The narrative flashes back to Jack’s youth.

It is 1984 and Jack’s father is away, getting ready for burn season. Jack plays Dungeons and Dragons alone in his room while his mother watches TV in bed. Jack wants to play outside, but she tells him he must clean his room because his older sister Evelyn is coming for a visit that night. Evelyn spends most of her time in various artists’ colonies across the country, and Jack is always happy when she visits. When Evelyn is not there, Jack’s mother criticizes him constantly and frequently pities herself.

That evening, Evelyn arrives with Jack’s father, who returns because it is too windy for burning. Evelyn gifts Jack several prints, promising to help him hang them on his bedroom wall the next day. Among them is Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” a painting that Evelyn likes because the farmer reminds her of their father. She has spent the year in Chicago, and the thought of the Art Institute excites Jack.

Jack attends Chicago’s Art Institute because of Evelyn, but quickly finds that he does not fit in. It seems all of the other students know immediately what to expect of college and are more well-traveled and experienced than Jack.