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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Leavers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Identity and Belonging
Migration, Change, and Happiness
Racism, Cultural Insensitivity, and Implicit Bias
Self-Deception and Rationalization
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations
Summary
Analysis
Ko resumes Daniel’s story, explaining that he calls the number Vivian gave him for Leon and reaches him on the first attempt. Leon is excited to hear from him and says he didn’t know Vivian gave him away to a foster family until he’d “been in China for a long time.” He also tells him that he spoke with Polly on the phone seven years ago, confirming that she went to China after leaving New York. When Daniel asks if Polly ever went to Florida, Leon says he doesn’t know. “But I know she would have never left you on purpose.” This makes Daniel think about the fact that, though his mother may not have purposefully abandoned him, she also didn’t try to reestablish contact. At the end of the conversation, Leon gives Daniel Polly’s phone number.
Again, Daniel gains information about his mother without actually finding out why she left him. Of course, it’s possible that Leon doesn’t tell him exactly what happened because he thinks it should come from Polly herself, but this omission is also a way for Ko to sustain the narrative’s mystery and intrigue. A generous reading of this storytelling technique might suggest that Ko’s choice to keep readers in a state of suspense is an attempt to reflect Daniel’s confusion and anticipation, both of which highlight the many uncertainties that arise when a person is abandoned by a loved one.
Themes
The next day, Daniel attends Jim Hennings’s birthday party. When he hugs Angel, she “flinch[es],” then introduces him to Charles, her new boyfriend. As Daniel greets him, Angel immediately says they should go to their seats, but Kay delays her by saying, “How’s school? We heard you were supposed to go to Nepal?” In response, Angel says, “I was, but I had money stolen from me.” Peter and Kay are floored by this, finding it hard to believe she’d get robbed in Iowa, where she goes to school. “Thieves are everywhere,” Charles says. “You don’t need to be in the same place as someone to steal from them.” When Kay asks for more details, Charles says, “What happened is that the thief knows exactly what he did.” Looking at Daniel, Angel adds, “Oh, he does.” Having said this, she and Charles leave to find their seats.
This is the first time Daniel has seen Angel since losing her $10,000, and it’s quite clear that she’s still angry. However, Daniel tries to act as if nothing has happened, hugging her and trying to make small talk. This is partially because he doesn’t want Peter and Kay to know that she’s mad at him. After all, Angel told them he had a gambling problem, but she still hasn’t told them that he lost her money, so it’s in Daniel’s best interest to act like nothing bad has taken place. At the same time, his attempt to sweep the entire incident under the rug also aligns with his tendency to deceive himself in order to ignore his own shortcomings. Firmly believing that he’ll be able to repay Angel, he makes light of the situation in order to avoiding having to feel bad about his behavior.
Themes
As Peter and Kay try to piece together what Angel was talking about, Daniel distracts them by giving them his statement of purpose for the Carlough forms. “Good,” Peter says, and Kay can’t hide her happiness. After the meal, Daniel sees Angel talking to a server across the room about when to bring out the birthday cake, so he goes over and asks if she received the text he sent several days before the party. When she pretends not to know what he’s talking about, he says, “I’m sorry about everything.” He then asks her not to tell Kay, Peter, Jim, or Elaine about the $10,000, assuring her that he’s “working on fixing things.” Still angry, she says, “You need to figure your shit out, but don’t expect me to do it for you.”
Despite his attempt to downplay what he’s done, Daniel feels guilty about losing Angel’s $10,000. However, he’s not quite mature enough to own up to his mistakes, so he implores Angel to cover for him, essentially asking her to advocate for him when she’s the one who has suffered because of his actions. This is why she tells him not to “expect” her to help him “figure [his] shit out,” picking up on the fact that he’s eager to sidestep taking responsibility for what he’s done. Whereas Angel used to be one of the only people who could offer Daniel emotional support, she now turns away from him, unwilling to overextend herself for the very person who wronged her. It is perhaps because Daniel no longer has her as a source of support that he agrees to do what Peter and Kay want by completing the statement of purpose, since they are the only people still willing to help him.
Themes
Kay and Peter are staying at the Hennings’ apartment after the party, but Daniel tells them he has to leave because he has work early the next morning, though this isn’t true. Before he leaves, Peter tells him to come to Ridgeborough by the first week of May so he can get settled in before starting summer classes at Carlough. On his way out, Daniel finds Charles smoking at the end of the block. “I want to talk to you for a second,” Charles says, adding, “I know what you did.” When Daniel tries to avoid the subject, Charles pushes on, saying, “I respect Angel’s decision not to take this to the courts to try to get her money back, although I don’t agree with her. But you better not try to talk to her again.” Hearing this, Daniel pushes past him and walks away, descending into a subway station.
