Chapter n°18-20 - the happy end

Hey guys,

as I started to write this new post right now, I thought about this post being one of my last ones about the novel because it has only got 20 chapters. I almost through with telling you how our story is going to end. I'm sure I'm really going to miss the weekly blog post writing...

However, let me tell you what this post's about:
I'm going to write about the last three chapters of "Slam".

Chapter 18:

"That's the great thing about it [the Internet]. Whatever your problem is, it's on there somewhere, and it makes you feel less alone." (p.232, ll.3-5)

Sam is using the Internet to find out some statistics about teenagers and pregnancy. First he's blessed because his situation is ways better than what other teenagers tell about theirs on the Internet. He finds a statistic about how many per cent of teenage fathers lose touch with their child after fifteen years (it's 80%) and he's shocked. It makes him so upset that he runs to Alicia's home right away and "fights" for not losing touch with Rufus one day. It ends with Alicia and Sam arguing and Andrea calming them down.

It kind of shocked me aswell that so many teenage fathers won't stay in touch with their children! Because of this I googled about this in general. I just wanted to know more about this topic. About how many fathers are staying in touch with their children and this is what I found:

"One million men, 10.3% of all fathers and 5% of all men, don't live with their children." - the guardian

The statistic refers to the UK. I'm not able to compare the numbers to the ones from other countries, but only thinking about the situation in the UK makes me kind of sad. (Does this sound strange?) Why are 10% of all fathers not living with their children? It's one father out of 10!
What do you think about this statistic? I'm very interested in your opinions!

Chapter 19:

Chapter 19 is written like somebody else asks Sam questions about his life and he answers them. He talks about his sister Emily, about how he's doing at college and he explains his relationship to Alicia. After a long time they have sex again and for Alicia it seems like they are back together, but Sam ends the conversation about their relationship with the words:

"We live in two separate worlds that are not uniting. I don't want this to be an ugly separation. I think we should both be dedicated to creating the best possible life for Roof. Try and make it as easy as possible for him." (p.249, ll.12-16)

Chapter 20:

Sam is wizzed into the future again. Sam and a girl called Alex meet Alicia and Carl at a Chinese restaurant. Alex is Sam's girlfriend and Carl's Alicia's boyfriend. They are talking about Roof and Emily and everything seems to be fine. But it's just a look into the future for Sam and there's a long way before getting to this point but like Sam says:

"I could do it, though. I could see that. I wouldn't be sitting here now if I couldn't do it, would I?" ( p.254, ll.27-29)

Talking about my favourite chapter I said that I don't like the chapters in which Sam is wizzed into the future. After reading chapter 20, the last chapter of the novel, I have to change my statement a bit:
I really like getting a look into Sam's future at this point. I think it would be different if the novel would end with Alicia and Sam still trying to get on with Roof and the whole situation. I like that we get to know how their future is looking like. Even when Sam isn't there yet, he's got the possibility of living a good life. A life that he can truly enjoy.

I hope you like the last chapters as much as I do :)

Maike