55 pages • 1 hour read
Kristina McMorrisSold on a Monday
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 11-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary
Ellis realizes his guilty conscience is due to the lie he is telling, although he was right to take the job—the increase in pay alone means a larger apartment. He meets his new boss, Walker, then Dutch Vernon, who takes him on a newsroom tour. He meets the other reporters who play a trick on him: They give him a tip to a nonexistent gambling ship. Ellis spends three days looking for the ship before they let him in on the joke.
They call Ellis a cub reporter, which shocks him because he worked for three years at the Examiner. But he has much to learn. Ellis is reprimanded for poor sourcing, so he learns to record all information at least twice. Therefore, when he misses a meeting at city hall, he knows that Dutch gave him the wrong time. Ellis stays quiet though; he understands that he is now in a competitive job in a competitive city, where “a man had to look out for himself” (80). To drown his sorrows, Ellis goes to the bar. He is drunk when he overhears some Irish mobsters discussing their bad reputations. Ellis tells them he is a reporter with a proposal that their boss will want to hear. They offer him a seat.
Chapter 12 Summary
Four months later, at her family’s apartment above the deli, Lily is worrying about spending her first Saturday night away from Samuel. She is attending a wedding in New York City with Clayton. They do not always agree, but Clayton is a catch, especially since he will date an unwed mother.
But Lily is planning to end the relationship. Her mother, Harriet, who is a baker and, despite her size, a formidable woman, disagrees. Her parents like Clayton, and Harriet does not want Lily to be alone. Besides, Clayton could be a good father for Samuel.
Lily plans to stay overnight and return home in the morning. At the reception, she and Clayton learn of a robbery and Clayton leaves to cover the story. Lily heads for the exit too when she realizes that she forgot her purse. She returns to her table, and to be polite, waits for the toast. When she sees the couple kiss, she realizes that she too wants to feel that kind of love. Instead of mailing the letter to Ellis she is carrying in her purse, a letter about the children for sale, she decides to deliver it personally.
Chapter 13 Summary
Ellis is with his parents for dinner at a popular dining spot, the Royal, and wearing fashionable new clothes. Ellis is doing well with his partnership with the Irish mob: They give him stories and he gives them tips about dirty politicians (except Irish ones) in the pockets of other mobsters. Ellis’s articles are only fillers, though, until his next big story.
Ellis’s dad refuses an alcoholic drink, even though Ellis is trying to impress them with access to prohibition alcohol. Jim wants to know if Ellis has saved up for a new engine. Ellis says no, he intends to get a new Roadster. His father disapproves, so Ellis starts to drink more. When Jim mutters something rude under his breath, Ellis confronts his father and refuses to back down.
Jim questions Ellis’s manhood, telling him that spending money doesn’t make him a man. Ellis responds that he is sorry his father is jealous of his success. Jim says, given how Ellis turned out, he failed as a father. Ellis argues back, “you mean the only son who lived” (101). His mother tells them both to stop. Jim leaves while Ellis tries to make it up to his mother.
Chapter 14 Summary
Lily tracks Ellis to the Royal. When she assures the hostess that she is Ellis’s friend, she is led to Ellis, who is gambling and drinking. Lily knew all about the gaming halls from the newspapers. She cannot believe the Ellis she knows is “attracted to such a place” (107). She works hard for her money and is put off by all of the excess. Ellis is happy to see her, and they decide to go to his place to talk.
Ellis decorates his apartment walls with his bylines, and Lily notices that most lack deeper human interest. Lily explains why she is in New York and the story that broke during the wedding reception. Ellis makes a disparaging remark about Clayton. Lily defends Clayton and rebukes Ellis by reminding him that he should not be “judging other reporters for what they’ll do to get ahead” (111). Ellis then insults her by denigrating her advice since it comes from a secretary. Instead of speaking to him rudely, Lily sets down the letter, explains that it is about the children, then leaves.
Chapter 15 Summary
Ellis is thinking about what Lily said. She was telling him what he already knew about himself. At work, he sifts through the other reminders of what his work is, including all the letters supporting the Dillards. Ellis is lost in thought when Dutch asks him if Lily found him. Ellis has not spoken to Dutch since he took the blame for missing an assignment. Dutch tried to apologize, telling Ellis that he sold him out because he wanted to keep his job but that it was a “gutless choice” (115), but Ellis wouldn’t accept it.
Ellis needs to make things right with Lily, so when Walker passes by he asks for the next day off. But Walker sees the information about the Dillards on his desk, and tells Ellis a follow-up story is a great idea. Ellis wants to tell him that he cannot follow up “on something that never happened” (117). He agrees to do a story, but he knows he cannot write a second false story. He leaves, intending to go to Lily’s, but first stops at the Dillard’s house. He learns that the family is gone. The mailman tells him that Walter Gale, who works at the train depot, will know where they went, because Gale told him that he saw the children with a banker. Ellis asks whether the children were adopted, and the mailman replies, “Them kids were outright sold” (120).
Chapters 11-15 Analysis
Ellis’s character is transforming from the lovely young man that Lily first met to a drinking, lying, mob colluding “righteous jackass” (114). Ellis’s decision to fake the photo in order to advance his career by completing his first feature article deeply affects him. This change is evident in what he is willing to do to keep advancing his career after the article becomes a success, how he is handling his success, and how he is treating his family.
Although Ellis has moved to New York, and by all outward appearances is a more successful reporter and a happier person, in truth he is neither. The stories that he is writing, thanks to his unethical deal with the Irish mob, lack both substance and style. They are flash pieces, but they are not the kind of real stories that could lead to articles that matter, or his own coveted byline. He is also drinking more and trying to impress with his newfound wealth. Ellis can afford nicer clothes and a bigger apartment, and he can now even dream of a new car, but he still doesn’t know how to truly be happy.
Ellis remains plagued by the lie that his newfound success rests on, which means that happiness remains elusive. His unhappiness is apparent when he tries to impress his parents. When his father questions his morality in the way he is living his life and spending his money, Ellis lashes out at him. And when Lily, too, questions his ethics as a reporter, he criticizes her with a sexist comment about her job position. Ellis wants to make a good impression in his professional and private life but continues to miss the mark.
Ellis’s unhappiness is compounded when he learns that the Dillards were also a victim of the choice that he made. Instead of Geraldine taking his money and the family living happily ever after, Ellis learns that the children were likely sold and that Geraldine is nowhere to be found. But he is still a good enough person; he recognizes that he went too far. He decides to find out what happened to the Dillards and apologize to Lily. With this decision, Ellis has a change of heart that alters the course of the narrative. His change will directly impact all future plotlines.
