This Boy’s Life: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Skipper has a beaten-up 1949 Ford which he loves fixing up. It is in pieces, but Skipper is still proud of it, and rather than going off to college Skipper has decided to stay at home and work at the power plant so that he can put all his money into fixing up his car. The shed where Skipper works on the car is the only place where he and Jack ever really talk or bond. Over Jack’s first summer in Chinook, the car starts coming together, and Skipper covers it in glossy paint and outfits it with hubcaps and fancy exhaust pipes. The interior still needs fixing, and Skipper plans to take the car down to Tijuana to have the work done there for cheap. Jack asks if he can come along, and Skipper says he’ll think about it.

Jack begins fantasizing about the adventures the two of them will have in Mexico and begins telling his classmates at school all about his impending trip. When the subject comes up at dinner one evening, though, Skipper says he won’t bring Jack—he’s bringing one of his own friends along.

After Skipper leaves for Mexico, Jack feels as if the room they share is painfully empty. In addition to missing Skipper, Jack also misses his father—though Dwight often makes snide comments about the man, Jack will not let anyone tarnish the image of his father he has in his mind. The older Tobias, looking back on this time in his life, reflects on “advantage always enjoyed by the inconstant parent”—being missed even when one’s contribution is minimal. He wouldn’t understand just how irresponsible his own father was being by staying out of his life and sending him no emotional or financial support until he had his own son.

Due to Skipper’s influence, Jack develops a keen interest in cars. He begins hitchhiking at the end of his paper route for the chance to ride all around in strangers’ cars, and dreams that one day someone will be able to take him as far as Connecticut.

When Skipper returns, the interior of the car is outfitted in white leather—but the exterior, which Skipper worked so hard on, looks as if it has been “sandblasted.” It is ruined. Skipper explains that he and his friend were caught in a sandstorm down in Mexico—as he tells the story, Jack can tell that Skipper is trying very hard not to cry. Despite the damage, Jack gets into the car and sits on the creamy leather seats. He plays pretend, making engine noises and working the gears; as he looks through the dusty windshield, he can almost convince himself he is moving.