Jaws

The hunt resumes the next day. Brody does not try to “feign civility” with Hooper so all conversation is directed through Quint (144). As the hours pass, Quint becomes more talkative, but they see no sign of the shark they are hunting. Quint and Brody shoot beer cans with the rifle but Hooper doesn’t join them. Quint presses Hooper, much to Brody’s enjoyment. They spend the next hour in silence until Quint spots something. When they reel in the line, however, the shark has “neatly severed” it (148). Quint is convinced that they’ve found the shark they’re hunting. They wait and watch as the shark bites through the second line. Quint sets up a third, stronger line. As Hooper ladles chum into the water, the shark appears. Quint fetches a harpoon but the shark slips silently back into the water. Hooper is impressed, Brody is shocked, and Quint comments that this massive shark is “trouble” (149).

The shark passes by the boat too quickly for Quint to throw a harpoon. Brody is haunted by the appearance of “the monster from twenty million fathoms” (150). Hooper, excited, talks about how no one really knows how big a great white shark can grow, describing the sharks as "like a locomotive with a mouth full of butcher knives” (151). The shark does not return so they finish for the day.

In Amity, Ellen is cooking dinner for her sons when she is interrupted by Vaughan. He looks gaunt, grey, and haunted. He has come to “say farewell” (153), as he will soon lose his business and possessions. Vaughan speculates about a life he and Ellen might have lived together. Then, he leaves. His words make Ellen reflect on the idea of a “life with Larry Vaughan” (154). She realizes she appreciates her life with Brody and worries she might lose him. At that moment, he returns home. She rushes to him and kisses him.

On The Orca, Quint and Hooper argue. Hooper wants to bring an aluminum shark cage with them. He wants to use the cage to photograph the shark. Quint believes that this plan is “beyond any man’s limit” (155). Brody is adamant that they are going to kill the shark, not film it. Hooper offers to pay Quint to take the cage and, when Brody argues, he becomes angry. He makes vague comment that Brody believes is about Ellen. Brody chokes Hooper and demands to know where he was “last Wednesday afternoon” (156). Hooper lies. Quint urges them to get in the boat and a “shaken” Brody agrees to take the cage (157). They load the cage into the boat and set out to sea.

Brody feels “jealous and injured, inadequate and outraged” after the incident on the dock (158). Quint tells stories about shark hunting. Brody mentions Minnie’s theory that the shark is hunting in Amity due to “divine retribution” (159), but Quint dismisses the idea. He blames bad luck. Hooper ladles chum into the ocean and they wait for the shark. Quint spots the shark “dead off the stern” (160). They try to lure the shark close enough for Quint’s harpoon, but the shark stays away. Quint drops the baby dolphin into the water, “less than six feet from the boat” (161). The shark takes the dolphin but hits the boat, as though “he knew there was a trap set for him” (162). They drop a dozen squid on a dozen lines to lure the shark back. Quint complains that the shark is “doing things [he has] never seen a fish do before” but he is determined to catch it (163). Half an hour later, a line snaps. Hooper puts on his diving gear, drops the cage in the water, and gets inside to “take some pictures of [the shark]” (164). He also has a special stick that fires a shotgun shell underwater; he wants to use it against the shark. Brody considers stopping Hooper, as he “might even relish the prospect of Hooper’s death” (165), but Quint and Hooper insist. Hooper puts a shark’s tooth in his pocket, “a duplicate of the one he had given Ellen” to protect against shark attacks (166).

In the cage, Hooper feels “serene” (167). The shark appears and he marvels at its massive size. Above, Quint studies the fish while Brody fires the rifle at it. Hooper begins filming the fish as the shark rams the cage. The shark breaks through the bars and bites Hooper in half with a “terrible pressure” (168). The shark surges up to the surface, as if “challenging mortal vengeance” (169). The rifle and the harpoon both miss; the shark disappears. Brody decides that the shark is too much for them to handle but Quint insists that he is going “to kill that thing” (170). Brody doesn’t think the authorities will continue to fund their trip, but Quint no longer cares about money. He only wants to kill the shark. They return to the dock. News of Hooper’s death precedes them. Ellen, feeling hopeless, has “long since finished crying” (170). She meets Brody at the door and fetches him a drink. She’s shocked to hear that Brody still plans to “[go] out tomorrow” (171). He cannot explain his desperate need to kill the shark. After a quiet evening, Meadows brings Brody a copy of the next day’s newspaper. Inside, the editorial eulogizes Matt Hooper, who died “trying to help Amity” (172). The article also apologizes to Brody and thanks him for his constant desire to protect Amity. That night, after struggling for a while, Brody falls asleep in front of the television. Despite the rain outside, he knows that he and Quint will not cancel. Before dawn, he leaves the house, saying goodbye to his sons and telling Ellen that he does “love [her]” (173). 

Quint is waiting for Brody at the dock, sharpening his harpoon. This time, they plan to use a sheep carcass as bait. Before they depart, the New York Times reporter appears and asks to come along. Quint dismisses him brusquely and they head out into the “open sea” (174). Quint stops the boat in a different spot because he has “a feeling” (175). The shark appears as Brody ladles chum into the water. The shark attacks the boat; Quint worries that he is “trying to chew a hole” in the boat (176). Quint throws his harpoon and hits the shark. The shark rams the boat, but the harpoon is attached to an empty barrel. The more the shark tries to drag the empty barrel under water, the more exhausted it will become. Quint throws more harpoons, attached to more barrels. Brody feels “ebullient, gleeful, relieved” (177) but the shark continues to attack the boat, not reacting as most sharks would to the impediments now harpooned into its body. Quint becomes increasingly uneasy, and Brody’s happiness evaporates. Quint says that “no normal fish” (178) should be able to continue so aggressively while dragging three barrels. Brody notices a lot of water coming in through a leak. Quint hopes they can tow the shark into the dock when the shark dies.

They wait three hours, watching the barrels. When the barrels become still, they approach in the boat. Quint pulls the barrels in and attaches the ropes to the boat's winch. The winch strains at first then becomes suddenly loose. The boat rocks. The fish bursts out of the water near them and lands on the stern, doing damage. As the boat begins to sink, Quint plunges his harpoon into the shark’s belly. As the shark rolls into the water, the rope attached to the harpoon snares Quint and drags him “down into the dark water” (180). Brody stands on the sinking ship, feeling the water up to his shoulders, seeing the shark come toward him. Before it reaches him, however, it stops and begins to sink into the sea. The shark dies but is stopped from sinking by the barrels. Brody begins “to kick toward shore” (181).