83 pages • 2 hours read
E. B. WhiteThe Trumpet of the Swan
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1970A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 19-21 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “A Talk About Money”
With Louis’s approval, Sam walks into the Head Man’s office to present his proposed solution. During his talk with the Head Man, Sam provides background on Louis’s early disability, their friendship, and the events that led to Louis’s ability to read, write, and play the trumpet. The Head Man affirms that Louis is “quite a bird” and that his Sunday concerts have been the biggest attraction in the Zoo’s history (175). Sam pleads with the Head Man to give Louis and Serena their freedom, which prompts the Head Man to recall the “dreams he had as a young man” (176). He finally agrees to Sam’s proposition, and Sam vouches that Louis will keep his end of the deal.
Sam and the Head Man then discuss the money Louis has earned, and the Head Man is impressed to hear that Louis has accumulated $4691.65. Sam explains that this money is intended to pay off the old cob’s debt to the music store owner. The Head Man muses on being financially independent, wistful that it’s easier to be a bird than a human since birds don’t have to pay for or acquire material goods. Sam concurs, but points out that some animals, such as rats, do like to acquire objects. The Head Man appreciates Sam’s insight and offers to give Sam a tour of the Zoo.
Being a nature enthusiast, Sam feels completely at home in the Zoo and is “eager to see” the rest of the kept animals (174). That evening, he gets permission to sleep in the Head Man’s office and composes a poem in celebration of the Zoo. The next morning, he leaves the poem on the Head Man’s desk and heads to the airport to catch his flight back to Montana. Louis and Serena accompany him, and as Sam takes off in his plane, the swans take off from the runway. Sam bids them farewell from the plane, and Louis bids Philadelphia and the Zoo farewell from the sky.
Louis and Serena fly south to Florida before turning west into Louisiana and finally heading north back to Red Rock Lakes. Louis imagines a “triumphant return” home—after “a few short months,” he has become rich and famous and has “accomplished what he had set out to do” (184).
Chapter 20 Summary: “Billings”
Louis and Serena arrive at Red Rock Lakes where their family members greet them excitedly. Everyone is impressed to see Louis has won the love of Serena and eager to see his medal and his money. Louis keeps the moneybag closed and presents it to his father. Louis also writes a note on the slate that his father can show the music store owner, informing him that the money is intended to pay for the trumpet and any damage done to the store.
The old cob is grateful to “redeem [his] honor,” and his wife encourages him to fly quickly and to take care, as the storekeeper has a gun (186). The cob scoffs at the possibility of danger, but thanks his wife for her advice before taking off. Louis and his mother watch him fly away, and the swan notes that Louis has “a good father” and that she hopes he stays safe (187).
The cob flies to Billings, where people outside the music store spot him. The storekeeper grabs his gun and fires at the cob, wounding him in the shoulder. The cob lands right in front of the storekeeper and, believing he is about to die, sends his farewells to his family. The storekeeper is shocked to read Louis’s note on the slate, opens the moneybag, and pulls out $50 and $100 bills.
A policeman and a game warden arrive on the scene, an ambulance is called for the cob, and a Judge steps forward to determine what should be done with the money. After questioning a salesman and a little boy, the Judge determines that the storekeeper should keep the money, the swan will go into the warden’s custody, and that the gun was fired in self-defense. After this judgment, the storekeeper announces that he will give the extra money to a charity, and, based on suggestions from the crowd, chooses the Audubon Society.
The ambulance takes the cob away to the hospital. Realizing he isn’t going to die after all, he flies out an opened window and returns to Red Rock Lakes, where he tells his wife of his grand adventure and the happy resolution to the story. His wife is glad to have him home safe, and places her head “across his neck” in affection (200).
Chapter 21 Summary: “The Greening Spring”
Louis and Serena continue their courtship, and Louis is particularly relieved he no longer needs to worry about money. That spring, they return to the lake where he and his siblings were born, and Serena builds her own nest. Louis plays his trumpet in celebration of marriage and the birth of his children. As the seasons pass, Sam Beaver shows up for the occasional visit, and Louis takes his children on a tour of Camp Kookooskoos, the Public Garden in Boston, and the Philadelphia Zoo. Louis and his family also visit Louis’s old friends, the Boatman and the Head Man. Every year or so, Louis donates a young cygnet to the Zoo, visiting Sam while there—Sam has taken a job there. Life for Louis and his family is “pleasant and interesting,” but it is particularly pleasant for Louis “because he is a musician” (205).
Years later, when 20-year-old Sam is vacationing with his father at their old camp in Canada, they hear the sound of Louis playing taps for his children. Mr. Beaver comments on the sound of the trumpet. Sam laughs, having never told his father of the swan, the cob, and their children. His father asks after Louis, but Sam tells him Louis doesn’t write anymore. Later that evening, Sam writes that “[t]here is nothing in all the world I like better than the trumpet of the swan” (210). In the pond nearby, Louis puts his trumpet away and reflects on his life and “how lucky he was to inhabit such a beautiful earth” and “solve his problems with music” (210).
Chapters 19-21 Analysis
Louis represents how “difference” can disappear when people works to see themselves in the “other.” When Sam advocates for Louis with the Head Man, he tells the Head Man, “Louis is following a dream. We must all follow a dream” (176). This prompts the Head Man to remember the “dreams he had had as a young man,” he agrees to Sam’s proposal (176).
At the same time, there is a limit to this kind of direct empathy. Sam’s trip to Philadelphia is formative because he loves nature, and the Zoo is filled with animals. However, he fails to note that what is true for Louis—a desire for freedom—is presumably true for all the animals in captivity. Instead, of connecting to the animals’ thoughts, Sam or the Head Man discuss the idea that birds surely have it easier than humans, not having to deal with the acquisition of things. While Sam and the Head Man can recognize Louis’s individuality and grant him agency, their human point of view still limits their understanding, which is true for all the humans in the novel.
There are also differences in how the swan and human worlds resolve matters of responsibility. At Red Rock Lakes, guilt, responsibility, and restitution are straightforward: Louis’s father stole the trumpet from the human world, losing his honor by committing this crime. When Louis earns money, he allows his father to discharge the debt. Once the cob has delivered the money pouch, he regains his honor and is free to return home. In contrast, in the human world, intentions and financial calculations complicate matters of responsibility. After the cob is shot, witnesses debate ownership, damages, remuneration, and the assignment of responsibility. The human world is dependent on facts and evidence, which add layers of complexity to a seemingly simple matter.
In the last chapter, Louis has solved his problems and life is “busy and sweet” at the old pond where he is now raising successive generations of his own family. Just as his father did, Louis passes his knowledge down to his children and brings his family to visit the places of his youth. Now a husband and father himself, Louis has triumphed over cruel fate and has satisfactorily met the challenges life set before him.
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