The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: Part 2, Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

After Christmas, the coldest winter the town has seen in years descends. In spite of the weather, Singer resumes his long walks through town each evening, and on these walks, he traverses all kinds of neighborhoods, catching glimpses of all walks of life. As the weeks go by, Singer becomes well-known by all kinds of people throughout town—but because of his mysterious nature, different groups of people start different rumors about him. The Jewish residents claim he’s Jewish, while the rich townspeople claim he’s secretly rich. One Turkish man believes that Singer understands the language he speaks and must be Turkish himself.

Singer thinks often of Antonapoulos. One particular memory recurs often. Singer remembers when he and Antonapoulos tried to befriend another mute man, a mill worker named Carl. One evening, when Singer and Antonapoulos invited Carl to their rooms for dinner, the night took a dark turn when Antonapoulos suddenly and inexplicably began glaring and gesturing obscenities at Carl, scaring the timid young man away. After Carl left, Antonapoulos explained that he believed Carl had drunk all their gin—Singer had to remind Antonapoulos that he himself had been responsible for draining the bottle.

As more and more “ugly memories” of Antonapoulos surface, Singer struggles to cling to his own happy remembrances of his friend. Sometimes, Singer finds himself thinking of Antonapoulos so often that he believes he can see the man sitting in the chair in the corner of his room in the middle of the night.

Singer is also bewildered by the four individuals who have now been coming to his room to talk to him for more than seven months—Doctor Copeland, Mick, Jake Blount, and Biff Brannon. Of the four of them, the quiet Biff is the only one who asks Singer himself questions. Though their presence sometimes tires Singer, he misses Antonapoulos so much that he feels it’s better to have a company than be alone. Singer has no one, now, who understands him when he talks with his hands. As a result his hands have grown restless, and he often wakes in the night to find them moving of their own accord, forming words no one can see or comprehend.

One evening, on one of his walks, Singer goes by the house where he and Antonapoulos once rented their rooms. He watches the new tenants move about the apartment through the window—a family consisting of a man, a woman, and a young child. Signer feels an “emptiness” within him and begins the walk back to the boarding house. The streets are bustling with people full of holiday cheer, and yet Singer feels profoundly alone.

One night, soon after Christmas, all four of Singer’s visitors arrive to call upon him at the same time—it is the first time they’ve all met. Singer tries to entertain all four of his guests at once, but the atmosphere in the room is awkward and uncomfortable. Copeland, Mick, Blount, and Brannon are stony and silent—an oddity, considering how on their own they each have so much to say. Slowly, the four begin making stiff conversation as Singer watches quietly. Singer begins to sense that each is waiting for the other three to leave, but no one budges until, amazingly, all four stand to go at the same time.

That night, confused and amused by the goings-on in his room, Singer decides to write to Antonapoulos at the asylum. Even though he knows that Antonapoulos is illiterate, he has been writing him letters regularly over the course of the last several months—though he can never bring himself to actually mail them.

After his guests depart, Singer goes to the jewelry shop where he works to write in silence. He composes a letter to Antonapoulos full of reminiscences and sad, lonely details of his daily life. He also describes, in detail, his four strange companions. He relays their quirks, oddities, and problems to Antonapoulos, lamenting the loneliness and restlessness all four of them share. Singer closes his letter by writing to Antonapoulos: “The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear. […] I am not meant to be alone and without you who understand.”

Singer writes until the wee hours of the morning and returns to the boarding house in the middle of the night. In his dreams, he has disturbing visions of Antonapoulos, Mick, Doctor Copeland, Blount, and Brannon naked and kneeling all around him.

In the morning, perturbed by the dream, Singer decides to visit Antonapoulos. He brings with him a present he’s ordered specially in the mail for Antonapoulos—a moving-picture machine that he hopes will brighten his friend’s days. When Singer arrives at the asylum, however, he finds that Antonapoulos is not there. He writes a note to an orderly asking where Antonapoulos is, and when she says she doesn’t know, he begins to panic. Eventually, Singer finds a nurse who informs him that Antonapoulos has come down with nephritis and has been transferred to the infirmary. Another nurse offers to lead Singer to his friend.

In the infirmary, Singer finds Antonapoulos in bed, looking bloated and pale. Singer sits by his friend’s bedside and begins talking to him, detailing all that’s happened to him since their last visit. The more Singer talks, the better he feels—even though Antonapoulos barely reacts to Singer’s stories. Singer excitedly gives Antonapoulos his gift—but Antonapoulos is more interested in his hospital dinner than the present. Singer sets up the projector with the help of a nurse, but Antonapoulos is, again, uninterested in the cartoons the machine plays. 

After the cartoons are over, Singer talks to Antonapoulos a while longer. He knows visiting hours will soon be over, but he is determined to express all he can before he’s asked to leave. When at last an orderly tells Singer it’s time to go, Singer grasps Antonapoulos’s arm and gives him a meaningful look, but Antonapoulos seems far away.

Singer returns to town and resumes his late-night walks as January continues on. The rumors about him steadily grow more and more fantastical and diverse—each person in town describes Singer as they imagine or want him to be.