Earthquake Terror

“The whole family waits for Abby, Jonathan thought. We have already wasted half the morning, waiting for Abby. He wondered if his parents ever got as frustrated by it as he did.”

At the beginning of the novel, Jonathan exudes the typical shortcomings of an impatient older brother as he struggles with an inner conflict between frustration and empathy toward Abby. He often loses patience as the family modifies their activity to fit her slower pace and mobility. Here, at the novel’s beginning, he mostly feels annoyance at having to wait for Abby constantly, but by the novel’s ending, he gains a new appreciation and empathy for his sister. 

“He felt as if he were on a surfboard, catching a giant wave, rising, cresting, and sliding back down again. Except he was standing on dry land.”

As the chaos of the earthquake strikes, Kehret uses simile and metaphor to describe the unnatural sensation of the ground’s movement. In this quote, she compares the vibrations of the earth to surfing an ocean wave. Her use of simile helps the reader understand what Jonathan is feeling even if they have never experienced an earthquake before. Kehret’s descriptions also convey The Power of Nature.

“He felt a rush of empathy, thinking what it would be like to be unable to swing your legs out of bed in the morning and walk unaided to the closet for your clothes. In the same instant, he realized how frustrating it must be to inch slowly along the trail to the lake while your big brother jogs impatiently ahead.”

When Abby’s walker is broken, Jonathan thinks about her point of view and is able to empathize with her situation. This quote relates to Jonathan’s inner struggle between frustration and empathy and shows how his heart is already changing toward understanding and appreciating Abby. By putting himself in her shoes, he is changing his mentality from one of impatience to one of understanding and compassion.

“Jonathan wanted to run. He wanted to vault over the fallen trees and run like the wind and leave this shuddering, destructive, unpredictable piece of Earth far behind him. Just me and Moose, Jonathan thought, closing his eyes.”

When he discovers that the camper has been crushed, Jonathan feels the urge to run away and leave his worries and responsibility for Abby behind. As a boy of 12, Jonathan is very young to be facing an emergency situation with a sister in tow. The responsibility on his shoulders would be heavy even for an adult to bear, and his choice to stay and patiently care for Abby despite his fear shows his maturity and courage.

“He wished he knew whether Mom and Dad had made it to town before the earthquake hit. If they did, Jonathan should wait by the camper, and help would get there soon, or at least as soon as possible. But what if they didn’t make it? What if the road was blocked by fallen trees and Mom was still sitting in the car while Dad walked to town? Even worse, what if one of the trees had landed on the car?”

As Jonathan attempts to make a plan for himself and Abby, he must commit to important decisions using incomplete information. As the boy forms and discards a series of plans, Kehret highlights the ways in which uncertainty can complicate decisions and create fear. Jonathan, however, does not allow uncertainty to stop him and instead chooses to take the best action he can based on what he knows.

“In his mind, Jonathan saw the layout of Magpie Island as it looked on the map. It sat in the middle of the wide Tuscan River. One small stream, Magpie Creek, flowed across the island into Magpie Lake, and then flowed out the other side where it rejoined the Tuscan.”

Kehret uses a third-person limited point of view to give the reader access to Jonathan’s thoughts in the midst of the disaster. In this quote, Kehret’s use of this point of view exhibits the geographical context of Magpie Island and its surroundings without needing to include a map within the novel itself, as many authors do. Instead, Kehret incorporates the geography of the area into the narrative itself to add to the novel’s rising action and to highlight The Power of Nature as Jonathan realizes how the earthquake’s damage is causing flooding on Magpie Island. 

“‘Just a second, I have dirt in my eye.’ He wished he had some water to splash on his face and rinse out his eye. What a joke, Jonathan thought. Here I am frantically trying to escape the water and at the same time wishing I had some.”

Kehret highlights an example of irony as Jonathan wishes for water to wash his eye while climbing tree roots to escape the flooding forest floor. Jonathan’s mental explanation of the irony in the midst of his desperate attempts to flee helps young readers to become more familiar with this particular literary device, even if they do not have a name for it.

“‘It’s my turn to be teacher,’ Jonathan said as he selected the two biggest alders. ‘Today you’re going to have a riding lesson, only instead of a pony, you’ll learn to ride a tree.’”

