Spires and Gargoyles
- Amory gets to Princeton and makes a tour of the surrounding town. When he gets to his dorm room, he meets a guy named Kerry Holiday. Kerry chats with Amory and invites him to dinner, where they meet Kerry's brother Burne. They hang out and go to the movies before heading back to their dorm. All three get along pretty well.
- That night before bed, Amory looks out his window and sees a group young men chanting and singing. He wishes he could join them, but freshmen have a special curfew and aren't allowed out after a certain hour.
- Amory tries out for football but ruins his knee in the first practice session. So that's that for the rest of the season.
- The longer Amory is at school, the more he realizes just how much of a hierarchy American society is. He admits that he's fine with the hierarchy as long as he's one of the people at the top of it. Plus, he can't stand the idea of having to work hard to climb the ladder.
- His buddy Kerry tells Amory he can always leave the hierarchy behind altogether and write poems like their classmate Tom D'Invilliers. Amory doesn't understand a word the guy writes, but still admires his style and fancy words.
- Finally, Kerry tells Amory that he either needs to work hard and become a success or just let it go and take life easy.
- Amory spends the rest of his freshman year slacking—just getting by, playing pranks, and writing notes to girls.
- One day, Amory is eating lunch when he meets the young poet Tom D'Invilliers. They talk about literature and become fast friends, though Amory is always worried some of the school jocks will overhear them talking about poetry.
- Amory writes a bit of poetry to be more like Tom.
- The summer after Amory's freshman year, World War I breaks out in Europe. At this point, the U.S. isn't involved, so Amory doesn't think about it too much.
- Amory gets involved with a Princeton musical production and tours eight cities with it. The thing goes over pretty well, even though the musical itself is mediocre.
- One day, Amory heads back to his home in Minneapolis to attend a party. People have arranged for him to meet Isabelle Borgé, who is apparently a beautiful girl.
- We flash to Isabelle, who is being told all about Mr. Amory Blaine and what a handsome and accomplished young man he is. It's like people are trying to push Isabelle and Amory together.
- When he arrives at Isabelle's party, Amory walks right up to Isabelle and tells her that everyone seems to be pushing them together. Isabelle is shocked by how direct her is, but she likes it. They flirt with each other.
- Amory gets Isabelle alone in a room and tries to kiss her. But a group of noisy friends comes barging in just as they're about to kiss. After the party has ended, Isabelle punches her pillow, wishing she'd kissed Amory. She knows they won't see each other for a while (if ever again) because Amory is going back to school.
- Back at school, Amory gets popular with some of the Princeton clubs. This is a good move, since the clubs tend to determine where somebody sits in the social pecking order.
- One day, one of Amory's buddies wakes him up and tells him to get his things together. Someone has gotten hold of a car and they're taking a road trip. They don't have much money, but they have a lot of fun with the little they have.
- Over time, Amory neglects his schoolwork. It's not that he's lazy; he just has all kinds of other interests. During this time, he writes letters to Isabelle Borgé.
- One night, Amory takes a bike ride with his buddy Tom D'Invilliers. Tom says he plans on not returning to Princeton for his sophomore year because he's fed up with Princeton turning him into a boring, spineless sellout. He's afraid he's losing his idealism and becoming cynical.
- Everything seems okay for a while, but tragedy strikes when Amory's friend Dick Humbird is killed in a car accident. Amory and his friends are following in another car when it happens and they all see Dick lying dead in the road. The event puts a damper on their partying, since all of them then realize that they'll die someday.
- Meanwhile, Amory finds ways of visiting Isabelle Borgé whenever he gets a chance. He realizes that this might be the peak of his life, so he tries to enjoy it while it lasts. One night, he takes her in his arms and kisses her. Now it's settled—this is (and will always be) the height of his young, egotistical life.