Belly Up

The privileged, inquisitive, and loyal Summer McCracken is the protagonist’s friend and the daughter of FunJungle’s owner. Teddy offers the following description of the 13-year-old when they meet for the first time in Chapter 5:

She was taller than I’d expected, a few inches more than me. Her blond hair hung to her shoulders [...] But what really grabbed my attention were her eyes. They were an amazingly bright blue, like the wings of a morpho butterfly (79).

This description hints at the mutual crush that develops between the characters. Summer has privilege due to the status and wealth she enjoys as the only child of billionaire J. J. McCracken. This privilege is also emphasized by the whiteness of her features, with her blonde hair and blue eyes being highlighted. The privilege contributes to the ease and confidence with which she navigates FunJungle, including areas that are typically off-limits. This makes her a valuable ally in Teddy’s investigation, such as when she locates the murder weapon in Henry’s enclosure. At the same time, she acknowledges her privilege when Teddy calls her out for her complaints about the paparazzi: “Summer broke into a big smile, as though she appreciated my giving her crap. ‘Okay, you’re right. I’m a pampered snob’” (149). Summer’s inquisitive personality also makes her an effective detective. Curious and clever, she finds information about potential suspects and evades her bodyguards to help Teddy uncover the truth. Despite Teddy’s misgivings near the end of the novel, Summer remains “a good friend all along” (278). Her help is invaluable in getting McCracken to hear Teddy so he can clear his parents’ names. Summer’s inquisitive, loyal nature makes her an excellent friend to Teddy, and her privilege makes her an essential ally in the investigation. She is also round and dynamic.

As the protagonist’s trusted friend and ally, Summer develops Teddy’s characterization and the novel’s themes. Summer and Teddy have strikingly different backgrounds but share key values. She is the only child of a billionaire, while he lives in a mobile home paid for by FunJungle, yet both are driven by a deep love of animals. Her desire to go on safari as a young child was the inspiration behind FunJungle: “J.J. McCracken wouldn’t have built FunJungle merely to please his daughter. No, he smelled profit” (23). The contrast between her father’s love of money and Summer’s sincere love for animals connects to the theme of The Purposes of Environmental Ethics Versus Greed. Although McCracken doesn’t share his daughter’s respect for animals, Summer’s conscience helps to keep his greed in check when his unethical plans for the park are revealed at the end of the story. Summer offers the reader another example of environmental ethics in action.

J. J. McCracken is Summer’s doting father and the profit-driven, deceitful owner of FunJungle. Teddy describes the billionaire in Chapter 13: “He was much smaller than I’d been led to believe, not much taller than his own daughter and surprisingly slight of build. He had very plain features that seemed mismatched on his face” (188). The man’s unassuming appearance contrasts with his considerable power and influence. FunJungle is just one of his many business enterprises, and he opens the park out of a desire for profit rather than any interest in animals: “[Z]oos and aquariums attracted more than five hundred million visitors in America each year […] J.J. reasoned, if he built a zoo impressive enough to siphon off only a fraction of those people, he’d make a mint” (23). Unbeknownst to the animal experts he recruits to work at the park, McCracken plots to chase even greater profits at the cost of the animals’ well-being. When Mrs. Fitzroy learns of his scheme to add thrill rides to the enclosures, she says, “J.J. lied to us. He told us that this park was all about the animals. About the research. He crows about conservation and providing the highest quality care…but it’s all just lip service” (241). The one weakness that prevents McCracken from implementing his plans is his desire for his daughter’s approval. Her betrayed expression causes him to “crumble under her gaze” (285). Although McCracken isn’t above resorting to deceit for financial gain, he finds it difficult to lie to his beloved daughter. He shows some roundness and dynamism but is mostly flat and static.

McCracken plays an important role in the narrative as the owner of FunJungle. He sets the plot into motion by building the park, and he is connected to a number of milestones for Teddy’s investigation. The protagonist’s initial motivation for speaking to Summer is to secure an audience with her father. He achieves this meeting at the party at Carnivore Canyon, during which the suspenseful scene with the released tiger occurs. At the end of the book, the author presents multiple chase scenes as Teddy makes his way to McCracken’s office. The billionaire is the arbiter whom the detective must convince of his parents’ innocence. In the end, McCracken decides who’s punished and who’s pardoned. He doesn’t prosecute Doc or the veterinarian’s daughter, but he “used his political clout to ensure that Martin and Buck were arrested without bail and put his top attorneys on the case to make sure they both went to prison for a long time” (288). McCracken is instrumental to the story’s premise, makes key appearances throughout Teddy’s investigation, and ensures the antagonists face justice in the resolution.

The avaricious, stressed, and short-tempered Martin del Gato is the director of operations at FunJungle and one of the novel’s antagonists. Martin is “always the only person wearing a three-piece suit” (15). His attire is one of the factors that makes it seem like he’s Henry’s killer. Teddy mistakenly thinks the footprint he finds outside his home was made by a dress shoe, which makes the formally dressed Martin his top suspect for much of the novel. The man is cross and harried from the moment he appears in Chapter 1: “Martin was perpetually overworked and constantly appeared to be five seconds from a heart attack, but he somehow still found time every day to chastise me for doing something wrong” (15). The amount of stress and work he contends with because of Henry’s death offers a clue he didn’t kill the hippo. However, Martin commits other nefarious deeds, especially smuggling a fortune in emeralds inside animals. The greedy, ever-irritable Martin del Gato quickly makes Teddy’s list of suspects.

As one of the foremost antagonists, Martin plays a key role in the genre, plot, and themes. Because Martin is introduced earlier in the story and figures more prominently than Buck, he diverts Teddy and the reader’s attention from the real culprit. The ensuing uncertainty and the surprise reveal of the true killer add to the mystery’s suspense. Martin’s emerald smuggling scheme contributes to the theme of The Purposes of Environmental Ethics Versus Greed because he is responsible for the deaths of numerous animals. The emerald scheme also leads to Henry’s death even though Martin didn’t directly kill the hippo: “I had over two pounds of emeralds in a plastic bag…and Buck wanted them. I needed to hide them fast, so I threw them into Henry’s pool” (280). Thus, Martin’s insatiable greed sets the mystery’s main plot into motion. He is flat and mostly static.