The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis

Shortly after the events of the previous chapter, Robert approaches Coach Ridley about joining the faculty at St. Benedict’s. The summer of 2003 has been hard for Robert: he has no money and no job. He’s moved back in with his mother, and depends on her. Robert’s friends all have stable jobs—while Robert, who’s worked harder than any of them, does not.

Friar Leahy has been paying close attention to Robert since Robert has come back to Newark. Because of his experience as a teacher, he’s not too surprised that Robert had fallen on hard times. He remembers a black student from years ago, who earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Outrageously, the student wasn’t able to find work after finishing his program. Eventually, the student committed suicide. Leahy offers Robert a job teaching biology, and Robert reluctantly accepts. He also coaches water polo.

One night, Robert is relaxing with his friends, including Julius and Tavarus, in a friend-of-a-friend’s house. The host confronts Robert about having gone to Yale, and orders Robert to get out. Robert and the host begin yelling at each other. Soon, they begin hitting each other. Tavarus and Julius break up the fight, and Tavarus tells Robert that he can’t fight like that. At a time when most of Robert’s classmates treat their Yale status as a badge of honor, Robert hides his.

That summer, Jeff emails Robert, but the email bounces back. He calls his old house on Chapman street, but gets no answer. Jeff realizes that he has no way of contacting his friend. Eventually, Ty emails Jeff Robert’s new number. Jeff calls Robert, and Robert explains that he’s been teaching high school. Robert seems a little distant, and Jeff assumes that, just as Robert is fading from his mind, he’s fading from Robert’s.

Jeff doesn't realize that, just a few days before he calls Robert, one of Robert’s weed suppliers pulls a gun on him during a price negotiation. Robert realizes that he’s gotten too complacent at Yale—he’s used to people paying him whatever he asks for. He decides to stop dealing drugs. He also seems to forgive Carl for taking his money, saying, “You can’t blame a dog for eating up a steak if you leave the steak on the floor.”

Robert is a good teacher at St. Benedict’s. He has no problem telling students when they’re being lazy, and often motivates them to succeed. He doesn’t broadcast his Yale degree but instead focuses on teaching his students good study habits. On one occasion, Robert tells a student to “shut the fuck up,” and the student’s mother complains. Robert apologizes, but he’s irritated—he’s sure he’s done the right thing.

Robert buys a house for himself near Chapman Street. Jackie is confused: Robert is making even less money than she makes, and she expects him to spend his savings on his family. Robert takes care of his aging grandparents, cooking for them and leaving them a few hundred dollars a month. He insists that his purchase is an investment—he’ll rent out the house to people. Jackie finds Robert’s decision unwise, but she knows she can no longer control what her son does.

Oswaldo Gutierrez comes down to Newark to help Robert fix up his new house. The house is old and dilapidated, but Robert seems proud to be living there. Privately, Oswaldo thinks Robert is foolish to imagine that he’s going to make a profit renting out this property. But he helps Robert repair the house.

Robert contacts his old friend Hrvoje, who played water polo for the University of Vermont. They get together on weekends to play water polo. Before playing, Robert always goes to visit Skeet. Skeet and Robert continue to search for a way to get Skeet out of jail. Ingeniously, Robert finds that the judge in Skeet’s 1999 trial misquoted a standard of review—an error which could lead to a mistrial. Furthermore, Skeet has been a model inmate. Robert begins to use this to draft an appeal.

In the winter of 2005, Skeet begins to notice that Robert asks him for advice. Robert is keeping tenants in his house, and he finds it hard to extract rent from them. Meanwhile, Skeet has begun to feel tired. However, he doesn’t visit the prison doctor.

In 2005, Jeff is happily engaged to a woman named Rebecca. He and his fiancé visit the Penn Relays, a popular sporting event in Philadelphia, and meet up with Robert, Ty Cantey, and some other Yale friends. Jeff notices that both of his roommates seem worn-out by their jobs and studies. In private, Robert tells Rebecca, almost gravely, “You picked a good one.”

Jeff and his Yale friends are adults, faced with all the joys and frustrations of their mid-twenties. Their lives are changing quickly. Strangely, though, Robert’s life seems not to be changing at all. He still lives in Newark, hangs out with friends from high school, and goes to St. Benedict’s five days a week. That summer, however, Robert experiences a major change when Skeet collapses in prison.