The Golden Notebook

Anna witnesses the death of a pigeon in London, kicked to death by a man who claims it is an accident. Later she dreams of the incident, and the dream leads her to recall the weekends she spent at the Mashopi hotel. This recollection is recorded under the heading “Source” in the notebook. Mrs. Boothby asks the group if they could hunt some pigeons for supper; Mr. Boothby wants pigeon pie. Paul is the best marksman in the group, so he takes the rifle, and the group head out into the bush to find the birds. Along the way, they encounter an enormous pile of grasshoppers mating. Paul decides to pull apart a mismatched pair—a small grasshopper failing to mount a much larger one—and make a better match, according to size. The grasshoppers resist his efforts, so Paul impulsively stomps on them. Anna notes that these events occurred a few months before their last weekend in Mashopi.

Paul then begins shooting pigeons, one at a time. He expects Jimmy to jump up and retrieve them and then teases Jimmy about being a good retriever, as in a dog. The day is hot; the group is rather bored; and they are antagonistic.