Eleanor and Park: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

It is August of 1986—the start of Park Sheridan’s sophomore year of high school. He listens to New Wave music on his headphones, trying to drown out “the morons at the back of the bus.” Park can’t wait to get his driver’s license in November so that he can drive to school by himself.

Park’s neighbor Steve, one of the “morons,” calls out to him. Park hears Steve call his name, but ignores him—Park is always trying to just keep his head down. Park feels a ball of paper hit the back of his head. Steve’s girlfriend, Tina, yells at him for crumpling up her class notes to throw at Park. Park at last relents and pulls his headphones off, then turns around to face Steve, who has “looked like a grown man since the seventh grade.” Steve has a reputation for being hotheaded, and is always looking for a fight.

Steve urges Park to tell another guy on the bus, Mikey, about “Drunken Monkey karate.” Park insists he doesn’t know anything about it, but confirms that it exists. Mikey tells Steve that Park doesn’t know anything about kung fu, but Steve retorts that Park must, because his mother is Chinese. Mikey looks at Park “carefully” and says that he always assumed Park was “Mexican.” Steve tells Mikey he’s a racist. Tina, who has been getting haircuts from Park’s mother since grade school, tells the boys that Park’s mom isn’t Chinese, but Korean. Steve retorts that it doesn’t matter “what” Park’s mom is, because “She’s fucking hot.” Park smiles weakly and slumps back into his seat, facing away from the popular kids four rows back.

Park spots a new girl (Eleanor) standing at the front of the bus. He watches as she tries to find a seat—and as anyone sitting alone on the bus scooches to the aisle or puts their bag down to prevent her from sitting with them. Park hears Tina laugh—Tina “live[s]” for any kind of gossip or drama. Park can’t help but stare at the new girl, who reminds him of a “train wreck/eclipse situation.” She is “big and awkward” with unruly red curls and she is dressed like a “mess”—she wears men’s clothing and has “weird necklaces” and scarves wrapped around her neck and wrists.

As the bus continues moving, the new girl (Eleanor) struggles to find a seat—the bus driver yells at her to sit down. The new girl tries to sit in an empty seat, but Tina yells at her and tells her it already belongs to someone. Park turns up the volume of his music, trying to ignore the situation, but when he looks up at the new girl’s face, he sees that she is about to cry. Without thinking, he scoots towards the window and urges her to sit next to him. The new girl sits down, leaving half a foot of space between herself and Park. He is grateful that she doesn’t try to speak to him. Park turns towards the window, waiting for the popular kids to start making fun of him—and for “a world of suck to hit the fan.”