46 pages • 1 hour read
Lauren TarshisI Survived The Shark Attacks Of 1916
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010A 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 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
The next week brings a heat wave to town, so Chet is thrilled when the boys ask him to go swimming with them at the Matawan Creek. All week, the boys have visited Chet at work, asking him to tell them stories about his travels around the country. Sid calls Chet “the luckiest kid I know” because he has seen so many interesting places (22). Chet disagrees, telling them that he hates moving around so much and realizes that this is the first time that he has spoken that truth aloud. He worries that his new friends will think that he is complaining too much.
Chet is surprised when Sid asks why he never comes down to swim at the creek and that they are “always looking for [him]” there (23). Sid suggests that Chet join them that afternoon after work, and he agrees.
After work, Chet makes his way to the creek and hears shouts and splashing from the boys. The boys call him to join them, and Chet jumps in off a dock at the water’s edge. The boys play catch with a rubber ball for a while and split some molasses cookies which Dewey’s mother sent with him. As they eat, Sid asks Chet if he will be in Elm Hills for a while and if he likes it here so far. Chet thinks about the day before when he received a letter from his mother telling him that they have a nice room waiting for him in their apartment in California, promising that his father is “going to have some good luck this time” (26). Chet responds that he hopes that he will stay in Elm Hills for a long time.
The boys return to playing catch, and as Chet winds up, ready to throw the ball to Dewey, he notices that Dewey is staring at a gray triangle sticking out of the water and making its way upstream toward him. Chet shakes his head, not believing his own eyes and telling himself that it is impossible that a shark could be in the creek. Chet shouts for Dewey as he hears a splash and Dewey disappears.
Chapter 5 Summary
Chet runs along the bank screaming for Dewey and searching for Sid and Monty, who have also disappeared. Chet worries that the shark got all three of them, and just as he is about to run into town for help, Dewey appears, sputtering and yelling, “[y]ou kept me under too long! That wasn’t the plan!” (29). Sid also emerges from the water, holding up a chipped gray tile from the tile factory and shouting that they tricked Chet. The three boys begin laughing, and Chet’s heart sinks to realize that these boys whom he thought were his friends just played an elaborate prank on him. Monty teases Chet further, saying that his mother could hear his screams all the way to California. In his embarrassment, Chet chastises himself for thinking that these boys would ever want to be his friend and realizes that they only invited him to the creek to make fun of him. Chet gathers his things and leaves as the boys chase after him, insisting that they were only playing a prank and that they did not mean to scare him so much. Chet does not listen as he runs away.
Chapter 6 Summary
The boys visit the diner and act as if everything is normal between them, but Chet does not respond to their greetings. Chet hides in the back until the boys leave, and Uncle Jerry sits him down after the breakfast rush to check in. Uncle Jerry surprises Chet by asking if he is avoiding his friends because of their prank at the creek and tells Chet that they did not mean to harm him. He explains further that the boys pranked Chet because “they like you [...] you’re one of them” (33). He thinks that they expect Chet to prank them in return. Chet, having never had real friends, is surprised to learn all of this, but before he can ask more, Uncle Jerry’s friends, Dr. Jay and Mr. Colton, arrive at the diner with news of another shark attack.
Together they read the newspaper article, whose headline reads: “SHARK KILLS SECOND BATHER IN NEW JERSEY” (34). This time, a 28-year-old, Charles Bruder, succumbed to his injuries after suffering major blood loss in a shark attack. Before his death, Bruder was able to give a description of his attacker, stating that he did not see the massive shark until after it attacked him and tore his leg off. Bruder dies before he can say more. The article ends with a warning from officials to not swim alone.
Uncle Jerry still does not believe that the shark attacks are real, insisting that someone is making up these stories to sell newspapers. Dr. Jay says that the shark attacks remind him of a similar hoax about a “Creek Devil,” a monster that supposedly lives in the Matawan Creek and attacks guileless young swimmers once a decade. Dr. Jay teases Uncle Jerry, stating that he is the only one in town afraid of the Creek Devil and telling Chet that when they were younger, Uncle Jerry would not go near the creek. Uncle Jerry brushes this off, but Chet can see that he is blushing. He surprised that his uncle is afraid of something and feels hopeful for himself. Chet also concocts a plan of retribution for the boys, thinking that if he pranks Dewey, Sid, and Monty while pretending to be the Creek Devil then he will officially join their group.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
Chapters 4-6 explore The Role of Friendship in Overcoming Adversity. Chet’s sense of belonging grows as he becomes closer with the boys from school and they invite him to go swimming with them at the creek. This bolsters Chet’s sense of belonging and he begins to feel at ease with the boys. The boys even view Chet as having cultural capital, having traveled so extensively. This burgeoning friendship causes Chet to feel a sense of belonging and results in him sharing the vulnerable truth that he hates moving. By sharing this, Chet illustrates that he is becoming more comfortable around the boys, sharing something that makes him vulnerable to cultivate connection. He remains insecure, however, indicated by his worry that his friends will think that he is “bellyaching” rather than trying to connect by sharing something personal with them. These scenes are integral to the novel’s structure as they develop the internal conflict that will resolve by the final scenes of the novel.
Tarshis also develops the characters of Chet’s friends in this section. Just as Chet feels this friendship blossoming, the boys (known for their practical jokes) play a prank on Chet. The boys stage a shark attack, using one of the tiles from their job at the tile factory to trick him. The tile represents the class dynamics of the friendship; the boys do manual labor in a factory instead of a customer-facing role, and their objects of play are also their objects of work. The boys are amazed at Chet’s relative mobility and knowledge about the world; Chet is also employed by a kind family member and is happy with his earnings. Tarshis hence draws attention to socioeconomic hardship in 1916 New Jersey.
As Chet struggles with his friendships, Uncle Jerry’s influence on Chet’s life and actions develops in these chapters. Chet holds Uncle Jerry in high regard, viewing him as infallible. Uncle Jerry is a sage character in the text, decoding the harder aspects of adolescence for him Chet. Uncle Jerry contextualizes the boys’ prank, telling Chet: “It means they like you, that you’re one of them [...]. Now they’re expecting you to get them back.” (33). This quote illustrates the disconnect between Uncle Jerry’s understanding of adolescence and his nephew’s lived experience.
This section also features the second shark attack of the text, resulting in the death of 28-year-old Charles Bruder. The New Jersey Herald features a quote from the victim, who dies because of the attack: “I thought he had gone on, but he only turned and shot back at me [and] … snipped my left leg off… He yanked me clear under before he let go…. He came back at me… and he shook me like a terrier shakes a rat” (35). This scene speaks to The Difficulty of Changing Public Perception. For the first time since the attacks began, there is a direct quote from someone who has experienced them. Bruder articulates the sheer strength of the shark, and it takes this violent and sensationalist description to begin to change minds. This undermines the pervading false belief of the time that humans are the apex predator, at the top of the food chain, and impervious to falling victim to shark attacks.
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By Lauren Tarshis
