Cathy’s answer to “So Emmett killed Duchess? That was shocking.” > Likes and Comments
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I was saddened that I felt Emmitt knew Duchess would drown. And also that Billy never said a word about it.
Yes that seemed out of character to me too. You can just hear Billy asking his brother if they should leave Duchess in the boat given that he couldn’t swim, should they give him an oar etc. totally out of character for Billy to not question - but then it occurred to me that we didn’t hear Billy’s account of that moment - we only heard Emmett’s.
I am so sad because of that ending. It will haunt me every time I think of that book. Perhaps that is what separates from other novels!
No....Emmett did not intend for Duchess to die. If Duchess hadn't been so set on trying to save the money...on greed...he would have made it to shore just fine. Duchess chose money instead of life.
Cathy.... love how you picked out the quote from Emmett’s last chapter. You completely changed my thoughts on this . He knew exactly what he was doing when he set the boat up the way he did.
That quote led me to believe he knew.
so, is this a nice ending? I kept thinking, emmet dies, the police will go after Emmett and bye bye California
I thought so too. But i imagine considering it was in 60's there won't be a fingerprint technology as advanced to add Emmet. Also, one obvious way will be that after finding Duchess everyone will imagine he might have stole the money and drowned trying to escape.
If found that what Emmett did to Duchess at the end of the book was so out of character for Emmett as described in the rest of the book. I would believe it if Billy helped him figure it out.
It surprised me, but think about it--Duchess spent the book stealing from Emmett (and others), cheating them, and stranding the other boys. He glibly took what wasn't his and rationalized it. He was a sociopath. At the moment he pulls the rifle on them, they have to do what they can to save themselves (or Emmett has to save Billy). Duchess had a rough way to go, but he also was amoral. And he had a way of reappearing and disappearing and reappearing--kind of like Pastor John. When either of them showed up, situations went south quickly. Like Ulysses throwing Pastor John into the river, it was necessary to save Emmett and Billy.
Laura Schmidt I think you are correct and you believe as I did that Emmett actually left Duchess knowing he would eventually drown for all the reasons you stated.
Thank you for your comments, Laura Schmidt. You really helped me come to terms with the ending. Both Emmett and Billy showed tremendous growth. Billy recognized in Duchess the evil that was in Pastor John. Emmett didn’t cave to the demands of Duchess and heeded the counsel of Townhouse to keep his distance from Duchess. Emmett and Billy allowed Duchess to choose his own ending.
amortowles dot com, the-lincoln-highway-q-and-a is where to find Amor Towles Q and A on The Lincoln Highway. Toward the end of the article, you can find Amor's comments about the ending. Fantastic novel and terrific Q and A.
If Duchess had not tried so hard to get the money, I believe the wind would have died down and drifted to shore...eventually, perhaps a bit away from the Cadillac, but still within reach. BUT, Duchess was a wanted man. I choose to believe he chose the best way out.
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Jan 09, 2022 04:49PM
I was saddened that I felt Emmitt knew Duchess would drown. And also that Billy never said a word about it.
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Yes that seemed out of character to me too. You can just hear Billy asking his brother if they should leave Duchess in the boat given that he couldn’t swim, should they give him an oar etc. totally out of character for Billy to not question - but then it occurred to me that we didn’t hear Billy’s account of that moment - we only heard Emmett’s.
I am so sad because of that ending. It will haunt me every time I think of that book. Perhaps that is what separates from other novels!
No....Emmett did not intend for Duchess to die. If Duchess hadn't been so set on trying to save the money...on greed...he would have made it to shore just fine. Duchess chose money instead of life.
Cathy.... love how you picked out the quote from Emmett’s last chapter. You completely changed my thoughts on this . He knew exactly what he was doing when he set the boat up the way he did.
That quote led me to believe he knew.
so, is this a nice ending? I kept thinking, emmet dies, the police will go after Emmett and bye bye California
I thought so too. But i imagine considering it was in 60's there won't be a fingerprint technology as advanced to add Emmet. Also, one obvious way will be that after finding Duchess everyone will imagine he might have stole the money and drowned trying to escape.
If found that what Emmett did to Duchess at the end of the book was so out of character for Emmett as described in the rest of the book. I would believe it if Billy helped him figure it out.
It surprised me, but think about it--Duchess spent the book stealing from Emmett (and others), cheating them, and stranding the other boys. He glibly took what wasn't his and rationalized it. He was a sociopath. At the moment he pulls the rifle on them, they have to do what they can to save themselves (or Emmett has to save Billy). Duchess had a rough way to go, but he also was amoral. And he had a way of reappearing and disappearing and reappearing--kind of like Pastor John. When either of them showed up, situations went south quickly. Like Ulysses throwing Pastor John into the river, it was necessary to save Emmett and Billy.
Laura Schmidt I think you are correct and you believe as I did that Emmett actually left Duchess knowing he would eventually drown for all the reasons you stated.
Thank you for your comments, Laura Schmidt. You really helped me come to terms with the ending. Both Emmett and Billy showed tremendous growth. Billy recognized in Duchess the evil that was in Pastor John. Emmett didn’t cave to the demands of Duchess and heeded the counsel of Townhouse to keep his distance from Duchess. Emmett and Billy allowed Duchess to choose his own ending.
amortowles dot com, the-lincoln-highway-q-and-a is where to find Amor Towles Q and A on The Lincoln Highway. Toward the end of the article, you can find Amor's comments about the ending. Fantastic novel and terrific Q and A.
If Duchess had not tried so hard to get the money, I believe the wind would have died down and drifted to shore...eventually, perhaps a bit away from the Cadillac, but still within reach. BUT, Duchess was a wanted man. I choose to believe he chose the best way out.
