Duncan’s motorcycle accident

Duncan’s motorcycle accident is a second major injury in his life, following the loss of one eye in the Buick–Volvo collision. A drunk driver runs a stoplight on a snowy road; Duncan sees the car too late, and the snow prevents him from maneuvering out of danger. The crash leaves him with multiple serious injuries and leads to the amputation of one arm. His recovery brings family members back into the role of caregivers and underscores the continuing consequences of his earlier injury.

Background: Injury and Risk

Duncan’s earlier collision had already left him with only one eye. Roberta later points out the danger of riding a motorcycle with limited peripheral vision: one side of his field of view is always blind. Her concern identifies a concrete vulnerability, but the account of the crash also locates its immediate cause in the actions of a drunk driver, who runs a stoplight. Duncan sees the car too late, and snow locks him in place as he tries to avoid it.

The accident thus follows, rather than replaces, the earlier trauma. Duncan’s impaired vision shapes how Roberta understands the risk, while the circumstances described show that the collision is not simply a matter of his limited sight: another driver’s decision and the snowy road combine to leave him exposed.

The Crash and Its Immediate Consequences

Duncan crashes within a mile of a Vermont hospital. His injuries are extensive, and his limbs are placed in traction. A kidney complication also arises. At first, neither Duncan nor Roberta knows that one of his arms will have to be amputated; the eventual loss makes the accident a lasting change in his physical circumstances, not only a brief hospitalization.

Roberta reaches the hospital before Helen. She has been skiing farther north, but Helen has called her, and she gets there first. Seeing Duncan’s condition, Roberta rebukes him for riding in the snow and asks what his father would have said. Her anger expresses alarm and affection, even as Duncan is barely able to whisper in response.

Family Care and Recovery

Duncan’s family organizes itself around his long convalescence. Jenny Garp, then a college freshman, drops out so she can stay in Vermont with him. She had graduated from Steering School with the highest honors and expects to be able to return to college after his recovery. Meanwhile, she volunteers as a nurse’s aide at the hospital and becomes a source of optimism for Duncan as he faces a painful recovery.

The family’s response recalls the earlier recovery after the Buick–Volvo collision, when care was divided among relatives at Dog’s Head Harbor. Helen spent much of that convalescence in Duncan’s room, reading to him; Jenny hoped to care for Garp while Helen cared for Duncan. The motorcycle accident makes the pattern recur in a new place and under new circumstances: once again, Duncan’s injuries require sustained attention from the people closest to him.

Narrative Significance

The accident connects Duncan’s acquired disabilities to the practical conditions of travel and road safety. His single-eye vision is a recognized risk, but the crash also depends on a drunk driver running a stoplight and on snow limiting Duncan’s ability to escape. The narrative therefore holds personal vulnerability and external danger together rather than presenting the injury as the result of a single cause.

Its consequences extend beyond the moment of collision. Duncan faces a long recovery and the loss of an arm, while Jenny suspends her education to support him. The episode returns the family to a familiar structure of injury and care, but with Duncan now recovering from another serious accident and requiring a different, prolonged response.