Eleanor and Park: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

That Friday, Park returns to school, but he’s still grounded for weeks after the fight. His mother says he’s going to stay punished until he feels sorry about fighting, but the truth is, Park doesn’t feel sorry. He stood up to Steve and now feels less anxious around the popular kids, as if he’s proven himself to them and freed himself—and Eleanor—from their taunts. Even Eleanor admits she was impressed by Park’s fighting technique.

The narrative switches to Eleanor’s point of view. Since the fight, things have changed for her, too—the whole school knows that she is the reason Park and Steve fought in the first place, and there are even rumors the two of them were fighting for her affection. DeNice and Beebi love gossiping about the fight, and are grateful that someone put Steve’s “sorry ass” in line at last. They constantly admire Eleanor’s “stone-cold killer” of a boyfriend and congratulate her on landing such a tough, passionate guy.

The narrative switches to Park’s point of view. As Christmas break approaches, he is still grounded, and worried that if he stays punished he won’t be able to see Eleanor for three weeks. Park asks his father when his punishment will end, and Jamie says Park’s grounding will lift when he learns to drive stick. Park’s mother interrupts to tell him there will be no driving—and no “trouble girl”—in his future. Park tells his mother she’s being unfair, but Mindy retorts, “Good girls don’t dress like boys.” Park’s father urges him to go outside and play basketball or something rather than get in another fight with his mother.

Park goes over to his grandparents’ house for a while, and when he gets back, he finds his father waiting up for him in the living room. Jamie tells Park he’s not grounded anymore—and that Mindy is sorry for everything she said about Eleanor. He explains that though Mindy is worried about Park growing up and making his own choices, she wants to make peace by inviting Eleanor over for dinner. Park accuses his dad and mother of wanting to make fun of Eleanor for being “weird”; Jamie earnestly replies that he thought Eleanor’s weirdness was the very reason Park liked her so much. Park goes up to bed, excited for the chance to invite Eleanor for dinner—in spite of everything.