The Adventures of Augie March

Lessons and schoolwork improve Augie’s mood. He talks to Kayo Obermark, who is a Latin and algebra teacher at the school. Referencing his own son, Kayo suggests that Augie get married. He invites Augie to his house, where Augie agrees to sell his Buick to Kayo’s brother-in-law. He does not mention the significant damage that the car has suffered. Kayo and his brother-in-law try to win back their money by playing poker, but despite their attempts to swindle him, Augie wins. As he walks home, however, he returns Kayo’s losses. When the car does not start a few days later, Augie tries to help, and his relationship with Kayo suffers.

Sophie plans to divorce her husband and believes that this means that she could marry Augie. He is not ready for marriage, which she takes to mean that he is “waiting for that girl” (453). Augie speculates about his future. He wishes that he could simplify his life and settle down with a wife and a family, imagining himself running “a kind of home and teach[ing] school” (456), which could coach underprivileged young children to be artists and philosophers.

The outbreak of World War II prevents this. He attempts to enlist, but the medical checkup reveals a lingering hernia from the injury he suffered in Mexico. He undergoes an operation, and during his recovery, he learns that Thea married a man in the Air Force. He also learns that Simon is having an affair when he runs into Simon and this new woman while he is out walking with his mother. Simon insists that he loves Renée and he would be happy if Charlotte could find herself a similar arrangement. Renée assures Augie that Simon loves her, just as she loves Simon. Augie begins to see parallels between Simon’s affair and his own situation with Thea and Stella. He watches Simon argue with Renée, who demands everything that Charlotte has and studies Charlotte intensely. Since his hernia is taking too long to heal, Augie signs up for the Merchant Marines.

Augie pities Simon, who seems to be “twice-married” and struggling to balance his affair with his marriage. When the two are out to lunch, Simon explains that Charlotte learned about Renée, and he tried to end the affair, but Renée did not take the news well. There was a showdown between Simon, Charlotte, Renée, and Simon’s lawyer. After a violent, tearful bust-up, Renée agreed to leave for California in exchange for money. Later, however, she revealed that she was pregnant, and she attempted suicide when she was four months along. Simon wonders whether their own family history is anything like this as Augie offers a comforting arm to his brother.

As part of his enlistment, Augie is given a psychiatric examination, which he very much dislikes. He studies bookkeeping and ship doctoring, so he is sent on a training course. While away, he receives mail: Simon cannot enlist because of an ear issue, Clem’s business is failing, Sophie sends her farewells, and even Einhorn writes to him.

Augie returns to his training, and while on leave, he meets Stella in New York. After a brief deliberation, he kisses her on the cheek, and they talk. Augie tells her how he wants to be a teacher and dismisses her plans to pay back the money she owes him. They talk about Mexico and then share a romantic weekend.

Augie returns to his base, now decidedly in love with Stella. She waits for him to be available, and when they meet again, she admits that she has long been in love with him. She accepts his proposal and speaks at length about herself, including her superstitions and her debts. They agree to get married as soon as Augie graduates from the training camp.

In a Turkish bathhouse, Augie sits with “a friend of a friend of Stella” (477), an Armenian man named Mintouchian. His friend, Agnes, is currently out shopping with Stella. During their conversation, Augie is “deeply wounded” when Mintouchian makes a small joke about Augie’s ability to commit to a relationship. Mintouchian apologizes but warns Augie about the dangers of “secrecy.” Their discussion spreads to the need to be true to oneself rather than striving toward some unreachable ideal. Mintouchian tells a story about how Agnes committed insurance fraud, even though he gives her more than enough money. That night, Augie visits Mintouchian’s house for dinner and meets Agnes. She admits to Augie that she already knows all her husband’s secrets.

Before his wedding to Stella, Augie graduates from training school. He will ship out shortly after the wedding.

At the wedding, Sylvester, Robey, and Frazer are all on Augie’s side of the aisle. The ceremony takes place, and then Augie takes Stella back to their room. They have two days available to make their honeymoon. After that, Augie will ship out Boston. Stella will take a train to Alaska. She tells Augie to “be careful.”

In Boston, Augie boards an old boat named the Sam MacManus. As the ship sails south, Augie spends his downtime reading in his cabin. He is the druggist and bookkeeper aboard, but people soon discover that he is a good listener. The crew comes to him to get advice, treating him “almost like a fortuneteller” (492). He gets to know his “terribly strange” crewmates.

On the 15th day at sea, the boat is sunk by a torpedo. Augie survives and swims toward a nearby lifeboat, which turns out to be empty. Another man swims beside him, and Augie helps him up into the boat, only to be refused help by the fellow survivor. Augie climbs in himself and hits the other man. He discovers his name is Basteshaw. They scrounge supplies and wait to be rescued. Augie listens to Basteshaw’s story but does not warm to the man, who seems to have “great satisfaction and self-confidence” (497). He seems entirely unsympathetic, as though he would happily allow Augie to die at any moment.

Their discussions become more philosophical and abstract. Basteshaw claims to have been kicked out of six universities because of his “strange ideas.” He had planned to continue his scientific research while enlisted. Among his bold claims, Basteshaw says he created a new form of life. Augie is annoyed at Basteshaw and other scientists who seem intent on destroying the world because they always want to “fiddle with nature” (506).

The days pass on the empty ship. As Basteshaw develops a plan to escape to the Canaries and continue his research away from the war, Augie hopes to signal a passing ship. Basteshaw ties up Augie to stop him from signaling to anyone, but Augie escapes. He discovers that Basteshaw is feverish. Rather than attack Basteshaw, he helps him recover. The pair is saved by a passing British ship, and six months later, Augie finally reunites with Stella in New York.

Time has passed since Augie’s rescue, and he and Stella disagree over their plans for the future. She has supported him, but she is unsure of his plans to make an academy and foster home for needy children. At one point, Augie is in Florence, Italy. He has been sent by Mintouchian to deal with “Army surplus goods bought cheap in Germany” (517). Outside the city’s famous cathedral, he sees the golden doors of the baptistry designed by Ghiberti. A desperate woman asks for money from him to be shown around.

Later, Augie and Stella live in Europe while she works for a film company in Paris. Augie happens to meet Frazer, who inquires about Augie’s marriage. Augie does not mention their troubles. Stella is preoccupied because she lied to Augie. She told him that her father sends her money from Jamaica when she has actually been receiving money from an ex-boyfriend named Cumberland. She has not told him about this “big operator.” When Augie does ask her about their possessions, Stella admits that the ex-boyfriend paid for most of them, but she insists that she has not spoken to him in two years. She tells Augie about their tumultuous relationship, in which Cumberland tried to control her by keeping her in debt. Augie speaks to Mintouchian and discovers that Stella has been “threatening” Cumberland for some time, including recently. He tells her to stop. She agrees and Augie ships out again.

When Simon and Charlotte visit Paris, Charlotte is “full of grudges” (530), and she confesses many of her complaints about her husband to Augie. She describes how Renée tried to sue Simon. Even though she had a great deal of evidence, the case was thrown out. Simon feels “ashamed” of himself.

Augie leaves town on a business trip, accompanied by a female employee named Jacqueline, who is traveling back to see her family. When they are near her uncle’s farm, the car breaks down. They walk together to the farm, and Jacqueline sings to distract them from the cold. When Augie sings, he picks a Mexican song titled “La Cucaracha.” Jacqueline mentions that she has always dreamed of visiting Mexico, and this amuses Augie, who reflects on the strangeness of them both being in this situation. Eventually, they get the car working, and they resume their journey. Augie thinks about Jacqueline’s refusal to give up on her dreams, and he resolves to do the same.