31 pages • 1 hour read
Robb WhiteDeathwatch
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1972A 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 8-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary
As he finds himself in full sun, Ben moves to the end of another ledge and hears Madec shoot at him again. He sustains a shot to his arm, and he shields himself behind a slab. The pain of the gunshot wound is almost imperceptible among his other aches and pains. He hears Madec moving the Jeep to get a better view. Ben gathers his sotol leaves and slingshot before running off the ledge to reach a stone funnel, gaining more injuries along the way. Exhausted, he works his way into a tunnel and crawls through, finding a water source at the end.
Chapter 9 Summary
Ben drinks as much water as he can and falls asleep. When he wakes, he feels better but hungry. He decides to use the slingshot he took from the old man’s camp to hunt for food. Upon examination, he sees that this slingshot is “the best slingshot he had ever seen” (110). He figures out how the slingshot works, practices his aim first with pebbles and then with buckshot, and uses it to kill five birds. He is so hungry he eats the birds raw, even though he is repulsed by them. He vows to cook them before he eats them next time.
Chapter 10 Summary
Ben sleeps through the night. He uses the slingshot to kill more birds in the morning and takes more care in preparing them before he eats them. He cleans his wounds with the water and continues to practice using the slingshot. Ben realizes he must fight Madec, and he begins planning how to do that in a way that gives him the greatest advantage. Ben looks out to see Madec using tools to climb the butte where he is hiding. He knows that he is vulnerable to Madec in this spot. He is relieved to see a Game and Fish helicopter overhead.
Chapter 11 Summary
Ben watches the helicopter land, and a person gets out to talk to Madec. He tries to see who the person is, but all he can see is that the person is not wearing a Game and Fish uniform. Ben also tries to yell to get their attention, but the noise of the helicopter idling is too loud. Ben is disappointed when the man who talks to Madec gets back in the helicopter and leaves. Ben eats and drinks while he waits for Madec to go to sleep for the night. He then begins to climb down the butte to Madec’s camp.
Chapters 8-11 Analysis
When Ben finds enough cover from Madec to gain a temporary reprieve from their battle, White uses metaphorical language to depict the effect this reprieve has on Ben. The narrator explains, “Ben felt now the way he had as a child when he was awakened by some nightmare and his mother had been there to comfort him” (108). Evoking childhood in this manner deepens the feeling of comfort and sets a positive tone for the scene that contrasts with the desolation and panic Ben feels in the other chapters. Ben finally has a sense of shelter and control.
White also uses simile to illustrate the more detailed physical effect drinking water has on Ben. The narrator tells, “It was as though he had actually felt this water flowing straight through the walls of his intestines and being taken up by his blood and distributed through his body” (108). This simile aligns with the role nature plays in the story as a setting and metaphor and expands the motif to include biology as well as ecology. Through this simile and the metaphor recalling Ben’s childhood, White conveys Ben’s physical and emotional relief.
We see evidence of Ben’s adaptability and resourcefulness in the way he masters the slingshot and is able to acquire food. Ben also learns from his mistakes, at first eating the birds raw and then using the sun to cook them before he eats them.
Ben continues transitioning away from his idealistic hope and toward his realistic acceptance. The narrator says, “he knew that it was foolish to imagine that he was safe just because he had food and water and Madec could not shoot him” (117). This acceptance drives Ben to embrace a new approach to his situation, with the narrator relating, “I cannot let Madec come to me, Ben thought. I cannot let him choose his place and his time and his method of coming. I must either go to him or I must pull him to me” (118). Ben’s thoughts foreshadow his impending confrontation with Madec.
While Ben has better footing at the end of this section, White makes it clear that his journey is not over. The threat of Madec’s rifle looms large in the last chapter, with Ben realizing he can’t allow Madec to advance on him. Madec has up until this point always been one step ahead of Ben, destroying lifesaving supplies before Ben can reach them and anticipating Ben’s movements. Madec’s cunning is evident, and his actions recall the narrator’s note from Chapter 1 that Madec always seeks to outwit and destroy his business opponents; he wants to do the same to Ben, but the stakes in this case are deadly.
