Literature Study GuidesMiss LonelyheartsSummaries

Miss Lonelyhearts | Study Guide

Nathanael West

Download a PDF to print or study offline.

Study Guide

Contents

Cite This Study Guide

How to Cite This Study Guide

MLA

Bibliography

Course Hero. "Miss Lonelyhearts Study Guide." Course Hero. 3 Nov. 2017. Web. 4 June 2020. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Miss-Lonelyhearts/>.

In text

(Course Hero)

APA

Bibliography

Course Hero. (2017, November 3). Miss Lonelyhearts Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Miss-Lonelyhearts/

In text

(Course Hero, 2017)

Chicago

Bibliography

Course Hero. "Miss Lonelyhearts Study Guide." November 3, 2017. Accessed June 4, 2020. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Miss-Lonelyhearts/.

Footnote

Course Hero, "Miss Lonelyhearts Study Guide," November 3, 2017, accessed June 4, 2020, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Miss-Lonelyhearts/.

Miss Lonelyhearts | Chapter Summaries

See Chapter Summaries Chart

Timeline of Events

A warm winter's day

Miss Lonelyhearts tries to drink away the troubles caused by his column.
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Dead Pan
Evening of the next day

Miss Lonelyhearts torments an old man who reminds him of his readers.
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Clean Old Man
The following day

Miss Lonelyhearts tries to seduce Mrs. Shrike.
Miss Lonelyhearts and Mrs. Shrike
The next day

Miss Lonelyhearts meets Fay Doyle.
Miss Lonelyhearts on a Field Trip
The next day

Miss Lonelyhearts falls ill.
Miss Lonelyhearts in the Dismal Swamp
Some days later

Shrike lists the four solutions to life, all impossible for Miss Lonelyhearts.
Miss Lonelyhearts in the Dismal Swamp
The first day of spring

Betty and Miss Lonelyhearts retreat to the countryside.
Miss Lonelyhearts in the Country
Some days later

Miss Lonelyhearts drinks with the Doyles and hits Mrs. Doyle.
Miss Lonelyhearts Pays a Visit
Some days later

Shrike reads aloud an angry letter from Peter Doyle.
Miss Lonelyhearts Attends a Party
That evening

Miss Lonelyhearts insincerely proposes marriage to Betty.
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Party Dress
The next morning

Miss Lonelyhearts falls ill and decides "Christ is life."
Miss Lonelyhearts Has a Religious Experience
The same day

Peter Doyle climbs Miss Lonelyhearts's stairway.
Miss Lonelyhearts Has a Religious Experience
Moments later

Peter Doyle's gun goes off, perhaps killing Miss Lonelyhearts.
Miss Lonelyhearts Has a Religious Experience

Chapter Summaries Chart

Chapter	Summary
Miss Lonelyhearts, Help Me, Help Me	An advice columnist for the New York Post-Dispatch sits at his desk trying to write. The narrator refers to him only by ... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Dead Pan	After his workday Miss Lonelyhearts heads to a speakeasy, a bar selling alcohol illegally during Prohibition. Miss... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Lamb	Miss Lonelyhearts goes home to his rented room, "a room that was as full of shadows as an old steel engraving." Its only... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Fat Thumb	As the story goes on, Miss Lonelyhearts becomes obsessive about order. "Everything had to form a pattern." His is annoye... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Clean Old Man	Kicked out of Betty's place, Miss Lonelyhearts finds himself on the street again. He feels as if "his heart were a bomb,... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and Mrs. Shrike	The next day Miss Lonelyhearts lies on the bed in his rented room, suffering from a headache and a hangover. Shrike call... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts on a Field Trip	The next day Miss Lonelyhearts is back at the office. He thinks of a desert, "not of sand, but of rust and body dirt." I... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts in the Dismal Swamp	Miss Lonelyhearts next falls ill and stays in bed for several days of sleep. On the third day "his imagination began to ... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts in the Country	At this time, Betty visits Miss Lonelyhearts daily for more than a week, bringing him soup and chicken. He tries to talk... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts Returns	After a few more days on the farm Betty and Miss Lonelyhearts return to the city. And soon as Miss Lonelyhearts sees "th... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Cripple	Miss Lonelyhearts now avoids Betty, and she stops calling him. He wants to preserve his humility. He finds "the farther ... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts Pays a Visit	Doyle and Miss Lonelyhearts then take a cab to the Doyles' apartment. Each is wrapped up in his own concerns. Doyle curs... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts Attends a Party	Miss Lonelyhearts takes to his bed again, for four days. On the fourth day Shrike and four other people come to Miss Lon... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts and the Party Dress	The focus of the narrative returns here to Miss Lonelyhearts. Outside Shrike's apartment Miss Lonelyhearts catches up wi... Read More
Miss Lonelyhearts Has a Religious Experience	The next morning Miss Lonelyhearts has a fever, which he welcomes. "[The fever] promised heat and mentally unmotivated v... Read More

Plot Summary Miss Lonelyhearts, Help Me, Help Me

Cite This Study Guide

information icon Have study documents to share about Miss Lonelyhearts? Upload them to earn free Course Hero access!

Miss Lonelyhearts | Study Guide

How to Cite This Study Guide

MLA

APA

Chicago

Miss Lonelyhearts | Chapter Summaries

Timeline of Events

A warm winter's day

Evening of the next day

The following day

The next day

The next day

Some days later

The first day of spring

Some days later

Some days later

That evening

The next morning

The same day

Moments later

Chapter Summaries Chart