42 pages • 1 hour read
Judy BlumeDouble Fudge
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2002A 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: “Richie Richest”
On the first day of seventh grade, Peter worries that he will be treated like a new kid because his family spent the last school year living in New Jersey. However, to his relief, no one seems to have noticed his absence. Peter is relieved that Jimmy still attends his school, and as he spends time with Jimmy after school, Peter remembers the details of Jimmy’s parents’ divorce. Jimmy’s mother left him and his father, and although Jimmy doesn’t like to discuss the divorce, Peter knows it’s been hard on him.
At dinner, Fudge tells his family about his first day of school and how he already has a new best friend. Fudge tells Peter that his new friend’s first name is Rich, which is what Fudge wants to be when he grows up. The next day, Fudge brings Rich home after school. Rich’s family is wealthy, and Peter notes that Rich “brags about everything” (48); he tells Fudge and the Hatchers that his family has a beach house, and when he lost his first tooth, he got $80 from the tooth fairy and his family members. In addition to this bedroom, Rich has a separate room for his toys, and his grandma is “filthy rich” (45). When Mrs. Hatcher offers Rich peanut butter instead of tahini, Rich implies that the Hatchers must be “poor” because they don’t have a cook. Mrs. Hatcher tries to steer the conversation away from money, but Fudge and Rich are persistent. During Rich’s visit, Fudge tries to get Uncle Feather to talk, but the bird has gone strangely silent.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Bye-Bye, Sue!”
One Saturday, Peter convinces his father to take him across town to see Jimmy’s new loft. Mr. Hatcher brings Fudge and Tootsie, but on the way, Mr. Hatcher discovers that Fudge has lost one of his new shoes on the subway. Peter complains that “there’s no such thing as a simple trip downtown with [his] brother” (50). Mr. Hatcher reports the missing shoe to a transit cop, but she warns him that the shoe is probably gone forever. Fudge suggests using his Fudge Bucks to buy another pair of shoes, much to the bemusement of the officer.
The Hatchers finally arrive at Jimmy’s loft, and Jimmy is giddy about the size of the huge space. Jimmy tells Peter about his and his father’s big plans to build bedrooms in the loft and another bathroom, and they might even get a dog. The boys play a round of sock hockey on the spacious floor, but they are interrupted by a neighbor from the first floor who complains about all the noise. When the Hatchers return home, Mrs. Hatcher notices that Fudge is wearing “one shoe and one fringed and beaded moccasin” (56). Fudge’s shoe never turns up on the subway, and Mrs. Hatcher has to go back to the shoe store to buy Fudge a new pair of shoes.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Mr. Money”
Fudge goes to a play date at Rich’s and comes home with many ideas. He decides they need a bigger apartment and suggests that his parents sleep in the living room so he can use their bedroom to store his toys like Rich. Later, Fudge tells Peter that “the problem with [their] family” is that they “don’t have enough money” (59), and they need to acquire large amounts of money fast so they can live like Rich’s family. Fudge tells his parents they should play the lottery, but his father refuses because he thinks it is a waste of money. Mrs. Hatcher tells Fudge that they don’t need any more money and that they are grateful that they have the things that really matter, “like each other and [their] health” (60).
A few weeks later, Peter looks at Fudge’s homework and notices that he is writing about his deep love of money and nothing else. Soon, Fudge’s teacher and the school counselor take notice, and they call Mr. and Mrs. Hatcher into a meeting about Fudge’s intense interest in money. Mrs. Hatcher returns very upset because the school counselor asked if the Hatchers have money problems. Mrs. Hatcher asks Peter if he understands that the best things in life are free. Peter assures her that he’s not like Fudge and knows money doesn’t solve everything. For example, just because Jimmy and his father suddenly have more money doesn’t mean that Mr. and Mrs. Fargo will get back together again. Mrs. Hatcher seems relieved to hear that at least one of her children isn’t obsessed or worrying about finances, but she is still at a loss when figuring out how to deal with Fudge.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
On the first day of school, Peter worries that he will be teased like a new kid, but Blume explains that no one seemed to notice or care that Peter was gone all of last year. This amusing detail highlights Peter’s deep fear of embarrassment and suggests that Peter might be overthinking things. Peter lives in constant fear of being humiliated by his brother’s antics, and when Fudge suggests that Peter’s shoes aren’t very cool, Peter fixates on this and worries that he might be bullied for having “uncool” shoes. However, none of this comes to pass: No one at school knows about Fudge throwing a tantrum in the shoe store, and no one pays much attention to Peter’s shoes. While public humiliation might be a genuine fear for many young people, Blume implies that matters of popularity are often overblown, and sometimes we are more self-conscious than the situation warrants.
Fudge’s new friendship with his classmate Rich takes the thematic Obsession with Money to a new level. Fudge may have been fascinated with money before, but once he is near a child his own age who seems to have everything he could ever want, Fudge begins to think that his home and family don’t measure up to Rich’s. Mrs. Hatcher, who has always tried to teach her children about the important things in life, is very hurt by Fudge’s attitude, and when his school raises concerns, Mr. and Mrs. Hatcher finally begin to see that they might have a problem on their hands. They try to reason with Fudge and explain why they don’t need everything that Rich’s family has, but for a young child with a wild imagination like Fudge, reasoning doesn’t seem to work. The Hatchers now have to figure out how to end Fudge’s greedy behavior.
Blume creates a dichotomy between Peter and Fudge’s friendships to highlight the different depths of childhood relationships. Fudge meets Rich on the first day of school, and after knowing him for only one day, Fudge declares that Rich is his best friend because the two share a love for money. Fudge is an outgoing little boy who talks with everyone he meets, whereas Peter is more withdrawn with more social anxiety. Peter’s friendship with Jimmy has lasted for many years, and Peter has been there with Jimmy through good times and bad. Friendship means two very different things to Fudge and Peter, and as Fudge grows up and matures, he will find out that there is more to friendship than just playing with toys and talking about money.
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By Judy Blume
