42 pages • 1 hour read
Rob BuyeaBecause of Mr. Terupt
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.
Part 1, Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “september”
The first chapter takes place in September, the first month of the school year, and introduces each of the seven students who narrate the story. Peter, Jessica, Luke, Alexia, Jeffrey, Danielle, and Anna are all in Mr. Terupt’s fifth grade class this year. Mr. Terupt is the new teacher at Snow Hill School. Peter, the class clown, looks forward to having an inexperienced teacher. Peter decides to test Mr. Terupt right away to see how much he can get away with, but Mr. Terupt calls him out in a joking manner. This response resonates with Peter: “His reaction was better than being yelled at like the old farts would have done” (3).
The next section of the chapter is from Jessica’s perspective. Jessica is new to Snow Hill School. Mrs. Williams, the principal, escorts Jessica to Mr. Terupt’s classroom. Jessica immediately takes a liking to Mr. Terupt when they bond over books, especially those with happy endings. Mr. Terupt puts her nerves at ease and promises he’ll do his best to give her a happy ending to the school year.
The next voice is Luke’s, and he expresses excitement over the Dollar Word Game Mr. Terupt assigns. This game is unlike the worksheets and busy work Luke is accustomed to, and he enjoys the mental challenge.
The point of view shifts quickly to Alexia’s first impression of Mr. Terupt. She likes him, but she’s more concerned with manipulating friendships among girls in the classroom and is eager to talk to Jessica “to tell her who she could be friends with” (12). Jessica is hesitant to trust Alexia, though.
The narrative switches briefly to Jeffrey’s point of view. Jeffrey asserts that he’s “no good in school” (15), and he doesn’t want Mr. Terupt to figure him out the way he’s figured Peter out so easily.
Danielle’s perspective brings attention back to the drama Alexia initiates. Danielle is accustomed to “Lexie” being her friend one moment and her enemy the next. She believes Alexia’s rumors and thinks Jessica has been saying rude things about her.
The final voice of the chapter is Anna’s. Anna is a keen observer, and she notices that the young, athletic-looking Mr. Terupt doesn’t wear a wedding ring, like her own mom, Terri. Mr. Terupt notices Anna, too, and makes a point to include her in class discussions. This makes Anna a bit nervous, but she acknowledges that “it turned out to be a good thing in the end” as the chapter closes (21).
Part 1, Chapter 1 Analysis
The structure of the novel immediately emphasizes the individuality of the students in Mr. Terupt’s class by giving each student a voice in the narrative. It also sets the organizational pattern throughout the novel: Each month of the school year has its own chapter, and within each chapter, the students contribute their individual perspectives and reflections on the highlights of the month.
The first chapter serves to introduce each of the seven students whose voices contribute to the novel’s narrative, and to summarize their initial reactions to their new teacher. Peter’s initial reaction is one of excitement because he assumes Mr. Terupt will let him get away with things more experienced teachers wouldn’t tolerate. It’s significant that it’s Peter who opens the novel, and that his assumptions about Mr. Terupt prove to be correct–Mr. Terupt lets his students push boundaries, and it’s Mr. Terupt who will end up injured as a result.
The first chapter sets a pattern that repeats throughout the novel: The girls’ narratives focus interpersonal drama. Alexia’s narrative quickly turns to creating drama among the girls in the classroom. She admits she’s a liar, and the novel presents her fickle loyalties. One moment, she’s excited to sit next to her friend Danielle, and the next, she’s warning Jessica to avoid Danielle: “She’s, like, somebody you don’t want to be friends with” (13). Alexia intentionally sets girls against one another and tries to establish herself as each girl’s only ally, creating what she calls a girl war from the onset of the school year. This girl war is clearly a distraction: Danielle can’t focus her narrative on the classroom, asserting that “school wasn’t so great” and that having a nice teacher doesn’t make a difference “when you don’t have friends” (16). Alexia’s antics impact Danielle’s overall enjoyment of school and dominates her narrative, demonstrating the deep impact of bullying.
The first chapter of the novel ends with a hint that Anna will find her voice by the end. These hints of upcoming drama occur frequently throughout the book and often contribute to developing suspense for the reader. It’s appropriate that the first chapter of the novel ends with a hopeful prediction from the student who proves to be one of the keenest observers in the novel. While future predictions from students will serve to increase tension and suspense at points in the novel, this early foreshadowing serves as a reminder that Terupt promised Jessica a happy ending, and that’s what the author ultimately provides in this story as well.
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