Now that Daniel has agreed to do what Peter and Kay want, their domineering nature comes to the forefront of the novel. Not only do they want him to go to Carlough, but Peter insists that he come home early, thereby further interfering with Daniel’s desire to live in New York City and pursue his music (even if only for a few more weeks). On another note, Charles’s hostility outside the restaurant forces Daniel to face his guilt regarding what he’s done. Unwilling to do this, he runs away.
Themes
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When Daniel gets off the subway, he gets a call from Peter. “You mother and I looked at the forms,” Peter says. “What is wrong with you? You know we can’t submit that essay. I don’t even want to go to Carlough so I don’t know why I’m writing this. What is this garbage? We gave you another chance, which you clearly do not deserve, and this is how you repay us?” Right away, Daniel realizes he gave them the wrong page—the real version remains in his pocket, while the one he gave them was just a scrap he wrote while trying to come up with a legitimate essay. Trying to explain this to Peter, he says he’ll come deliver the real essay, but Peter doesn’t listen, saying, “Not to mention you were rude to Angel tonight at the party.”
Peter is quick to give up on Daniel, apparently unwilling to hear his excuses. This is because Daniel has already failed to live up to Peter’s expectations, so this relatively minor hiccup seems like a bigger deal than it actually is. As Daniel tries to tell his adoptive father that he can give him the real statement of purpose, he undoubtedly recognizes how easily Peter writes him off, a fact that surely confirms any insecurities he might have about whether or not he deserves Peter and Kay’s support. In this moment, Peter acts as if Daniel needs to earn his love, ultimately implying that he has failed to do so.
Themes
When Daniel asks where to drop off the essay, Peter says, “Don’t bother. You have made your decision loud and clear.” Just before he hangs up, Peter adds, “This is the last straw. You have done enough.” Defeated, Daniel goes to a nearby bar and orders a whiskey. As he drinks, he absentmindedly scrolls through his phone, eventually bringing up a note he saved several months ago listing the address and name of an “underground poker club” where the minimum buy-in is $200. Staring at it for a moment, he downs the remainder of his drink and deletes the note, leaving the bar and telling himself he’s going to Jim and Elaine’s apartment to deliver the correct essay to his parents, even though he doesn’t know Jim and Elaine’s address. On his way, he goes to an ATM and impulsively withdraws $500 instead of $50.
Daniel’s conversation with Peter leaves him feeling like he’s nothing but a disappointment. As such, he subconsciously embraces this idea of himself as someone who can’t help but make mistakes. When he reads the address of the underground poker club, he takes the first step toward relapse, though he doesn’t tell himself this at the time. Rather, he convinces himself that he’s just idly scrolling through his phone, but it’s obvious that he’s leaning into the idea of himself as a bad person who constantly errs. When he takes $500 out of the ATM, it’s even clearer that he’s planning on gambling, though he still hasn’t admitted this to himself. By putting this progression on display, Ko demonstrates that people can avoid taking responsibility for their actions simply by rationalizing their behavior one step at a time rather than all at once.
Themes
Daniel makes his way to the poker club. “It wasn’t too late, he could turn and go right to Roland’s, go right past the building,” Ko writes. “[…] He was frightened by how much he was about to fuck up, by his lack of desire to stop himself, the rising anticipation at the prospect of falling down, failing harder, and going straight to the tilt; he’d known from the moment he left the bar exactly where he would end up.” Reaching the club, he rings the buzzer and says the necessary password.
That Daniel has known from the “moment he left the bar” that he’d “end up” at the poker club proves that his step-by-step path toward relapse has enabled him to ignore the inevitable. By dividing his actions into small moments—looking at the club’s address, withdrawing $500, walking toward the club—he has successfully avoided having to acknowledge what he’s doing. Finally, he allows himself to admit that he’s going to gamble, and though he certainly could turn away, he now feels as if he’s come too far. After all, he has already rationalized his actions up until this point, so his relapse comes to seem rather inescapable.
Themes
Hours later, Daniel sits near the East River. Over the course of the night, he lost his hat and his statement of purpose, along with all his money. “He’d known early on that he was in over his head, but kept playing […],” Ko writes. Now, he feels a “savage euphoria” because his losses have “confirmed his failures.” He feels liberated from “having to fight his inability to live up to Peter and Kay’s hopes.” He then thinks about Polly and feels a sudden wash of anger. Taking out his phone, he dials her number so he can berate her, but she doesn’t pick up. Instead of yelling into the phone, he leaves a message listing his name and his number. “If she didn’t call him,” Ko notes, “it would be all the evidence he needed.”
After Daniel gambles, he feels at peace because he has “confirmed his failures.” In other words, he has made the external world accord with his internal feelings of failure and disappointment. Throughout his life, he has developed an image of himself as someone who doesn’t deserve what he has, a viewpoint informed by Polly’s disappearance and the feeling that he hasn’t earned Peter and Kay’s love. In a strange way, then, it feels good to fully embrace this idea of himself, since at least he no longer has to pretend that he thinks of himself in a different light.
Themes
