When S gets out of the canoe, Anca tells him to “Follow the monkey” (352). S is not surprised-“Of course there is a monkey. There is always a monkey” (352). Interestingly, S does not question the suggestion, nor is he surprised that there is a monkey. This shows first that he has accepted that the world no longer makes sense, and second that he has gotten used to plunging into situations without a strong grasp of what he may have to do.

S asks Anca if she will be there when he returns, and she affirms that she will, but there is something in the tone of her voice that suggests to S that that may not be the case. This shows that Anca realizes the danger that she is putting her and her loved ones in by escorting S to the mayor’s mansion, but that saving the Old Village is a high enough priority for her that it is worth it. This could explain why S was hesitant to tell her that no matter how his mission goes, it will not have much of an effect; she is putting her family in danger for nothing.

After dropping him off, Anca and Waqar paddle their canoe out into the open in the middle of the pond and begin fishing to appear natural. S speculates that there are guards overlooking them with a patronizing sadness, lamenting the fact that there are still people who are so backwards and old-fashioned that they are limited to “praying a fish will impale itself on (their) hook” (352), rather than contributing to the noble cause of industrial greatness.

In the margins, Jen points out that the advice “follow the monkey” is comical.

Further down on the page, Jen likens the guards’ perceived views on the Old Villagers to her father’s views on people who are “not white collar and upwardly mobile” (352). That does not include academics, she explains to Eric, since to her father, “School is a means to an end-an end that doesn’t involve school” (352). This is drastically different from both Jen and Eric’s world views, since they each find so much value in literary analysis. This fundamental difference likely caused a great deal of tension in Jen’s home.