Instead of scaring his sister with admonishments to pay attention, Jonathan plays along with Abby’s school game and turns it into an opportunity to convince her to hold onto a tree as the floodwaters rise. With this perceptive decision, Jonathan demonstrates creativity and maturity in his approach to instructing Abby. He makes directions that are accessible for her age and words them in such a way that doing what is necessary will become fun for her. In this way, he turns her youth and inexperience into an asset, catching her interest in a way that will encourage her to follow his important instructions and survive the situation. 

“She’s so little, Jonathan thought. She’s so little and helpless and she has no idea how much trouble we’re in.”

Jonathan’s anxious thoughts illustrate his growth in the area of empathy for his sister. He chooses compassion and understanding rather than frustration, and this is a sign of his character growth. As the novel continues, Jonathan only becomes more empathetic toward Abby, with empathy winning in his internal struggle between frustration and understanding. 

“Jonathan’s head pounded. He was tired of making decisions. It was too hard to know which action to take when the choices might mean life or death.”

In this quote that emphasizes Jonathan’s exhaustion and helplessness, Kehret highlights the complication of uncertainty and the difficulty of making decisions with incomplete information. Despite his fears, Jonathan demonstrates maturity by choosing to take action in the face of the unknown. Also, Kehret shows that a major part of being responsible is embracing the need to make tough decisions in desperate situations. In this way, the quote also highlights the novel’s ongoing theme of Overcoming Fear and Uncertainty in Survival Situations.

“No! She won’t get washed away, Jonathan thought. I can’t let her be washed away. But no matter how fierce his determination, Jonathan knew, deep down, that what happened now was beyond his control.”

Jonathan’s thoughts highlight the theme of The Power of Nature as he acknowledges that his and Abby’s fate is beyond his control. He knows that he can only do so much to keep himself and Abby safe in the flowing river, and that he is at the mercy of the indifferent forces that surround him.

“The songs were the only way to keep Abby from crying so, while his own fear rose as fast as the water, Jonathan continued to sing.”

By singing, Jonathan demonstrates creativity in his approach to keeping Abby calm. Kehret also shows that although Jonathan is actively taking responsibility for his sister, he still feels fear. He is choosing to act and take charge despite his fear, which reveals the depths of his inner courage.

“He wiped the sweat from his forehead and plunged on toward Beaverville. Fear surrounded him like a winter fog. His body stayed warm from the physical exertion but inside, his heart felt chilled.”

As Mr. Palmer walks to Beaverville, he experiences fear at the uncertainty surrounding his family’s chances for survival. This quote relates to the theme of Overcoming Fear and Uncertainty in Survival Situations. These scenes also demonstrate for young readers that adults are just as susceptible to the effects of fear. Even though Mr. Palmer is an adult, he is clearly experiencing the same basic fears that Jonathan must work to overcome. 

“He inhaled deeply three times, filling his lungs with oxygen and holding it before he exhaled. His baseball coach had taught him to do that just before his turn to bat, as a way to steady his nerves.”

In this scene that precedes Jonathan’s attempt to swim to shore, the boy draws upon past life lessons and wisely relies on a calming technique that his baseball coach once taught him. By taking a moment to prepare himself for the arduous task ahead, Jonathan demonstrates courage, clear-mindedness, and self-reliance as he prepares to take a chance on making it to shore. He is action-oriented, and his choice to try swimming rather than simply staying on the log shows maturity and bravery and represents his ability to show Self-Reliance in the Coming-of-Age Journey.

“He forced his weary body to keep swimming. Images flashed through Jonathan’s mind as he swam. Bits of his past appeared in slow motion, the way television sports replays are sometimes shown. Each segment lasted less than a second, yet he clearly experienced every detail.”

As Jonathan is overtaken by fatigue in his struggles to swim toward shore, key memories from his past come to mind and provide the spiritual motivation to keep him moving despite his exhaustion. Kehret also uses these flashbacks as an opportunity to insert additional exposition and by further developing Jonathan’s background and explaining the circumstances of Abby’s accident.

“‘Never give up, Jonathan,’ Mr. Welch said. ‘You’ll have your turn to shine, as long as you keep trying. You must always keep trying.’ And two innings later, Jonathan smacked a triple into left field that scored the tying run. Yes, Jonathan thought, as he pulled his arms through the water. Yes, I will keep trying.”

