Bridge to Terabithia

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1977

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-11

Chapters 12-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapters 10-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary: “The Perfect Day”

Jess wakes up early to the sound of his dad leaving to find work. Jess goes to milk Bessie after promising May Belle they will watch cartoons later. As he milks the cow, Jess leans his head against her, wondering if cows ever feel anxiety like he does. May Belle comes outside to tell Jess that he has a phone call: Miss Edmunds asks him if he would go to the National Art Gallery at the Smithsonian. Jess quickly asks for permission from his dozing mother, who barely wakes up while Jess is talking. Jess leaves in a hurry before she has a chance to say no. He is ecstatic and nervous to drive with Miss Edmunds. As they pass the Burkes’ home, Jess realizes that he didn’t think to invite Leslie.

The National Art Gallery amazes Jess, who is “drunk with color and form and hugeness” (127). Before Jess can say that he does not have any money for lunch, Miss Edmunds insists on paying. They also visit the Smithsonian, where they see a miniature of buffalo stampeding over a cliff to their death. Jess is horrified and enraptured by the image. The sun finally comes out, and Jess thinks the day could not get any better. He has Miss Edmunds drop him off on the road and walks up to his house. As soon as Jess enters the house, he realizes that something is terribly wrong. His mother cries out in relief and Brenda breaks the news: Leslie died, and they thought Jess had died too.

Chapter 11 Summary: “No!”

Jess finds out that Leslie drowned when the rope over the creek broke beneath her. Leslie was a good swimmer, but it seems she hit her head and was unconscious. Jess screams that everyone is lying and runs outside. Determined to prove that Leslie is still alive, he starts running toward her home. His father catches up with him and embraces him. As Jess finally stops struggling, he goes numb. Jess wakes up later that night and thinks that he has had a nightmare. He convinces himself that “Leslie could not die any more than he himself” (134). Jess thinks of the two of them going to Terabithia in the night, and he imagines being able to apologize to Leslie for not inviting her to Washington. When he thinks about describing the Buffalo hunt to her, Jess is filled with cold, remembering how he did not want to go to Terabithia that morning. Jess tries to push the memory out of his mind.

The next morning, Jess realizes that he has not milked the cow since the previous morning. His mother assures him that his father is doing it for him. Jess is starving and scarfs down several pancakes. Brenda accuses him of not caring about Leslie’s death, commenting that she could never eat in his position. When his father returns from milking the cow, he says they should go to pay their respects together, since Jess was the “only one that really knowed that little girl” (139). Jess appears not to know what is going on. His father tells him he needs to accept that Leslie died. Resigned, Jess puts on his jacket and prepares to leave.

Chapters 10-11 Analysis

In this section, Jess experiences his greatest delight and deepest pain. The dramatic juxtaposition of his joyful day with Miss Edmunds and night struggling with Leslie’s death shows how loss can catch anyone unprepared, leaving them to grapple with the reality of grief.

At first, Jess’s outing with Miss Edmunds is a relief from his anxiety. Before she calls, his anxiety has peaked. As Jess milks Miss Bessie, he leans his head against her for comfort. This highlights how Jess has no parent to comfort him. Jess continues to inwardly berate himself for lacking courage. He thinks, “Hey, maybe you could go down to the Medical College and get a gut transplant,” and later adds, “Of course what I really need is a brain transplant” (122). These thoughts reveal how little Jess esteems himself. While Jess does not let Leslie see his fear, he is simultaneously filled with anxiety and self-loathing for his anxiety.

The outing with Miss Edmunds highlights their status as artistic outsiders compared to their community, and how Jess’s primary need is affirmation. Jess thinks that he needs brains and gut, but he just needs an adult to believe in him. Miss Edmunds invites him to the gallery, probably knowing this is something his family would never offer him. She asks him questions about art and points out observations, and when she senses his anxiety about paying for lunch, she makes it about her, joking, “I’m a liberated woman, Jess Aarons. When I invite a man out, I pay” (128). Miss Edmunds’s kindness not only saves Jess from revealing his poverty but also encourages his sense of masculinity. This is a stark difference from Jess’s home life, where his father is gone before Jess wakes up, and his mother barely registers him talking when he asks to leave the house. While Jess’s parents have their own valid struggles, this section shows just how much their absence impacts Jess’s life; without someone to help Jess process his fears, he is left to face his anxiety alone.

The tension gradually mounts throughout this section. The reader might not know what is coming, but Jess’s growing anxiety hints at danger to come. When Jess looks at the buffalo falling to their death, the reader may wonder what is going to happen. The mood shifts in Washington, DC, when the sun finally comes out. This relieves Jess, who thinks the magic of the day is worth any punishment from his mother. When he arrives home, he feels “joy jiggling inside him” (130). This makes his arrival home even more dramatic. The immediate shift—from elation to the news that Leslie drowned—shows how tragedy can be senseless. Like many who lose someone suddenly, Jess is so taken aback by the news that he refuses to believe it. In one moment, he assures himself that if he went to the Burkes’ home and knocked on the door, Leslie would answer. In the next, he is remorseful, wishing he had invited Leslie along to the gallery.