50 pages • 1 hour read
Dan GutmanThe Homework Machine
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006A 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 7-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: March
Ronnie is thrilled that Brenton, the “genius-in-residence” (103) is moved to his table. Ronnie tries to befriend him, assuming that Brenton will tell him what the D Squad is up to. Despite Ronnie’s best efforts, Brenton has no interest in being friends, so Ronnie tries a different tactic. Ronnie threatens to tell everyone what Brenton is up to if he doesn’t let him in on it. Brenton calls Ronnie’s bluff and asks, “what exactly am I up to?” (104), and the question silences Ronnie. Initially Ronnie denies throwing a rock through a window to break into Brenton’s house but then admits that it was him. He wanted to find if there really is a homework machine and says that having the machine isn’t fair.
Snik is unable to figure out the next move in one of his chess games with his father, so he brings his chessboard into school. The class tries to help him, but Brenton says Snik is in “Zugzwang, which means that any move you make only makes your position worse” (104). Even though Snik loses the game, his father emails with a message that he is proud of the “good fight” Snik put up, and they start another game.
Miss Rasmussen pulls Snik aside and congratulates him on his great homework and then asks whether he is copying anyone’s work. Snik knows he is cheating, but he is not copying the work, so he confidently says no.
An entry in the school newspaper’s gossip column mentions a rumor that “certain people in grade five have invented a mysterious machine that does their homework for them!” (108). Snik strenuously denies that he leaked the information.
After the seat switch, Miss Rasmussen confirms that Brenton’s, Kelsey’s, Judy’s, and Sam’s homework is still similar. She confesses to feeling foolish for not noticing sooner.
Kelsey is annoyed that Judy, Brenton, and Snik want her and Snik to deliberately get some homework wrong. Unlike Kelsey, the other three are “bent out of shape” (106) and paranoid because of the newspaper article and Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions. They decide not to meet at recess or talk at school anymore. They have another “stupid meeting” after someone breaks a window at Brenton’s house and decide to move Belch to Snik’s house. Kelsey remembers thinking it strange that the red light on Belch didn’t go out when they unplugged it.
To divert attention from the rumors, Brenton rewrites Belch’s software to introduce random errors into Snik’s and Kelsey’s homework. Brenton enjoys this challenge, noting that introducing slight imperfection “goes against the nature of machines” (107). He uses Post-It notes as an example of a product that’s perfect because it fails just enough.
Police Chief Rebecca Fish doesn’t take the call about the attempted break-in at Brenton’s house too seriously. She puts the broken basement window down to a prank by a kid who ran off when the alarm sounded.
Judy explains that the school newspaper, the Grand Canyon Times, is not a real paper but she still freaks out when she sees the entry about the homework machine rumor.
A stranger arrives at Brenton’s house and starts questioning his mom about the house. When the questions move onto what type of computer equipment they have, Brenton’s mom tells him to leave. She says she was frightened and forgot to ask his name.
Chapter 8 Summary: April
Brenton’s mom is surprised and angry when Brenton gives all his computer equipment to Snik. When Brenton doesn’t explain why, she puts it down to “preteen phases” (111).
Sam’s (Snik’s) mom is surprised to see all of Brenton’s computer equipment in Sam’s room. She calls Brenton’s mom, who confirms that Brenton gave it to Sam. Both moms agree it is unusual but put it down to boys being boys.
After Sam’s dad dies, Sam’s mom is grateful that Kelsey, Judy, and Brenton come over every day after school to do homework with Sam. She sees them using Brenton’s old computer but thinks nothing of it.
Snik’s chess game improves, and he almost beats his dad. They start another game. Snik doesn’t want to talk about what happens to his dad next; instead, he comments how unfair it is of Miss Rasmussen to spring a test on the class. He does share that he will never move the chess game he started with his dad, saying that if there is an afterlife, “my dad and I will finish that game” (117).
When Brenton confesses to leaking information about Belch, Snik is angry but ready to listen to solutions. He does not like Judy’s idea of confessing to everything in hopes of getting a lighter punishment because he thinks it would ruin her chances of getting into law school. Snik likes Brenton’s idea to destroy any evidence of Belch and wipe the hard drive clean. The group agrees to deny any knowledge of a homework machine.
A fellow teacher suggests that Miss Rasmussen give her class a surprise quiz to test the rumors swirling about fifth graders cheating on their homework. She designs a test that covers material they studied over the year. Miss Rasmussen is pleased that most students do well. However, Kelsey and Snik fail completely, and Judy gets a C. Miss Rasmussen now believes the rumors. Kelsey, Snik, and Judy have been turning in perfect homework, so they, like Brenton, should have aced the test. Miss Rasmussen is ready to go to the principal with her evidence when she gets news that Snik’s father was killed in the Middle East. Mr. Dawkins’s death, and the difficult time that follows, overshadows the rumors and Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions, so she lets the test results slide.
