The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Jake Blount wakes up in the middle of the afternoon confused by his strange surroundings—but comforted by the sight of John Singer sitting at a chessboard in the corner of the room. Memories of the night before slowly begin coming back to Jake as he drinks some water and dresses himself. At the sight of his suitcase, he recalls even more. Singer writes Jake a note explaining that he is deaf and mute.

Singer produces a tin of snacks—crackers, cheese, and oranges—and shares it with Jake. As the two men sip coffee, Jake asks Singer if he’s the only deaf man in town—and if he finds being the only one lonesome. Singer responds with an ambiguous shake of the head. Jake stands to leave, asking if he can keep his suitcase under Singer’s bed for a few days. Singer writes a note offering to put a mattress on the floor for Jake for a few days, but Jake refuses, explaining that he already has a place to stay. As Jake gets ready to leave, Singer hands him his dirty overalls from the night before.

Jake heads downstairs, asking a tomboyish girl sitting on the stairs if she knows where he can throw away his dirty overalls. Mick leads him to an alley at the back of the house, where two black men are sitting on the steps. Upon seeing them, Mick calls through the kitchen window to Portia, telling her that Highboy and Willie are outside waiting for her. Jake throws his overalls away, and Portia comes outside. Jake asks how to get to Main Street, and Portia tells him to follow her, Highboy, and Willie there. He follows them down the road for a while, listening as they make their plans for the evening—Portia wants to go to church and then visit her father.

Jake picks up a paper from the fruit and candy store on Main Street and looks through the Help-Wanted ads. He finds an ad for a mechanic to work at an amusement park called the Sunny Dixie Show, and makes a mental note to go down and apply for the job. Jake decides to stop in at the New York Café and see Biff Brannon. He’s embarrassed to confront the man, but knows he has to pay his tab. Inside, Jake asks Biff how much he owes him, and Biff replies that Jake is in the hole for 20 dollars. Jake promises Biff that he’ll pay him back in time. Jake tells Biff he’s planning on looking for work at Sunny Dixie, and Biff tells Jake that it’d be a good idea to do so.

Jake walks through the streets of town, passing through poor mill districts on his way to the abandoned lot where the Sunny Dixie park is set up. Upon arriving, he finds the manager and asks about the available job. The manager, Patterson, asks what Jake’s experience as a mechanic is, and Jake tells him about jobs he’s had in the past. Patterson shows Jake to the flying-jinny—another term for a kind of carousel—and tells him that if he takes the job, he’ll be responsible not just for the maintenance of the machine but for controlling the crowds who try to sneak on without tickets. Patterson tells Jake that he needs to keep a close eye on black customers especially. Jake accepts the demands of the job, and Patterson tells him he’ll start work tomorrow afternoon.

Jake wanders through the streets of town talking to himself. He feels lonesome, and longs for the company of John Singer—a fact he finds odd, considering Singer can’t really talk back to him. Jake makes his way home through a poor mill neighborhood. He approaches some men sitting on the porch of a house and tells them he wants to share the “Gospel” with them. The men tell Jake to go tell his Gospel at a revival tent, but Jake insists he has a different kind of news to share. Jake begins venting to the mill workers about the evils and injustices of capitalism, asking them if they’re angry to be working for the “bastard” billionaires who own the mills and pay workers paltry sums. The men laugh at Jake. Jake curses them and continues walking on. 

Jake returns to the boarding house to find Singer sitting at his chessboard. Jake sits down with Singer and tells him that in spite of a hard afternoon, he’s managed to secure a job. Singer brings out some wine and two glasses from his closet, and the men share a drink. The alcohol loosens Jake up, and he begins talking to Singer about himself. He tells Singer that while he’s an educated man, studying only makes him mad. He’s amassed a lot of knowledge but can’t make others understand the things he’s learned. All that’s left for him to do, he feels, is “get drunk.”

Singer, who has been eyeing Jake with “patient interest,” takes out his pad and pen and writes a note. He passes it across the table to Jake. Jake looks at the note, which asks if he is a Democrat or a Republican, but he has become so drunk and angry that he can barely absorb the words. Jake crumples the note in his hand, looks at Singer, and tells him that he’s one of the only people who understands him. Later that night, after the men have polished off the rest of the wine, Singer unrolls a mattress on the floor. Jake lies down on it and falls asleep almost instantly.