The World According To Garp

Jenny’s parents want her to stay in their home, but she is determined to work and be independent. She secures a job as a nurse at the Steering School, a private boarding school. The school is very elite, but she easily navigates social pressure. When her new coworkers or students ask about Garp’s father, she tells them that he was a soldier killed in the war and there was no time to get married during the war. She is satisfied with this story, and it only adds to her intrigue as more people realize who her wealthy parents are. She does not care what people think about her and is content with her asexuality. Her oddness is magnified by the fact that she attends classes in her free time, and she starts a considerable book collection. Over time, she gains a reputation as a curator of a personal library that rivals (or even exceeds) the school’s library.

Jenny is promoted to Steering’s head nurse when Garp is five years old. She has become a mother figure for many of the students. Garp gains a reputation as an odd child who is constantly climbing. He is something of a younger brother to many of the students, and he often has free rein of the infirmary. One night, Jenny cannot find her son. She searches everywhere she can think of that he might be playing. A lacrosse player named Hathaway confesses that he taught Garp how to catch pigeons on the roof with his now-missing lacrosse stick. Jenny runs to the roof, where she sees Garp clinging to the collapsing gutter four stories high. A crowd gathers below, and Dean Bodger (“Mad Dog”) orders students to place a mattress where little Garp might fall. Jenny pulls Garp onto the fire escape just before the gutter collapses, killing the pigeon Garp was chasing.

Garp grows up alongside the Percy family. Stewart (“Stewie”/“Fat Stew”) Percy is a large, unpleasant man who teaches one class at Steering. His wife, Midge Steering, is an heiress with a reputation for vacuity. Their children are also silly and spoiled. Garp feuds with Bonkers, the Percys’ Newfoundland dog, who is unusually bad-tempered. Bonkers eventually tears off part of Garp’s ear. Upon examining the injury, Fat Stew looks into Garp’s eyes and declares that the five-year-old resembles a “Jap.” He then spreads a rumor that Garp’s father was Japanese, fomenting animosity toward Garp’s mother, who will say only that Garp’s father was killed during World War II. Jenny works hard to make sure that Garp can hold his own within the strict social environment of the Steering School.

When Jenny audited classes seemingly for fun, she was actually evaluating which classes she thought would be best for her son. Garp is prepared for his academic life because of his mother’s investigation. He is not prepared to choose a sports team, though, and Jenny laments this oversight on her part. Jenny investigates the wrestling gym, where she meets coach Ernie Holm and his daughter, Helen, a voracious reader. Jenny bears a striking resemblance to Helen’s mother, who abandoned her family, and Ernie and Helen are stupefied by this coincidence. They both seem to be entranced by Jenny.

After meeting Ernie and signing up for the team, Garp discovers a love of wrestling and is determined to win over Helen. Helen is very clever and a harsh literary critic, and this just makes him more attracted to her. He decides to try to become a real writer to win her affection.

Garp starts writing short stories. Girls are not allowed to attend Steering, and Helen is sent to Talbot Academy. One weekend when she visits home, Garp gives her a story to read. Helen is unimpressed by his writing, but Tinch, Garp’s English teacher, encourages him to keep trying. Tinch is a kindly old man with terrible breath, and his students constantly tease him about it. Tinch dies on a winter night when he falls after returning from a faculty party, freezing to death. Garp learns of this when he runs into a former classmate in New York City. The classmate is unsympathetic, but Garp was very fond of Tinch.

Despite his feelings for Helen, Garp is determined to lose his virginity by any means necessary, and he invites Cushie Percy to an outdoor spot known for student liaisons. Cushie is annoyed that Garp did not bring a condom but agrees to perform oral sex on him. They are interrupted when they see her dad and his friends playing golf on the other side of the river. They agree to meet again the next weekend, but Cushie cancels because her dad knows what Garp was trying to do.

Helen encourages Garp to go to Europe to pursue his writing career, and when Jenny hears of this plan, Jenny decides to accompany Garp. Garp is displeased but doesn’t know how to change the situation. He drinks beer with his mom, who falls into a deep sleep. Garp takes the opportunity to sneak out and meet up with Cushie. They have sex three times, and he bites her dog’s ear.