going forward than about what he’s done in the past. By contrast, the judge, who represents the justice system cares primarily about the bad things Chase has done in the past—about his well-earned reputation, represented by the stolen Medal of Honor. This contrast implicitly criticizes a justice system focused more on past guilty acts than on the guilty party’s present character and future rehabilitation.
Themes
The judge acknowledges that Chase seems to have changed, but he asks whether Chase can assure him that he’s really a distinct entity from the thief of Mr. Solway’s medal. Chase doesn’t believe that his past and present selves are entirely “separate.” He knows he could lie to the judge and save himself, but that’s “what the old Chase would do.” Instead, he says that he doesn’t feel like the person he used to be and doesn’t want to act like that person, but he can’t swear that the old Chase has been annihilated.
Before showing Chase leniency, the judge demands assurances that amnesiac Chase is a “separate” person from the boy who stole the medal. This demand suggests that the judge doesn’t believe in rehabilitation: he doesn’t want to hear that Chase has changed over time but that he’s a brand-new person, the Chase who committed the theft having effectively disappeared due to head trauma. Though Chase lied to Dr. Fitzwallace earlier to protect himself from punishment, he refuses to do that again because it’s “what the old Chase would do.” Thus, by refusing to claim that the “old Chase” is dead forever, amnesiac Chase ironically proves that he really has grown and changed for the better since his accident—the bad reputation that the theft of the medal symbolizes no longer represents who he really is.
Themes
The judge sighs, says Chase has “left [him] no choice,” and is about to pronounce a sentence—when Mr. Solway busts into the courtroom, using his walker and wearing his Medal of Honor. He announces that he has his medal back, so the case should be over. When the judge says that a happy ending doesn’t wipe away a crime, Mr. Solway claims no crime occurred: he lent Chase the medal. When Chase protests, Mr. Solway tells him that he has amnesia, so his account is less credible than Mr. Solway’s. When the judge implies that Mr. Solway might not be telling the truth, Mr. Solway insists that, speaking truthfully, Chase is a “good kid” whom he’d trust with his medal.
Mr. Solway wears his Medal of Honor when he comes to Chase’s defense. Implicitly, he wears the medal not only to show that Chase righted the wrong relevant to the case but also to bolster his own testimony: he's a hero, so the judge should listen to him. Though Mr. Solway doesn’t believe that his own reputation as a hero is accurate, he doesn’t believe that Chase’s reputation as a troublemaker is accurate anymore either—so he uses his own inaccurate reputation (war hero) to give Chase a more accurate one: “good kid.”
Themes
When Mr. Landau claims that Mr. Solway’s testimony is cause for “reasonable doubt,” the judge laughs mockingly—but he decides to dismiss the charges, warning Chase not to “prove [him] wrong.” The whole courtroom celebrates. The football players in attendance hoist Chase onto their shoulders and parade him around, which triggers a flashback to their championship win the previous year. Once they put him down, Chase—feeling tremendously grateful—thanks everyone and hugs several people, including Shoshanna, which causes Joel to laugh at them and Shoshanna to jump away blushing. Before she leaves, she too tells Chase not to “prove [her] wrong.”
The judge’s laughter suggests that he doesn’t believe Mr. Solway’s story about lending Chase the medal at all—but he may be unwilling to call an elderly war hero a liar. Thus, Mr. Solway’s reputation saves Chase. Yet the judge and Shoshanna both warn Chase not to “prove [them] wrong” indicating that Chase isn’t fully absolved of his past behavior: he needs to keep taking responsibility for his actions and improving himself to deserve his second chance. Chase’s flashback to the football championship, meanwhile, suggests that his moral victory in the courtroom—refusing to lie and getting a second chance—is as valuable as a more conventional, high-status success like winning a state championship.
Themes
Chase walks to Mr. Solway, who tells him that he almost “blew it.” When Chase insists that Mr. Solway never lent him the medal, Mr. Solway retorts that since he’s elderly and Chase has amnesia, no one can know for sure—and besides, he “would have” lent Chase the medal. When Chase thanks him shakily, Mr. Solway suggests he should thank Corinne instead. Chase spots Corinne near the doorway with Helene, holding the keys to her van. Contemplating all the support he’s received, Chase decides that his accident was “the best thing that ever happened” to him.
The novel heavily implies that Mr. Solway did not lend Chase the medal; Chase really stole it. Nevertheless, Mr. Solway’s insistence that he “would have” lent Chase the medal shows the depth of their friendship, which in turn illustrates how people can gain meaningful relationships when they make connections outside of their usual social sphere. The revelation that Corinne drove Mr. Solway to court to testify on Chase’s behalf, meanwhile, emphasizes that Corinne and Helene have forgiven Chase for his past bullying. Thus, the accident is “the best thing that ever happened” to Chase not only because it made him a better person and gave him new friendships but also because it improved his family relationships.
Themes
