Jaws

Brody is summoned to a meeting to decide whether the Amity beaches will open for the Fourth of July weekend. He is convinced that opening the beaches is “a gamble that Amity—and Brody [himself]—could never really win” (105). Vaughan, Hooper, and the town's selectmen are waiting in the mayor’s office. Vaughan insists that Amity “is dying” and cannot afford to keep the beaches closed (106). Hooper agrees with Vaughan. Brody mentions calling his hotel room the previous day, he angrily claims that he does not “have to report in every five minutes” (107). Brody refuses to open the beaches so Vaughan threatens to fire him. The argument is interrupted by a telephone call for Brody.

The call is from Meadows, who claims that “Larry Vaughan is up to his tail in hock” (109). Meadows says that Vaughan is in debt to a mobster named Tino Russo who has been buying up cheap land around Amity with Vaughan guaranteeing him loans. Vaughan needs tourists to return to Amity so that he and Russo can sell the land at a massive profit. If the price of land continues to drop, Vaughan will lose everything. Vaughan interrupts the call and threatens to sue Meadows if any of this information is published. Meadows tells Brody that he has “the knowledge, but not the proof” (110). He advises Brody to open the beaches, as he will simply be replaced by someone more willing if he refuses. In the meantime, Meadows and Brody can look for the evidence needed to convict Vaughan. Brody confronts Vaughan in private, and the mayor admits that he stands to lose “close to a million dollars” (111). Brody feels sorry for Vaughan but agrees to open the beaches only if “every person who comes down there knows the danger” (112).

After leaving the mayor’s office, Brody overhears some Amity citizens criticizing his strict measures. Brody senses that the local business owners resent him. He tells the owner of the local deli, Paul Loeffler, that he plans to open the beaches; Loeffler is pleased by the news and tells Brody about some of his financial struggles. When Brody gets home, Ellen is “visibly upset” (113). She tells him that someone brutally murdered their son Sean’s cat in front of him and shows him the animal’s body. Brody is incensed. He takes the decapitated cat to Vaughan’s house and thrusts it in the mayor’s face. The man who murdered the cat gave a message to Sean, to be delivered to his father, telling Brody to “be subtle” (114). Brody storms away, leaving the dead cat on Vaughan’s porch.

The Fourth of July weekend begins with cloudy weather. Brody watches the private beach, Hendricks watches the public beach, and Hooper patrols the shoreline in Gardner’s boat. Despite himself, Brody cannot help but think that there is “something to wonder about” with regards to Hooper and Ellen (115). The weather clears up, but the beaches are not yet crowded. Brody speaks to a man from Queens, New York City, whose sons are desperate to see “the shark that’s killed all them people” (117). As Brody’s legs "[begin] to sunburn” in the afternoon heat (119), a group of teenagers goads one of their number into venturing into the sea. Before the boy enters, he is interviewed by “WNBC-TV News” and their reporter, Bob Middleton (120). The boy insists that he is “not scared” and they film him running into the water (122). As the boy swims, Hooper thinks he sees “a shadow” (123). Brody orders the boy to return to the shore. The TV crew film as Brody becomes increasingly concerned. Hooper, Brody, and the film crew spot the shark nearby. The boy reaches the shallows just in time as “the fin” rises out of the water and then sinks away (125). Brody sends the boy home and, despite his irritation with the film crew’s callousness, he allows Middleton to interview him. Brody says he has no choice but to announce that “the beaches are closed” (126).

Later that day, Brody sits in his office with Hooper and Meadows. He has heard from Vaughan, who is “drunk and in tears” (127). The three men talk to a reporter from the New York Times about their limited options. It seems like their only choice is contacting Quint about catching the shark. When they call Quint, he says he’s been expecting their call about the “piece of fish [they] got there” (129). As this is a “premium job” (130), he requires double his daily rate. Brody has no choice but to pay. Still suspicious about Hooper and Ellen, he volunteers himself and Hooper to join Quint, hoping that Hooper might “make a slip” that would confirm or dispel his paranoia (131). As they leave the office, Brody is told that Vaughan’s wife called him. He calls her back and she explains that her husband has drunk “almost a whole bottle of whiskey” (133). She knows something is wrong. Brody offers to talk to Vaughan the following day. Elsewhere in Amity, the deli shop owner Loeffler discusses all the business he’s gotten from people coming from all over “just to see a fish” (134).