48 pages • 1 hour read
James Ramsey UllmanBanner In The Sky
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1954A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Three to Make Ready”
After Rudi attempts to swim out of the avalanche, the snow stops, leaving him “motionless in a tomb of white silence” (126). Rudi understands that struggling to get out might only entrench him deeper in the avalanche, so he manages to gently backstroke his way to the top of the snow, where he finally breathes again. Saxo also makes his way out, and the two of them dig up Winter, who was flung against rocks and has a gash on his head. Saxo and Winter agree that it was stupid to climb the ridge so late in the day. The three make their way back to the cabin for dinner. Rudi is so exhausted that he falls asleep, revealing that he is still a child, despite his adult climb that day. Winter wakes him up for dinner, and the three rest well that evening.
The next morning, they discuss the best way to approach the Citadel. Despite the avalanche, Winter is convinced that the southeast route is superior if they leave early enough in the morning. Saxo disagrees, but they will decide later, after returning to Broli for supplies. Winter wants to stop in Kurtal to convince Franz to climb with them. Saxo objects, insisting that “a man of Broli does not climb with a Kurtaler” (133). He feels that someone who must be convinced to climb the Citadel shouldn’t come. Winter, who isn’t entrenched in the locals’ prejudice, gets angry with Saxo’s stubbornness, pointing out that his prejudice against Kurtal is getting in the way of his judgment. While Franz is “full of old taboos and traditions” (135), Winter knows that he wants to climb the Citadel. Although Rudi begs to go to Broli, Winter insists that he return to Kurtal. Rudi begins his trek home but deviates and takes the path back toward the Citadel. In this key moment, Rudi chooses his destiny over his uncle’s and his mother’s plans for his life.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Alone”
Rudi’s actions are “not a result of conscious choice or decision” (140) but of instinct. He knows he will have to go back to Kurtal and face his uncle’s anger and the ridicule of his friends, but he continues to climb. He moves quickly now that there are footprints from the day before. He detours around the avalanche area, paying careful attention. Finally, he makes it to solid rock—the southeast ridge. He realizes how far it is to the summit, even from the base of the ridge. In fact, he cannot even see the summit from where he is, although he can see the “promontory that was called the Fortress” (142). He decides he can make it to the Fortress and back to the hut by nightfall.
Rudi climbs on, unaware of the time. While the climbing is steep, there are plenty of hand and foot holds. During a harder stretch, Rudi thinks he can’t go on, until he hears Winter’s voice say, “It has been done before” (145). Inspired by the thought of his father climbing before him, Rudi continues. As the world becomes incredibly quiet, he realizes there aren’t even animals out anymore. He wonders if a shadow he senses is the warning of the mountain or demons, but he assures himself that he believes in only “my Father Who is in Heaven. Only in Him—and my other father, who has climbed on this mountain before me” (146). When he finally reaches the Fortress, Rudi is filled with a sacred sense of victory. He sees the “key” to get past the Fortress, a large chimney in the rock, and begins inching out on the ledge, making his way to the base of the cleft in the rock. Although his clothes are torn and his fingers are bloody, he feels a “great lift of the heart” (149), realizing that he and his father were right about the route up the mountain. Aware of how long it has been, Rudi knows he should go back but makes the risky choice to continue climbing. He makes it to the shelf above the cliff face. At that moment, he is “the first human being” (150) to climb past the Fortress. As Rudi takes in the moment, he realizes there is a humming in the sky; the shadow he felt for a moment earlier is now a huge storm over him.
