42 pages • 1 hour read
Peter BenchleyJaws
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1974A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaChapters 5-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
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Chapter 5 Summary
Brody closes the public beaches. A fisherman named Ben Gardner is hired to catch the shark and Brody watches him from the beach through binoculars. Though he is a “very poor swimmer” (50), Brody wants to take a small boat out to see how Gardner is handling his task. When Brody and Hendricks arrive at Gardner’s boat, however, Gardner is missing. Instead, they find “strange” (52) damage to the boat and “smears of blood” (53). Finding a shark’s tooth, Brody suspects the worst has happened to Gardner and returns to shore with Hendricks. They leave Gardner’s boat anchored out at sea.
Meadows is waiting for Brody on the dock. He introduces a scientist and ichthyologist named Matt Hooper. Meadows has called Hooper to help them “figure out what’s going on” (54). Later, Brody calls Gardner’s wife and immediately regrets that he did not share his bad news “in person” (55). He sends a neighbor to comfort the grieving woman but feels that he must “defend himself” from the suggestion that Gardner’s death is his fault (56). After the call, Brody describes the situation to Hooper. The scientist is convinced that Amity is dealing with a large great white shark, which he describes as a “fantastic fish” (57). He theorizes that the shark might have thought Gardner’s boat was edible and attacked it, thereby knocking Gardner into the water to his death. Hooper knows the area, having visited a similar town every summer as a child. Brody notes that Hooper “didn’t really grow up here” (58). Hooper ignores the gibe and theorizes why the shark would linger along the Amity shoreline. He says that the behavior of fish can be incredibly complex and difficult to explain, especially if “the ecological balance” is tipped in some fashion (59). Brody offers Hooper use of Gardner’s boat to search for the shark. Meadows mentions the name Quint. Hooper warns Brody against seeking revenge on a fish that is just operating on instincts. Brody, angry, knows that the death of the shark will be a “catharsis” for him, but he swallows his rage (60).
Vaughan calls Brody to complain about the canceled vacation leases. He is worried that they are “overreacting to this whole thing” and he wants the beaches open for the Fourth of July weekend (60). Brody dismisses Vaughan’s schemes and asks Vaughan again about his mysterious partners. After the call ends, Brody asks Meadows to investigate these partners, but Meadows is hesitant about “digging around in Larry Vaughan’s affairs” (61). Over the next few days, Brody is confronted by the struggles of Amity. Businesses are closing and the residents are ignoring the shark attacks, insisting that they have “a constitutional right to swim” (62). Teenage boys take boats out to search for the shark themselves and rumors of shark sightings run rampant. For several days, however, nothing happens. At night, Brody talks to Ellen about his “tough day” (63). She mentions her trouble sleeping and her prescription for sleeping pills. She is worried about Gardner’s widow. As they prepare for bed, Brody feels romantic. Ellen mentions that she wants their children to take tennis lessons, but Brody insists that they “can’t afford it” (65). Ellen declines his sexual advances, saying that she has taken one of her sleeping pills. As she mentions that she might know Hooper’s brother, she falls asleep.
Elsewhere in Amity, a Black man tells his son a bedtime story. Despite the father’s best efforts, the son only wants to hear a story “about a shark” (66).
Chapter 6 Summary
Ellen returns home from her role as a volunteer at a nearby hospital. On the way, she collects her mail from the post office and talks with the postmistress, Minnie Eldridge. Minnie does not seem to like Ellen, as Ellen is “neither summer folk nor winter folk” (69). Mentioning the shark, Minnie quotes the Bible and insists that “no mortal man’s going to catch that fish” as it is a warning sign from God (70). Ellen visits the hardware store next and meets Hooper. She feels that there is “something familiar” about him (71). She realizes that she once dated Hooper’s older brother. Hooper remembers Ellen, who “vaguely” remembers him (71). He discusses his love of the ocean and his fascination with sharks, which Ellen likens to “having a passion for rats” (72). Hooper speaks effusively about sharks and his studies. They discuss the way that the “past always seems better when you look back on it” and then Hooper heads to the docks (74). Ellen is left with the painful, guilt-inducing feeling that the best part of her life is “behind her” (75).
