The Lincoln Highway: 9. Emmett Summary & Analysis

When Emmett wakes up, Sally is cooking breakfast for the boys, and Emmett is unused to waking up on a clean mattress to the smell of cooking. As they eat breakfast, Duchess tells Billy stories about sneaking out of Salina to watch movies at the local cinema. Emmett asks Duchess to change the subject, then follows Sally upstairs, where she has started making the beds. She expresses frustration at Emmett’s ingratitude for her efforts to help him, finally revealing that Duchess has disclosed Emmett’s plan to leave Nebraska without saying goodbye to Sally.

Emmett takes a drive in his Studebaker, wondering how responsible he is for hurting Sally’s feelings. He used to flirt with her, but he hasn’t reached out with any kind words since he was sent to Salina. He is grateful for all she’s done for him and Billy, but he believes “being grateful was one thing,” while being “beholden” is another.

Emmett drives by the fairground where he killed Jimmy Snyder. The story flashes back to that night, as Jimmy Snyder, a bully one year older than Emmett, taunts Emmett about his father Charlie not serving in World War II. Emmett punches Jimmy, and Jimmy falls backward, tripping over a cable and smashing his head against a cinderblock. Jimmy’s friends spread rumors that Emmett attacked Jimmy unprovoked, and Emmett refuses to defend himself because the truth doesn’t change Jimmy’s death.

In 1953, Charlie falls ill, and when Emmett learns his father is dying, he begins to plan to move to a metropolitan area with Billy. He intends to buy an old house, fix it up, and sell it, and then repeat the process over and over until he could rent out some of the houses while repairing others. He builds his plans around a desire never to borrow any money. Back in 1954, Emmett parks his car and goes to the library to compare the populations of Texas and California. He is surprised by how rapidly California’s population is growing, which makes it a perfect location to renovate and sell houses. The librarian recognizes him as Billy’s brother and remarks that Billy “loves a good story.”

When Emmett leaves the library, he is greeted by Jimmy’s brother Jake, Jake’s friend, and a stranger (the cowboy). They accuse Emmett of hitting Jimmy unprovoked, and when Emmett refuses to fight them, Jake punches Emmett. Still, Emmett refuses to defend himself, and Jake continues to beat Emmett until the sheriff intervenes. The sheriff brings Emmett to his own house to clean up, and compares Emmett’s situation to the men he knows who struggled to adjust to civilian life after World War II. He tells Emmett that he can’t keep fighting forever, but he also can’t “lay down [his] manhood” and never fight again. Emmett notes that people keep giving him advice.