56 pages 1 hour read

John Irving

The World According To Garp

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1978

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Chapters 10-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary: “The Dog in the Alley, the Child in the Sky”

Garp is unhappy that Duncan is at Ralph’s house. He channels his frustration into brainstorming stories for Walt. He tells him a story about a dog in Vienna who is tied up in an alley until he pursues a cat and gets hit by a car.

Plagued by anxiety, Garp can’t sleep, and he wanders around the house to check on Helen and Walt. He considers how unpleasant it is to realize that Duncan’s bad breath reminds him that his children will die one day. Garp dreams of the dog from his made-up story and then dreams that he and Duncan are on an airplane. They are both drawn to an open door, and both get sucked out into the sky.

Chapter 11 Summary: “Mrs. Ralph”

Anxious after his dream, Garp decides to go to Ralph’s house to check on Duncan. He wears his usual running ensemble of shorts and no shirt and jogs over, nearly colliding with a woman on a bicycle. Through the window, he sees Duncan and Ralph sleeping in front of the TV. Mrs. Ralph (he does not know her real name) emerges in a kimono. She requests his help to get her lover out of her house. Garp removes the young hippie, and Mrs.

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