Chapter 7 Summary
With the beaches closed, Amity is “practically deserted” (76). Brody and his officers patrol the beaches and search for the shark. Brody worries that the lack of shark activity will bring about pressure to open the beaches. Ellen tells him that she wants to host a dinner party and asks him to invite Hooper. Brody agrees but senses “something ominous in this dinner party” (77). The party takes place that evening and Hooper is the first guest to arrive, dressed in “the uniform of the young and rich in Amity” (79). He gifts Ellen a necklace made from a shark tooth. Such items are rumored to keep the wearer “safe from shark bite[s]” (80). Brody is perturbed by Hooper’s familiarity with Ellen. Brody’s sons ask Hooper about sharks while Brody makes drinks.
As the other guests begin to arrive, Brody continues to drink. Ellen tells him to “slow down” (83), but as Brody watches her dote on Hooper, he feels “alienated” from the other guests and ignores her warning (86). He feels nauseated as he struggles with the social etiquette of the evening, bickering with Ellen. Eventually, Brody manages to get a handle on his drunkenness and starts to sober up. While he finishes the evening pleasantly enough, he cannot help but be jealous of Ellen’s behavior toward Hooper. After the guests leave, they nearly have an argument, but Brody decides not to engage with Ellen when he is armed only with “cruelty and innuendo” (90). He goes to bed and thinks about how ridiculous it is that the root cause of his unhappiness is a fish.
Elsewhere in Amity, a young man complains to his girlfriend that the economic struggles in the town have cost him his job. He is worried about how he will pay for his college and decides that, despite the risk, he has no option but to start selling drugs.
Chapters 5-7 Analysis
Though she only appears briefly, Minnie Eldridge plays an important role as a herald of divine judgment of the town of Amity. Minnie believes that the shark attacks are the consequence of the moral rot in the town. She views the attacks as heavenly punishment for all the sins committed by the townspeople, meaning that she has no sympathy for the victims.
Minnie is, in a sense, correct. The novel raises the possibility that the shark attacks are a form of vengeance, but from nature, not religion. The shark represents the natural world’s retaliation against human pollution and exploitation. Furthermore, Minnie is right about the moral rot in Amity. Mayor Vaughan’s involvement with organized crime and the property development scheme—which threatens to ruin both him and Amity—suggests that the very town itself is built on a shaky foundation of corruption and hidden criminality which, in Minnie's view, is tantamount to sin. Minnie is the only character in the novel who calls on the people of Amity to take responsibility for their actions. Whether she is correct in her details is inconsequential; the fact that she is ignored and dismissed illustrates Amity’s lack of desire to scrutinize its flaws in any great detail.
The parallels between the shark and the moral rot of Amity run deep. The shark lurks in the dark waters, hidden from sight. It is a creature of the deep that cannot be seen or understood. Its motivations defy scrutiny because it remains obfuscated by the world it inhabits. The sins of Amity can be read in the same way. Vaughan, for instance, is a visible man, keen to make his presence felt in the community. He drifts effortlessly between the locals and the “summer people”, flattering everyone around him to such an extent that no one questions the true nature of his business practices. Brody and Meadows know that he has mysterious, silent partners, but until the events of the novel take place, they have no interest in pursuing this matter. When they finally investigate, they uncover a world of criminality right beneath their feet. The sins of Amity are represented by the shark: They lurk nearby, both hidden but always present, until they can no longer be ignored.
This sense of hidden danger extends to the dinner party. Much like the community in Amity, Brody senses that there is trouble in his marriage. He can tell that his wife is dissatisfied but he has neither the time nor inclination to investigate further. The ominous sense of dread Brody feels before the party runs parallel to his growing fears about the shark. The dinner party forces him to confront the trouble in his marriage just like the shark attacks force him to confront the trouble in Amity. But even at the party, he doesn’t truly handle the issue; instead, he drinks heavily and argues with his wife. This failure to act mirrors his failure to definitively act in response to the shark. At this point in the novel, Brody is still indecisive. He’s closed the beaches, but he remains concerned about Amity’s economy and implies that he would relent under pressure to reopen the beaches despite the lingering risk. Likewise, Ellen and Hooper’s interactions shed light on the cracks in Brody’s marriage, but Brody backs down before anything truly changes.