Chapter 12 Summary: “A Boy and a Ghost”
The wind from the storm strikes Rudi as he climbs down the mountain. He recedes to the cleft in the rock, where he is sheltered a bit. He manages to climb down through the cleft, the wind favorably blowing him toward the mountain rather than away from it. When he reaches the platform at the base of the Fortress, the storm hits him hard, and he lies flat on the rock. Rudi crawls forward, unsure what direction he was moving in. From the “gray churning sky” (154) comes a loud rumbling that he fears is an avalanche of rocks like the one that led to his father’s death years before. He realizes it is thunder and he needs to look out for lightning. As Rudi makes his way to the wall of the Fortress, he finds a hollowed-out cave where he can take shelter. Rudi realizes trying to descend could leave him injured like Old Teo, or worse. He huddles in the cave for the night, pulling on his extra sweater and his father’s red shirt for warmth. He realizes this must be the cave where his father and Stephenson died. He feels his father’s presence, but instead of an eerie feeling, he knows that “my father is not here to harm me, but to watch over me” (161). He survives the night and wakes early for his descent. He slips constantly, and his “arms and legs were like bars of lead” (162), but he knows he will make it.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
In this section, the theme of The Relationship Between Humans and Nature comes to the forefront, as Rudi is enveloped in an avalanche of snow, stuck on the Fortress during a storm, and held to the side of the mountain only by chance. As the story advances, the Citadel becomes more majestic and more menacing. The avalanche demonstrates the power of nature. The climbers are “tossed like ships in a storming sea” (126). No amount of might can get Rudi out of the snow. While all three climbers manage to escape with only Winter’s blow to the head as an injury, they are aware that their fate could have been much worse.
When Rudi returns to climb to the Fortress, the descriptions of the setting continue to highlight nature’s might. Compared to the rock and ice of the citadel, Rudi is “a tiny speck” (139). When he reaches the Fortress, still at the base of the mountain, he sees “monstrous, almost vertical precipices” (142) and “savage rock thrusting up and up to the final pyramid” (142). Depicting the mountain as something savage, monstrous, and mighty not only adds to the sense of fear but also increases the sense of wonder with each of Rudi’s steps. This shows the tension in The Relationship Between Humans and Nature. While the mountain is terrifying, it is also full of splendor. Climbing involves risking his life, but it is also invigorating and makes Rudi feel “awake and moving and alive” (145). When he reaches the top of the Fortress, Rudi is filled with a feeling deeper than anything he ever experienced before. He doesn’t want to exult himself or shout, feeling that would be “blasphemy in that high secret place” (147). Rudi feels a sacred presence in nature, in addition to the risks it presents.
This sacred presence on the mountain is tied to the underlying sense of heritage and honor throughout Banner in the Sky. While Rudi endangers himself and others by disobeying his uncle and his mother, he is not merely a spoiled and rebellious child. He is destined to climb and follow in his father’s footsteps. When he takes the fork in the road toward the Citadel, he is not intentionally defying orders: His actions are “simply what he had to do” (140). Part of his need to climb is driven by the urge to free himself from the confinements of his dishwashing job and the insults that come with it. However, Rudi is also protecting his own honor and his father’s legacy. By verifying that the key to the Citadel is the Fortress, Rudi proves “that his father had been right” (151).
In Rudi’s growing respect for the force that he is up against, Banner in the Sky shows The Balance of Risk and Courage. Winter models this for Rudi by referring to their choice to climb the slope in the afternoon sun as “stupid” (129). When Rudi returns to the avalanche site, he is careful to walk close to the rock to have something to “cling to, just in case” (141). In climbing, Rudi has moments where he has to move quickly, and the slightest indecision could cause him to fall to his death. In other moments, he has to crawl slowly, such as when he descends the Fortress to the cave in the snow and wind. When he is stuck in the avalanche, Rudi has to think carefully, deciding to backstroke his way out of the snow instead of using up all his oxygen by struggling. When he reaches the Fortress, he demonstrates his more mature understanding of the need for caution and judgment as he realizes, “I cannot go […] it is the warning of the mountain” (146). Nonetheless, he climbs so late into the day that he is stuck on the Fortress during a storm. For Rudi’s maturation to be complete, he will need to learn to master the elements and his own instincts, balancing risk and patience.
Rudi also learns about Maturity and Masculinity from the examples around him. Saxo is a large man and the “best of the guides in Broli” (118), but he is also proud and prejudiced. Winter treats Rudi with respect, but Saxo asks, “And who are you, boy?” (101) with a demeaning attitude. When he learns that Rudi is Josef’s son, his reaction is simply, “So?” (102). Saxo “grudgingly” admits that Rudi’s father was a good man, but he insists that Franz’s refusal to climb the Citadel is because he isn’t skilled or brave. As the story continues, Rudi has to decide between two versions of masculinity: Will he be driven by ego like Saxo, or will he follow the ethical models of his father, his uncle, and Winter? By choosing to do what is right, even if it doesn’t bring him fame, Rudi will establish himself as a mature person of character, not just as someone who is rugged and physically strong like Saxo.
