The Rock and The River

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-9

Chapters 10-11

Chapters 12-14

Chapters 15-16

Chapters 17-19

Chapters 20-21

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 20-21Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 20 Summary

At Stick’s funeral, Sam wears Stick’s leather jacket. He is sure Father is disappointed in him. Sam sees Raheem, who tells him he has the information about the police officer who shot Stick. Leroy asks Sam if he’s sure he wants to join in Raheem’s plan, and Sam confirms. When Bucky refuses to join them, Sam is angry but remains committed to the plan. Reverend Downe and Leroy both speak at Stick’s funeral, but Sam is unable to pay attention to their words. Later, Raheem pretends to hug Sam while he puts a gun in his waistband. Sam looks at Stick’s coffin but does not want to accept that Stick is being buried. Instead, he wants to “put everything right” (269). Sam finds Raheem and says he is ready to go.

Chapter 21 Summary

Raheem and Sam drive away from the funeral. When Sam realizes that his anger has been motivating him, he changes his mind and tells Raheem to stop the car. He realizes that they stop by the clinic that Stick was so proud of the Panthers for opening. Raheem tells Stick they should get justice for Stick, but Stick believes justice for Stick means making sure all the plans he was so excited about come to be. Raheem drives Sam back to the funeral. Leroy offers to drive Sam home when he wants to stay longer than Father and Mama. Sam goes back to the spot where Stick is buried and forces himself to accept it. He talks with Leroy, who brings up the rock and the river parable. Stick realizes that he has finally grown mature enough to learn about the world as an adult.

Chapters 20-21 Analysis

The pressures of racism continue to drive Sam to want to “put everything right” (269). The rage he has come to know clouds his reasoning and challenges his ability to act in a truly meaningful way. When he realizes Raheem has stopped the car next to the clinic Stick was excited about opening, he sees a clear way forward. Stick “wanted the clinic opened […]. He wanted safe streets, and a bigger breakfast program. We can give him that” (275). Sam also accepts the fact that nothing would ever be enough to make things right, they can only try to make things better for the future.

When Raheem brings Sam back to the funeral, “I lingered for a while at the graveside, trying to burn this spot into my mind as Stick’s new place in the world. It was hard, but for once in my life, I didn’t want to walk away” (278). With that, Sam finds his home in the world. He finishes his story by saying, “I knew there were no promises ahead, no road map. I couldn’t follow anymore. I was the river. I was the one who would turn the corner and see what tomorrow held in store” (283). He has channeled the pressures of racism to no longer lead him to avoidance and inaction but to acceptance and improvisation.