72 pages • 2 hours read
Rodman PhilbrickZane and the Hurricane
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2014A 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 19-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “A Patch of Grass”
Zane recalls how his laugh reminds his mom of Gerald. She once shared how she met Gerald at an Air Force party. She heard infectious laughter and felt compelled to see who was laughing: It was Gerald. They fell instantly in love. Zane’s mom says that his comments are just like his father’s. Zane declares that he is not angry at his father for getting killed. Zane finds it strange that he is in the same city where his father spent his childhood. Zane recognizes that his father is a part of him, and wonders what his father would think of the flood and the cookout incident, which Zane does not quite understand. Zane feels that things are going to get worse. The friends come to a new neighborhood with large, boarded-up homes where the flooding is much less severe. The water level is low, so they leave the canoe and walk. Zane fashions a leash to keep Bandy from running away. Tru is nervous: This community is not friendly to outsiders.
Chapter 20 Summary: “What Shines in the Fierce Sunlight”
Tru feels uncomfortable knocking on doors for help, so he calls out to houses from the street. No one answers their entreaties, though they believe there are people in the boarded-up homes. Tru does not understand why no one will help them, as they are clearly not a threat. Zane is also confused because people in Miss Trissy’s stricken neighborhood were helpful, but in this upscale, mostly undamaged community they are turning a blind eye.
They need a phone, shelter, water, and a doctor for Tru’s foot, which is worsening. An unmarked helicopter flies overhead and lands nearby. Malvina hopes it will rescue them. They find the helicopter on the lawn of a huge mansion. Men with shotguns rush from the house and order them to the ground. Tru is slower to comply because of his injury and one man kicks him down. Malvina attacks the man, who hands her to Zane. The “shotgun man” is part of a private security team with license to shoot to protect the property. He threatens Zane with a gun, telling Zane to answer his questions truthfully.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Like an Animal Crawling Away”
Zane never had a gun pointed at him and it feels surreal. The man asks if Zane is scouting for their “posse,” but Zane does not understand. Tru deferentially explains that Zane is not from New Orleans. Another man intervenes, saying that Zane, Tru, and Malvina are alone and unarmed. The man with the shotgun—whom Zane calls “Boss Man”—mocks Tru’s speech, and suggests they are looters and thieves. Tru replies they are honest folk who just need help. Tru is disgusted when he finds that the men were hired to rescue expensive rugs from inside the house. Tru asks the man to leave the last rug behind and to rescue Zane and Malvina instead. Boss Man thinks the kids would vandalize the helicopter, replying that “your kind” can find a free ride elsewhere. With his gun, he knocks Tru’s hat off, then crushes it with his boot. As most of the men leave in the helicopter, Tru’s hat blows away, looking like an injured animal.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Leave a Message, Please”
One of the security men follows Zane, Tru, Malvina, and Bandy and offers them a bag of food and water. Malvina angrily thinks that he is just playing a cruel joke, but there are supplies inside. The “nice dude” says they are clearly not criminals, but his boss is mean-spirited. Tru replies Boss Man was rude because they are “po’ and black” (112). The man agrees, but warns there are other, even less-friendly security forces in the area and most of the homeowners are armed. People are willing to shoot any strangers, not just people who are looting. Zane uses the man’s cell phone to leave a message for his mom. Zane tears up, but Bandy comforts Zane, and Malvina tells jokes to cheer him. Laughing, Zane loses hold of Bandy, who runs back to the mansion. Tru stops Zane from following Bandy, fearing Zane will be shot. Bandy finds Tru’s beat-up hat and brings it to him. Supporting Tru, whose foot is worse, the group returns to their canoe, only to discover that it is gone.
