-- Discussion Of Chapter 2

"That bit about me letting the animals at the zoo is a bit far-fetched", said David critically. "Cages don't have latches with pins in them."
"They ought to have", said I.
"And the dogs wouldn't get into packs", said Robert; "at least, not for quite a long time, and certainly the little dogs wouldn't join with the big ones. Foxes and wolverines never join up with wolves. No, Neill, not good enough."
"Ah", I remarked, "you haven't studied dialectic materialism."
"What has that got to do with dogs?"
I smiled knowingly.
"You don't know what Marx said about barks, evidently", I said.
Robert looked at me as if I was a bad cheese.
"You always fool when you can't defend yourself", he said angrily. "And I know you are wrong about the rats."
"I could a tail unfold", I began, but Jean interrupted me.
"I think it very silly to stay on at Summerhill if we are the last people alive. I want to go to London and take things from all the shops there. We could stay in Buckingham Palace and go to all the picture-houses, and --"
"Picture-houses?" I asked with raised eyebrows.
"Oh", said Jean, "I forgot. Of course not; there would be nobody to make the film thing go."
"And no electricity", said Michael. "Still, it would be good fun to go to London. Do take us to London, Neill."
"Perhaps", I said -- "perhaps next time we shall go to London."

On to Chapter 3

Discussion of chapter 2 of 'The Last Man Alive' by A. S. Neill. This page is copyrighted.