The Art of Racing in the Rain: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Returning to the narrative, Enzo takes stock of his situation, locked in the house alone. He thinks that Eve is ill and it's affecting her judgment, and Denny will be home after two nights. As a dog, Enzo says he knows how to fast, thanks to a cruel exchange in which humans got big brains in exchange for being susceptible to salmonella, and dogs gave up thumbs in exchange for being able to survive without food for long periods of time. For three days Enzo rations the toilet water, fantasizes about a bowl of kibble, and searches for errant food scraps. He defecates and urinates on a mat by the back door and tries not to panic.

On the second night, Enzo says, he thinks he started hallucinating after eating some long-forgotten yogurt remnants on Zoë's high chair. He hears a noise coming from Zoë's bedroom and when he goes to investigate, Zoë's stuffed zebra is moving on its own. Enzo is surprised to see the zebra, since it's one of Zoë's favorites, but he reasons that Eve was in so much pain she overlooked it when she was packing.

Seeing Enzo, the zebra begins to dance and then starts sexually assaulting one of Zoë's Barbie dolls. Enzo growls, offended, but the zebra just smiles and moves on to Zoë's other toys, assaulting and humiliating them. When Enzo can take no more and moves to attack the zebra, it stops, stands on its hind legs in front of Enzo, and rips open its belly seam. It then proceeds to dismantle itself, pulling out handfuls of stuffing. When it has reduced itself to a pile of fabric and stuffing on the floor, Enzo leaves the room, traumatized. He hopes that what he witnessed was just a vision, but knows somehow that something true and terrible just occurred.

The next afternoon, Enzo hears Denny's taxi pull up outside. As Denny enters the house, he steps right onto the squishy doormat. Surprised, he hops off the mat and calls for Eve, but Enzo is the only one home. Denny picks up the phone, and after a minute says into it that Enzo is home. Realizing that Enzo has been home alone the entire time, he curses and hangs up. Denny shouts in frustration, cleans up the doormat, and fills Enzo's food and water bowls. Eve and Zoë arrive minutes later. Zoë hides behind Eve as Eve tries to explain how sick she was. Denny's anger doesn't recede, and Eve breaks down and says she can't deal with Denny's absences anymore.

Hearing crying, Enzo and Eve look over and see Zoë weeping in the hallway and Eve rushes to comfort her. Zoë cries, "my animals," and Eve, Denny, and Zoë go down the hall to Zoë's room. Enzo doesn't follow, as he doesn't want to be anywhere near where the evil zebra had been. Suddenly, Enzo hears loud footsteps and Denny calls Enzo stupid, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. Denny drags him into Zoë's room, which is a mess of eviscerated animals and dolls. Enzo thinks that the zebra must have put itself back together and destroyed the other animals after Enzo left the room, and that he should've eaten the zebra when he had the chance.

Denny's towering anger fills the room, and he rises up and strikes Enzo on the head, yelling "bad dog!" When he moves to hit Enzo again, Eve protects Enzo. Denny stops, and Enzo knows that he won't hit Eve. Enzo says Denny didn't actually hit him, even though he can feel the pain—Denny had hit the zebra and believed the evil demon was inside Enzo. Enzo believes he was framed by the demon that had possessed the zebra.

Enzo slinks towards Zoë, understanding her pain since he knows so much about her fantasy world. He says that she allows him to play with her, and her games have significant meaning. Through her games, he learns that Zoë worships her father and tries hard to please her mother. Lying on the floor next to her, Enzo raises his eyebrows to ask for forgiveness for not protecting her animals. After a long wait, Zoë reaches out and puts her hand on Enzo's head.

Later that evening, Enzo finds Denny on the porch drinking hard liquor. Enzo approaches cautiously, but Denny pats the step next to him and Enzo approaches. Denny apologizes and finishes his drink, pouring himself another. Speaking candidly to Enzo, Denny says his team got first place, and asks if Enzo knows what that means. Enzo does—it means that Denny was the champion. Denny answers and says it means he got an offer for a seat in a touring car next year.

Enzo, brimming with anticipation, says he loves when Denny talks like this, dragging out the drama. Enzo loves the narrative tease, since he's a dramatist, and that telling a good story means setting expectations and then delivering them in exciting ways.

Denny continues, saying that the offer means coming up with sponsorship money and then spending most of six months away from home. He asks if he's willing to do that. Enzo is torn. He thinks about how much Denny loves racing, but he notes the pit he gets in his stomach when he thinks about Denny leaving. Denny finishes his drink and says he doesn't think he can leave like that.

Denny says he can't believe Eve left Enzo for days, even if she did have a virus that made her unable to think. Enzo wonders if Denny truly believes this or if he's lying to himself, thinking that if he were a person he could tell him the truth. Enzo experiences a moment of questioning though, and thinks that if he were a person, he's not sure Denny would want to hear what Enzo had to say.

Blathering and drunk, Denny tells Enzo he loves him. Enzo feels the love and feels proud for surviving, laying his head on Denny's leg. Denny says he thinks sometimes Enzo truly understands him, and Enzo think to himself that he does.