Jonathan’s memory of his baseball coach’s encouragement gives him the motivation he needs to keep swimming. In this scene, Kehret shows how powerful the lessons of the past can be in their tendency to return to one’s mind in a moment of need and provide much-needed motivation. This memory is just what Jonathan needs to keep swimming despite his exhaustion. 

“He never saw the tree stump. It came toward him, spinning slightly, and hit him in the head. Jonathan’s feet quit kicking. His arms dangled limply downward. He floated briefly, face down, before he sank.”

Kehret ends Chapter 12 on a dramatic note, raising the uncertainty of Jonathan’s survival to new heights of tension. This stylistic decision intensifies the rising action, and to gain as much traction as possible from this uncertainty, Kehret compounds the situation by deliberately shifting the narrative away from the boy’s predicament. Kehret does not return to Jonathan’s point of view until later, when he is in the hospital, choosing instead to tell the story of his rescue from the perspective of the medics in the helicopter. 

“A woman in the line grumbled, ‘He leaves a handicapped six-year-old alone and then wants special treatment to find her.’”

When Mr. Palmer explains to the National Guard that his children are alone on Magpie Island, this stranger in line immediately passes judgment on his predicament without trying to fully understand the nuances of his situation. She does not sympathize with him and does not wait to hear the full story behind why his children are alone before passing judgment. In a sharp contrast to her behavior, Kenny, who offers to help Mr. Palmer by clearing the road, is a stranger who is kind and helpful rather than critical. 

“I want Mommy, she thought, for the hundredth time. I want to go home. I want Raggedy. I want Jonathan to come back. I want, I want, I want…But even as she yearned for help from her family, she knew they were unable to give it to her. They were not here. Not Mommy. Not Daddy. Not Jonathan.”

Abby has a moment of realization in which she recognizes that all the people she depends upon are not present to help her; the only person she can rely on is herself. This realization compels Abby to stop crying, look around, and evaluate her situation for herself. This shift in attitude therefore demonstrates Abby’s own experience of the theme of Self-Reliance in the Coming-of-Age Journey.

“Pushing the tree in front of her and using it for balance, as if it were her walker, Abby walked slowly toward shore. To her surprise, her legs did move better underwater. Despite the cold, a warm flush of satisfaction spread through her.”

When Abby faces her fear of the water, she finds that she is capable of making it to shore on her own and realizes that the water actually allows her to move more easily. The sense of accomplishment she feels shows the reward that comes with taking on a challenge. This moment marks an important step in Abby’s character transformation as she grows in independence and maturity, and it also helps her to overcome the fear of swimming that she has harbored since her accident. 

“Moose saw the boy beneath him and dove deeper. He clamped his jaws on Jonathan’s shoulder, sinking his teeth through Jonathan’s T-shirt and into the boy’s flesh, just far enough to get a good grip. Then, using every bit of strength he had, he swam upward, pulling the boy toward the surface.” 

Kehret uses an innovative shift in perspective to show Moose’s experiences while Jonathan is unconscious. The majority of the novel uses a third-person limited point of view that reveals Jonathan’s thoughts, but in the final chapters, Kehret must by necessity switch to the perspectives of other characters to demonstrate the many nuances of the rapidly developing rescue scenario, and the decision to include the dog’s perspective shows a particularly creative approach that also acknowledges the dog’s status as a decisive character in the novel.

“As they neared the river, they saw total destruction below them. Great crevices had opened in the Earth’s surface. Half the cars on a freight train had been knocked off the tracks and lay with their bellies in the air, like helpless turtles.”

Kehret uses the helicopter’s point of view to emphasize the destruction caused by the earthquake. She uses simile and imagery to describe the damage in great detail. This vivid description also supports the theme of The Power of Nature by showing the widespread and varied damage that an earthquake can cause.

“Tears of frustration rolled down Abby’s face and dripped onto the ground. It isn’t fair! she thought. If I could run like other kids, I would have been out in the open in time.”

Abby cannot move quickly because of her partial paralysis and becomes frustrated when she can’t move into the open in time for the helicopter to see her. In this scene, Kehret highlights the difficulty and frustration that a disability can cause, yet she also shows Abby’s determination to keep trying despite setbacks. Abby’s character therefore provides readers with insight into the complexities of having a disability.