40 pages • 1 hour read
Sharon M. DraperForged By Fire
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1997A 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 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary
Jordan is out of prison and claims to have visitation rights since Angel is his daughter. Gerald challenges him, telling him that he should not be back in their home, but Jordan is very polite and seems to have changed his behavior. Monique is thrilled by Jordan’s return. She is hopeful that he can change and that they “can all work together to make this a happy family once again” (105). Gerald does not agree with his mother and tells her that Jordan should not be left alone with Angel. Monique agrees to this.
Angel is traumatized by Jordan’s return and vomits violently. Gerald tries to comfort her and calls Mr. Washington, who meets him outside the apartment. Mr. Washington tells Gerald that he cannot do anything to get Jordan out of the house, but he urges him to keep a diary of everything he does. Mr. Washington tells Gerald that he and Angel are welcome to spend the night at his house anytime Jordan is in the apartment.
Chapter 17 Summary
On the night of one of Gerald’s basketball games, he is playing well. Angel and Rob’s sister, Kiara, are watching and having a good time. Monique and Jordan show up late, and Gerald gets nervous. He starts missing shots and is put on the bench.
During Angel’s dance recital, Monique arrives overdressed, waiting for Jordan, who promised to attend. She sits with the Washington family, but she is distracted, expecting Jordan to walk in any minute. Angel is nervous, but Gerald comforts her backstage. Angel’s performance is very moving and is met with “a thunderous standing ovation” (112).
Monique is impressed, but she is still disappointed that Jordan did not make it to the recital. Gerald tells her that he is glad that he did not come since his presence would have hurt Angel. Monique lashes out at Gerald for this comment and urges him to see how Jordan has changed since he has returned from prison.
Chapter 18 Summary
School has let out for summer, and Monique has allowed Jordan back into the apartment permanently. Angel and Gerald are very upset, but Monique is thrilled: “In the five months since he [has] gotten out of prison, he [has] not touched Gerald, [hasn’t] even raised his voice. And he [stays] clear of Angel” (114).
Gerald wants to go hang out with his friends, but he is reluctant to leave Angel with Jordan and Monique. Angel encourages him to go, telling him that she can take care of herself. When Gerald returns, he finds the front door open and all the lights off. He runs to Angel’s room. Angel is home alone and tells Gerald that the power went out. Jordan has been out all night, and Monique left to buy cigarettes for him. Then, Gerald and Angel hear sirens coming from the street below; Gerald goes down to see what happened. Through the crowd on the street, Gerald sees a taxi driver who has hit a pedestrian, and a victim is lifted into an ambulance. Gerald recognizes the victim as Monique and sees the cigarettes still in her hand.
Chapters 16-18 Analysis
Jordan’s return into Angel and Gerald’s lives complicates everything. In the chapters before, they were settling into a new life. Basketball and dance classes have helped Gerald and Angel find new supportive atmospheres as well as an outlet for their pain. Jordan’s presence disrupts their growth and attempts to heal from the past.
In Chapter 17, Gerald is unable to focus during the basketball game and senses Jordan “[sneering] at him from across the gym” (110). In contrast to Gerald’s basketball game, at Angel’s dance recital, Jordan does not come, which allows Angel to express herself without the weight of the past holding her back. As she dances, the audience “could see her fear and misery” as if the dance is “her only means of escape” (112). Jordan appears to be acting differently, which makes his return more complicated. Although he seems to be kinder, Gerald does not believe it. Monique is very quick to accept Jordan back into the family, which shows that even six years later, she is still very concerned with Jordan’s approval and is dependent on him. During the basketball game, she watches Jordan “to see how he was reacting, not to the game, but to her” (110).
In Chapter 18, when school is out for summer, Monique allows Jordan to move back into the house and then Monique is hit by a car. These three major events set the stage for the remainder of the novel. Monique has been injured and is unable to oversee or protect her children, and Gerald and Angel are forced to spend their summer days with Jordan. Chapters 16-18 build toward a final confrontation between Gerald, Angel, and Jordan.
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By Sharon M. Draper