Judy is so ashamed of getting a C on her test that she hides it from her parents. When Snik’s father dies, Judy feels silly for caring about a test. Judy, conscious of all the arguments she and Brenton had with Snik about the pros and cons of war, is very careful about what she says to Snik and assumes they will stop using Belch for a while. However, Snik invites them to continue doing their homework at his house with Belch, and Judy realizes that Snik needs their company. One day after Mr. Dawkins’s funeral, Judy is stopped by a stranger who asks her questions about computers. Judy yells at the man and pedals away fast, convinced the FBI is after them and that her life is over.
Judy is proud of Kelsey when Kelsey calls a meeting to discuss what to do about Belch, but she thinks Kelsey is “nuts” for suggesting that Judy and Brenton “like” each other.
Judy’s paranoia reaches a new height when Miss Rasmussen summons her, Brenton, Snik, and Kelsey to a meeting with Principal Wilson. She thinks they will be expelled.
Kelsey breaks down when she hears about Snik’s father. She cannot stop crying, thinking that—like her father—Snik’s father died for nothing.
Kelsey worries about Judy’s mental health when Judy shares that a “weird guy” stopped and questioned her, so, uncharacteristically, Kelsey calls a meeting. “Yeah, me. At my house” (119). Kelsey reminds the group that Belch was supposed to make their lives easier, not harder, and then she asks who broke the pact and “spilled the beans” (120). Brenton admits he did. Even though Snik and Judy are furious with Brenton, Kelsey reasons that “Brenton made the machine. He could do anything he wanted with it” (121). She puts her arm around Brenton and forgives him. After the meeting, Kelsey calls Judy and tells her that she might as well admit that she and Brenton like each other because it’s clear to see.
After a lot of thought, Brenton calls the police hotline. His reasoning is that it is probably not morally wrong for him to use Belch, but it is morally wrong for Snik and Kelsey to use Belch—“because they were using it as a crutch” (120), and it is not helping them. Brenton admits it is wrong for him to break his agreement with the D Squad, but that it would be wrong for him not to break the agreement. Brenton says he is a coward for not having the courage to confront them directly.
Chapters 7-8 Analysis
The stress of using Belch to cheat begins to outweigh the benefits. The cons are adding up: Judy and Kelsey have lost friends; Judy is so stressed she feels physically sick; Snik’s, Kelsey’s, and Judy’s in-class grades are slipping; and a stranger intent on finding out about Belch is stalking them. However, there are several important pros. In addition to all the extra time and perfect homework they get from Belch, unexpected and meaningful relationships are forming. Every member of the D Squad is learning that people do not fit into neat pigeonholes and that deep connections can form between seemingly disparate people when judgment and preconceptions are put aside. Even though Brenton leaks information about Belch to the school newspaper, he does not cave to Ronnie’s attempts at “outing” them, and his reasons for the leak are well-meaning. Due in part to The Power of Empathy, Brenton is genuinely concerned that Belch is ruining Snik’s and Kelsey’s education and that it will ultimately hold them back. Likewise, Snik is against the idea of confessing to everything, not out of concern for himself, but out of concern for Judy’s goal to study law. When Kelsey forgives Brenton for leaking information and is assertive about finding a solution, she shows dramatic emotional growth. By demonstrating empathy with one another, the foursome strengthens their bonds of friendship and grow as individuals.
Snik remembers his father telling him that he must “learn how to handle losing because in the real world sometimes you win and sometimes you lose” (104) when playing games like chess, but the comment foreshadows the devastating loss that Snik is about to experience with the death of his father. The death of Snik’s father highlights The Importance of Perspective, a theme that runs throughout the narrative. Cheating on homework pales into insignificance following Mr. Dawkins’s death, a sentiment echoed by Miss Rasmussen. Mr. Dawkins’s death brings the D Squad closer, and Snik’s need for their company in the weeks that follow reaffirms that the group has a special, meaningful bond. This is especially true for Kelsey, who used to believe she was out of Snik’s league.
Brenton and Judy’s budding romance is developed in this section. The friendship forming between Judy and Kelsey is highlighted by Kelsey’s observations of Judy’s feeling toward Brenton and her banter with Judy about it.
When Kelsey comments that she thought it was weird that the “little red light didn’t go out” (110) when they unplug Belch to move it to Snik’s house, she foreshadows Belch’s sinister evolution.
Related Titles
By Dan Gutman
