The graduate door Charles Webb

The title of the book I read is The Graduate. The explanation of this title isn’t too difficult. This book is about Benjamin. And Benjamin was just graduated from college.

This book is divided in 3 parts and 9 chapters. I’ll give a summary of each chapter.

1. Benjamin just came home from his college and his parents invited some friends of them to congratulate Benjamin. But Benjamin wasn’t in a mood to talk to anybody; he had other things on his mind and wanted to leave the little party. But his parents didn’t let him go. They forced him to stay. After a while Mrs. Robinson asked Benjamin to drive her home in his new car cause her husband left in his car and wouldn’t come home till late that night. Benjamin didn’t want to bring her home and gave her his keys but she didn’t know how to use his car.
Benjamin brought her home and she invited him in. He asked why and she had the excuse that she was afraid to be alone in that house. So Benjamin went in after some arguments. They had some drinks together and Mrs. Robinson wanted Benjamin to stay till her husband came home. After a while Mrs. Robinson went upstairs to get ready for bed. Then when she called Benjamin and he came up she was naked and wanted to seduce Benjamin. But he didn’t want to spend the night with her. As they where talking they heard that Mr. Robinson coming home and Benjamin ran as fast as he could downstairs and sat in a chair. He welcomed Mr. Robinson and told him that he brought his wife home and as he was saying that Mrs. Robinson came down. Dressed.

2. Most of the time he was walking around thinking about all different things he was worrying about. After a few days he decided to go on a trip to meet normal people. People who live like farmers, or something like that. His parents didn’t agree with him when he was having a breakfast with his suitcase packed next to him.

3. After three weeks Benjamin returned. It wasn’t as good as he thought it would be. His parents asked him everything. Where he went, what he had seen and what kind of people he had spoken to. The only answer he gave was that he had fought a fire and that he had spoken to a lot of people.
Two day’s after the trip he went to the Hotel Taft and called Mrs. Robinson to have a drink with him. After they’ve had some drinks they decided to spend the night together in a hotel room.

4. During a period Benjamin was seeing Mrs. Robinson and they spend only the night together.
In the time that he was at home during the day he didn’t do anything except for drinking, smoking and looking at the TV. His father became a little bit worried because of that. And he asks Benjamin what he is doing al the time at night that he isn’t at home. Benjamin says that he is just driving around. But his father won’t believe him.

When Mr. Robinson came to see Benjamin’s father he told Benjamin that he wanted him to see Elaine, his daughter. He wanted him to meet her this weekend. Benjamin didn’t wanted to but he couldn’t give Mr. Robinson a good reason to say no, so he agreed. He wrote a letter to Mrs. Robinson and said that he couldn’t keep on seeing her anymore cause he would become a nervous wreck. But some days later it was all the same again and he and Mrs. Robinson were together again in Hotel Taft. When they had met again Benjamin wanted Mrs. Robinson to talk. But she didn’t want to. But Benjamin made her talk. It was about her marriage with Mrs. Robinson. And all the stuff that Benjamin didn’t know about.

5. Benjamin’s parents forced Benjamin to take Elaine out. When he was at the house of the Robinson’s to wait for Elaine, he had a small talk with Mrs. Robinson. Then he went out with Elaine, but he was quit roughly to her. At the end of the evening she ran crying away. Her ran after her and told her that he was sorry. Then he brought her home. In front of the house, in the car, he kissed her. She asked him to come in, but he doesn’t want to. She said that they also could go to a hotel. Then they went to the Hotel Taft, where he always met with Mrs. Robinson. When every one recognizes Benjamin, Elaine found out that he had an affair with a women. But she understood it. He asked her out again for the next day. When he came to get her, Mrs. Robinson opened the door. She went with him in the car and talked to him. She said, that he may never see Elaine again, or she would make his life a hell. He set Mrs. Robinson out of the car, and drove back to the house, and was to get Elaine. When he was in her room, he told her that he had an affair with her mother. She told him to get out of her live. Benjamin stayed for several weeks at home. Then after a while, he decided to marry Elaine.

6. Benjamin told his parents that he was going to marry Elaine. They were very happy. Then he went to Berkeley, where Elaine is at college and hired a room. He was trying to talk to Elaine for several times, but stopped every time just before he saw her. After a time he met her at the bus station, he drove with her to a zoo, where she had a date with another man. Carl was his name. One morning she stood at his door. They talked, and she said to him, that he should leave, but only when he had made up where he is going. She also told him, that Mrs. Robinson told her that he raped her. He said that that isn’t true. Then she left. Several days past, when he called her. She told him again that he should leave. Two hours later he was ready with packing, and was willing to get out of town next morning. When he woke up at night, he saw that Elaine was in his room. She said that she loves him, and that he loves her. He told her that he wants to marry her, but she wasn’t sure about that. The she left.

7. Benjamin received a letter from Mrs. Robinson. She wrote that he has to get out of town immediately. Elaine visited Benjamin. She told him, that she doesn’t think it was a good idea to marry. After they talked a lot, she said that she wasn’t sure about this. But he was. The following noon, Elaine came to him with a letter of her father. He wrote that he don’t want that she marry Benjamin at any cost. Then she left. The next morning Mr. Robinson visited Benjamin. He said that he is disappointed, and that he is going to divorce from his wife, and that he never wants to see Benjamin again. Then Mr. Robinson left. Benjamin went as fast as possible to Elaine’s school, to get her, but he was too late. He searched for her several days in the town, but she was gone. Benjamin drove back to his town and went to the house of the Robinson’s. He went into the house, and asked them where Elaine was. They told him to get back in a week. Then he realized, that she was going to marry someone. She was going to marry Carl in San Francisco.

8. The next day was Saturday. Just before dawn Benjamin landed at San Francisco. He drove to the house of Carl. There he found a letter, in which was written where Carl was marrying. He flew with a airplane to Santa Barbara and there he found Elaine. He ran to Elaine and had to fight some people to get her away of the church. Then they ran into a bus and drove away.

That was the end of the book. I thought it was a nice book to read. Only the end I didn’t really like. Because I don’t know what they are going to do now. They could get married but she could also tell him that she didn’t like it the way he came in and took her away. But the rest of the book I liked.

Here comes an outline of how the relations are between the characters.

Benjamin is the son of Mr. Braddock and Mrs. Braddock.
Mr. Robinson is a colleague of Mr. Braddock.
Mrs. Robinson is the wife of Mr. Robinson and she seduced Benjamin and often slept with him in a hotel room.
Then there is Elaine; she is the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Robinson. And Benjamin fell in love with her, during his affair with Mrs. Robinson.
And there is Carl; he is the man who was supposed to marry Elaine.

I think that are the relationships in this book that are important.