Chapter 23 Summary: “All the Way Dark”
Angry about the stolen canoe, Tru changes plans. Now they must go to the Superdome even though Tru wanted to avoid it because as a “shelter of last resort,” aid will be sparse (117). Tru assures the kids—and himself—that someone there will help Zane find his family and Tru and Malvina can rest before going to his cousin Belinda Manning’s home. Tru’s ankle is swollen and painful. They walk slowly through wreckage, appalled by the stench of dead bodies. They shelter for the night in a garden shed. Tru admits he is worried, but if they stick to the plan the kids will be safe. Tru makes Malvina repeat his cousin’s name and the name of her Last Chance Animal Shelter. Tru tells Zane it is important for him to know about his father, and to ask Belinda about Gerald. Malvina believes that Tru will tell them to go on without him. While Tru sleeps, Malvina and Zane promise each other they will not leave Tru behind. Malvina declares that Zane is her brother.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Top of the Ten”
Tru tells Malvina and Zane to continue to the Superdome and send help back for him. Malvina refuses, and the two argue. Tru looks to Zane for help, but Zane keeps his promise to Malvina, even though Tru grumbles. They walk slowly, supporting Tru, until Malvina declares he needs a wheelchair, and runs back the way they came. Tru holds Bandy and tells Zane to follow and make sure she is okay. Zane quickly gets lost and starts to panic until he hears Malvina shouting. Grabbing a piece of wood to defend her if need be, he finds her in an old insurance building wrestling with a wheeled office chair. They get the chair back to Tru, and as Zane pushes him along, Zane feels more hopeful. Malvina’s jokes and the chair put them all in a positive mood. In the distance, they see the top of the Superdome sticking out over the elevated highway called the “Ten.”
Chapters 19-24 Analysis
Themes of family and the racial injustice take center stage in these chapters. Zane experiences racial discrimination which increases his awareness of the unequal power of privilege. Zane also expresses a deeper understanding of his connection to both his father and his mother and expands his bond with Malvina. Also in this section, Philbrick uses another past hurricane, Hurricane Georges, to foreshadow conditions at the Superdome.
Zane’s insists that he does not hate his father for “stupidly” getting run over, bur the truth is that Zane is angry about his father’s death and absence. Zane’s journey through New Orleans, however, allows him to feel a connection to his father. Exploring the same neighborhood his father grew up in, Zane feels closer to Gerald. Zane’s experiences are slowly changing his previously self-avowed indifference to family. Zane also recognizes how close he is to his mother. He tears up when he finally gets to call her and realizes that he is as close to his mom as Malvina is to Tru. Zane begins to understand how connected his identity is to his family.
Tru also continuously stresses the importance of family ties. He directs Zane to contact Belinda to learn about Gerald’s history. Tru knows, as Zane is learning, that one cannot divorce oneself from your history. Malvina’s definition of family is broader than Zane’s. Malvina views Tru as a father-figure. She values his love and the sacrifices he makes to protect and care for her. Tru embodies the positive aspects and close bonds of family more than Malvina’s absent and negligent mother. When Zane promises to help Tru, he becomes part of Malvina’s family of choice, her “brother.” Zane no longer holds himself apart but commits to sticking with and helping his new friends.
When Boss Man disparagingly addresses Zane as, “You, the light-skinned boy!” (105), Zane is struck by the fact that his race affects how some people think of him. Zane, Tru, and Malvina are victims of racial profiling. Because of his bias against Black people, Boss Man assumes they are thieves. Although Philbrick does not specifically describe the security force as white, readers can infer this through Boss Man’s “us vs. them” perspective. Boss Man assumes because they are Black people in an expensive neighborhood, they don’t belong. He also assumes they will lie to him. Boss Man exemplifies the institutionalization of racism: Not only is he personally biased, but his prejudice is embedded into the duties of his position.
Notably, Boss Man does not speak with the same dialect as Tru and Malvina. He makes fun of their speech, implying that their cultural identity is inferior. His own speech employs what could be considered authoritative vocabulary words like “deemed” and “predations.” Zane knows that Boss Man is using his power, authority, and language to, “make us feel small and stupid” (111).
The mansion and wealthy neighborhood symbolize white privilege. Tru is uneasy, knowing that, because of their race and socioeconomic background, they are unwelcome there. Zane is angry that people there hide and refuse aid, but in Miss Trissy’s Black community, and at the cookout, they helped each other. Philbrick creates a stark contrast between the two areas and their residents, one white, fearful, selfish, and privileged, the other Black, welcoming, giving, and poor.
Finally, Philbrick foreshadows conditions at the Superdome when Tru alludes to Hurricane Georges, which struck New Orleans in September 1998. For the first time, the 13-acre large Superdome was used as an emergency shelter, housing over 13,000 people. The survivors did not receive enough supplies, and many people required medical attention. (Foster, Mary. “Superdome Used as Storm Shelter.” AP News, 28 September 1998, https://apnews.com/article/4c145c00f886a57facd18b90fa563b38. Accessed 22 March 2021.) Based on this history, and the mayor’s warning that the dome is a “shelter of last resort” (117), Tru thinks they will not receive much help. Philbrick’s use of this reference activates readers’ prior knowledge of the Superdome conditions after Katrina and works to foreshadow upcoming events and build tension.
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