This chapter's epigraph is from a famous poem by the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow's poem, "Alone," is about a young man who has been wronged by his superiors, and he laments the fact that he has not been able to avenge the loss of his friend. He laments that his friend's carelessness has caused him great loss. The young man, who is called "beastkin" by the poem's author, is furious at the injustice he has suffered. He curses his friend for being a mere lieutenant, for not being able to defeat him as an opponent, and for not having the "light of creation" to do so. He also curses the "human meat" that the young man has tried to eat, which he says is "delicious" and "fruitful." The young men's conversation is interrupted by the sound of a pincer attack, and the young men curse the man for trying to crush them with his pincers. This is a barbaric attack, the men curse, and they curse the