I Survived The Shark Attacks Of 1916

Uncle Jerry is Chet’s uncle and caregiver. Uncle Jerry acts as a source of stability in Chet’s otherwise transient life. When Chet comes to live with Uncle Jerry in Elm Hills, Uncle Jerry “[wraps] him up in a hug that went on until after the train pulled out of the station. From that first day, Uncle Jerry made him feel right at home” (19). His home with Uncle Jerry is the first time in his life that Chet can recall having a stable and reliable home.

Uncle Jerry is well-regarded in the community as both the local diner owner and as a former baseball star. His local legend status reflects the setting of the text since it builds a small-town atmosphere. Chet holds his uncle in high esteem and often looks to him for advice in how to cultivate his sense of home and belonging. Despite Uncle Jerry’s efforts, Chet often feels isolated and struggles with the confidence necessary to sustain relationships. Uncle Jerry often intercedes to support Chet, such as in the aftermath of the prank that Chet’s friends play on him: “It means they like you, that you’re one of them [...]. Now they’re expecting you to get them back” (33). His advice results in Chet playing a prank that further deteriorates his friendships for a time. This leaves Chet feeling further humiliated and causes him to think that he would be better off in California with his parents because he does not belong in Elm Hills. Uncle Jerry is quick to stop this line of thinking, telling Chet: “You belong here. Like I knew you would. Why do you think I begged your mama to let you stay with me?” (49). This is a revelation for Chet, who thought that his mother had to beg Uncle Jerry to let Chet stay with him. While Uncle Jerry is largely a static character, these glimpses of his strengths and vulnerabilities help make him round.

Learning that Uncle Jerry wants him to live in Elm Hills changes Chet’s perception of himself and opens him up to the belief that he is worthy of love and belonging. Uncle Jerry offers more advice in this conversation, telling Chet about his own experience of leaving Elm Hills for a time after his career-ending baseball injury. In sharing his own vulnerabilities, Uncle Jerry encourages Chet to be kinder to himself and to try and repair the relationship with Sid, Dewey, and Monty.

The resolution of the novel revolves around Chet cementing his friendships. Chet would not have had the courage to act and go back for his friends had Uncle Jerry not encouraged him to “face up to things” and stop running away from the chance at building relationships with those around him (51). Uncle Jerry solidifies Chet’s sense of belonging and feeling at home when, at the end of the text, he reveals that he plans to ask Chet’s father to stay in Elm Hills to help him run the diner. This ensures that Uncle Jerry will remain a major influence and force of stability in Chet’s life.

Captain Wilson is an elderly former whaling captain. At the beginning of the text, the residents of Elm Hills believe that sharks pose no threat to humans and that therefore the reports of attacks are a hoax. Wilson knows otherwise, telling the boys of his own near attack by a shark after living through a shipwreck. The experience still haunts Wilson, who recalls the memory of the shark’s eyes: “Killer eyes” (14). Wilson undermines his own credibility, however, when he says that he must meet his wife Deborah, who has been dead for two decades. Even as additional shark attacks take place, Wilson remains an unreliable narrator and perceived by those around him as a “big joke” (71), an old man with a mind like “[s]wiss cheese” (17). Through Wilson, Tarshis critiques ageist biases and suggests that the elderly have a lot to teach others.

This perception remains until Chet has his own encounter with a shark and knows that Wilson is the only one he can count on to believe him. Chet runs to Wilson’s house after his initial encounter with the shark and Wilson does not hesitate to believe or help him, going as far as to explain how the shark could enter the freshwater Matawan Creek: “If the tides are high, and the currents are strong, a shark could get swept right up into the creek” (67). Wilson is now not only reasonable but a swift-acting hero, instructing Chet to go to the creek to warn the others while he sets off in his boat to confront the shark.

Chet’s second encounter with the shark is a blur of chaos and anxiety, and Chet faints before he can fully process what has occurred. It is not until later, in the hospital, that he learns the full extent of Wilson’s role in his rescue. The newspaper article about the attack reports: “He was rescued moments later when Captain Thomas A. Wilson shot at the shark with a Civil War musket, scaring the beast away” (76). The musket characterizes his eccentricities but suggests that Wilson values the lessons of history. While Chet’s friends play a significant role in Chet’s rescue, it is Wilson who fires the shot that sent the shark on its way. Wilson’s character arc is one of redemption, where he goes from being a pitiable character to “a celebrity” (83). Wilson represents the importance of standing firm in one’s beliefs because it could make the difference between life and death.