110 pages • 3 hours read
The Parker Inheritance
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Chapters 31-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 31 Summary
Chapter 31 continues in Siobhan’s perspective on the day of the fated tennis match between Wallace and Perkins. Siobhan talks briefly to Chip, who references when her “boyfriend” plays (192), making her realize that Chip knows about Reggie too. They argue after this about why Siobhan would date Reggie, then they head into the game.
As the match begins, it becomes clear that Perkins is going to win. Reggie, at Coach Dub’s direction, baits Glenn Allen into thinking he is winning, then turns the tables quickly, “toying with Glenn” (197). One of the other adults, Coach Hicks, tells Siobhan that it’s time to get her out of there; Siobhan disobeys and gets closer to the game to hear the coaches arguing about the outcome. Coach Hicks pulls her out just in time as glass began “smashing against the ground” (200). As Siobhan leaves, she looks around for Reggie, but all she can see is “a sea of white faces… all angry” (201).
Chapter 32 Summary
Candice and Brandon continue their research on Saturday morning by gathering a list of famous Negro League Oilers players, “but [they] didn’t know what to look for after that” (202). When they get home, they find their mothers on the porch, waiting for them to be ready to go to the Juneteenth festival. As they talk, Millie Stanford and Milo pull up. Ms. Stanford asks prying questions to Anne, who quickly deflects.
After Ms. Stanford and Milo leave, Brandon’s mother shares the news that Candice and Anne will be heading back “to Atlanta as early as next weekend” (206). Candice has a lot of questions, especially about her friendship with Brandon, who looks upset. Candice “wanted to say something to Brandon… but she didn’t know what” (207).
Chapter 33 Summary
After the 1957 tennis game, Chip Douglas has a few hours of peace before his family gets an urgent phone call. He and his father head over to the Washingtons because “Dub took a real bad beating” (209). When they get to the Washington’s home, it becomes clear that the plan is to get the whole family escorted to Maryland; Coach Dub’s whole family have been threatened. Coach Douglas directs Chip to drive the Washington family to Maryland while Coach Douglas deals with the conflict in Lambert.
Chapter 34 Summary
Although Candice has a good time at the festival, she is preoccupied with concern about “the way Brandon disappeared into his house the previous afternoon” (214). Candice starts listening to her father’s iPod to try to cheer up, and she starts thinking about the inheritance again. When she flips back through the 1956 Perkins yearbook, she realizes that there “was a boy in the black-and-white photo” of the tennis team who looks like he could pass for white. The boy was Reginald Bradley, whom she confirms became James Parker.
Chapters 31-34 Analysis
As the novel moves closer to the climax, conflicts erupt in both 1957 and present-day Lambert. Johnson chooses to present these two narratives concurrently to heighten tension and build connections between the events of 1957 and the clues that Candice and Brandon are unraveling. It isn’t until these chapters that Candice figures out who James Parker really is—Reginald, or Reggie, Bradley. She makes this connection just as the historical narrative reveals the true depth of the relationship between Reggie and Siobhan. Johnson uses the story from 1957 to deepen the meaning of Candice’s revelation, as well as to build anticipation about what might happen now that Candice has figured out who the letter writer is. In addition, the conflict of the tennis game reveals just how dark Lambert’s history is in regards to racism, supporting some of Candice and Brandon’s development as they become more aware of the racism around them in the present day.
Friendship is one of the central thematic elements of The Parker Inheritance; in Chapter 32, Candice and Brandon’s developing relationship is struck a hard blow when they find out how soon Candice will be leaving Lambert. Though Candice has her own set of feelings about this, it seems that Brandon is hit hardest—he retreats inside of his house and doesn’t come back out or talk to Candice for the rest of the day. Candice has difficulty understanding how she can repair the damage that has been done to their friendship, and feels anguish about the situation she is in. Candice also has a difficult tension between wanting to return home to Atlanta and wanting to finish solving the mystery with her friend. Johnson includes this both as part of the build-up to the novel’s climax but also as an important illustration of the kinds of conflicts that young people might go through in their peer-to-peer relationships. Candice must figure out how to reconcile her own wants and needs with those of her friend, Brandon; she also has to learn how to communicate effectively so that she can maintain her friendship.
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