70 pages • 2 hours read
Lynda RutledgeWest with Giraffes
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A 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 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “To Washington, DC”
As they enter the city, Riley agrees to allow Woodrow to drive to Tennessee because he’s decided not to stop in DC. Riley tells him about Mrs. Benchley, and Woodrow is surprised that a woman is the boss of an entire zoo. Riley regales Woodrow with tales of Mrs. Benchley’s heroism and devotion to animals. As they enter their Southern route, Woodrow becomes nervous. He can’t return to Texas and doesn’t want Riley to know why.
The narrative moves to Woodrow in his old age, frustrated when someone interrupts his writing.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Over the Blue Ridge Mountains”
A detour requires that they drive the rig through mountains. Woodrow has never seen a mountain, much less driven on steep and winding roads. Riley says they can turn back to DC or attempt the much more treacherous journey through the mountains. Woodrow spots Red’s car behind them, but when she accidentally clips them, the rig teeters to the side. Riley grabs the wheel and tells Woodrow to calm the giraffes; the weight of the giraffes’ bodies can help rebalance the rig. Woodrow successfully calls the giraffes away from the cliff edge, and the rig continues. They pass the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), a group of roadworkers hired by the Roosevelt Administration to create new jobs for the unemployed.
They finally reach a rest stop. The CCC follow them and gather to watch the giraffes eat from the treetops. Red pulls up and takes pictures, then drives off before she and Woodrow can talk. A police escort arrives to help the rig the rest of the way out of the mountain. At their next rest stop, Riley congratulates Woodrow on a job well done but is more certain than ever that he’ll need a more experienced driver the rest of the way to San Diego. Wild Girl steals Riley’s hat off his head and starts choking on it. Riley saves her by hosing water down her throat.
When they pause at a camping spot, Riley examines Wild Girl’s injury, which has started to ooze. Woodrow takes care of their night preparations and nods off among the giraffes. He is awoken by the sound of their bodies pushing against the stall. He peeks out and sees a bear circling the rig. He shouts at the bear to scare it off and is blinded by a flashing light. Red is there, taking pictures, scaring off the bear. Woodrow sees that the giraffe kicked through the wood of the rig. Red whispers apologies for bumping them on the mountain. She climbs up to pet the giraffes and tells Woodrow about her dream to go to Africa. She asks Woodrow to introduce her to Riley later, then gives him a kiss on the cheek before setting off to her cabin.
Woodrow’s narrative from his older adult years reveals his desperation to tell the story to the one that matters.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Into Tennessee”
They set off the next morning, and at a stop for gas Woodrow sees a newspaper headline that Hitler has invaded Czechoslovakia. Riley tells Woodrow he sent out a wire for a new driver in Tennessee. Woodrow protests, but Riley tells him he’ll buy him a ticket for anywhere, including California. Their drive goes smoothly until, in Tennessee, they stop again to let the circus pass. Riley claims that the circus treats their animals horribly.
Riley checks the rearview mirrors often and has Woodrow pull over. They watch a familiar panel truck pass by. They continue their drive but are put on a detour when they come across a damaged overpass. Their detour leads them to a low-hanging bridge. The height of the pass under the bridge measures the exact same amount as the height of the rig. Riley lets out a little air from the tires to lower the height. The tires are damaged, and two tires start to flatten. Riley instructs Woodrow to head under the bridge before it’s too late. They nearly make it through the tight tunnel when one of the tires flattens completely, forcing them to block the underpass under the bridge. Woodrow sees the impossibility of changing the tires; the rig is too heavy with the giraffes inside, and the bridge hangs too low to raise the rig an inch. Woodrow attempts to jack the tire anyway, until Riley stops him to point out a large Black man with a scythe at the opening of the tunnel. The Black man says he can help; he whistles, and 12 more Black men (the Jackson family) with farming tools surround them. Woodrow stomps on the gas of the rig while the Jacksons push the rig out from under the bridge. Woodrow spots Red’s car in his rearview mirror.
With the rig out of the bridge, Red comes up and snaps pictures. Riley recognizes her as the one who nearly bumped them off the mountain, and the man who first approached him places his hand over her lens. Riley and Woodrow have a spare tire, but they need two. The Jacksons leave and return with another tire and sections of tree trunks. The family uses the logs to lift the rig, then replace the flat tires. The family refuses Riley’s offer to pay and instead asks if a little girl in their family, named Honey Bee, can see the giraffes. They lift her up to meet the giraffes. The family warns Riley that he can’t travel far with the old tire they found. They offer their motel to Riley and Woodrow. Riley and Woodrow accept their offer, but Red declines. The men offer to help with night watch on the rig, but Riley instructs Woodrow to stay with the giraffes anyway.
Red, who decides to stick around after all, snaps pictures of Honey Bee feeding the giraffes pancakes. At nighttime, Woodrow nests into the rig and is interrupted by Red. She asks him if he’s been around Black people before, but Woodrow hadn’t even seen a Black person until his trip to New York. Red heaves for breath; she had rheumatic fever as a baby, which permanently damaged her heart. She cups Woodrow’s face and studies him closely, wondering aloud how he’s survived so much. Red falls asleep in the rig with Woodrow. Woodrow anxiously hears the way Red’s breath falters in sleep. He falls asleep and dreams his recurring nightmares of all his traumas. When he wakes up in the morning, Red is gone.
The Jacksons give Woodrow and Riley a full breakfast and change the tires again. As they drive away, Woodrow knows he will always remember the Jacksons’s kindness.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Across Tennessee”
On their way through Tennessee, they are stopped by a police officer looking for Red, who is on a police bulletin for being a runaway wife with a stolen vehicle. The police suspect that she must be with another man, so they are also looking for the man who smuggled a woman over state lines. Riley and Woodrow introduce themselves, and the officer recognizes Woodrow’s name. The officer asks to see Woodrow’s license (which he doesn’t have) but is distracted by Red’s car driving past. The officer goes after Red, and Woodrow and Riley quickly restart the rig. They are stopped by the packing up of the circus. The police officer stops them again—he has lost Red through the traffic of the circus. Woodrow and Riley are immediately concerned that their giraffes are too close to the other animals. Riley points out the maltreatment of the elephants, who are being prodded with pointy irons. Woodrow speeds through the circus, but the sight of tramps waiting to sneak on with the circus train cars triggers him. As they drive, they continue traveling too close to the circus. They pull off at a rest stop to figure out a way to travel without proximity to the circus.
At night, Woodrow is approached by a man he recognizes from the circus, Percival T. Bowles, who both runs the circus and tames the lions. Percival offers Woodrow tickets to the circus and ensures that Woodrow can see the gun he is carrying. Percival tells Woodrow that he plans on including giraffes in his circus soon. He offers Woodrow a $20-coin for a look at his giraffes. Despite the danger he senses, Woodrow is seduced by the money. He undoes the rig while Percival watches his every move. However, Woodrow slips and buckles under the rig door, giving the giraffes space to walk out untended. Woodrow quickly builds up the rig and calls the giraffes into their spots. Percival tells him they’re just animals, and the key is to show them who’s in charge. Percival gives him the $20-coin and offers him a job with the circus.
Woodrow and Riley switch duties. Woodrow is awoken by the sound of Red screaming his name. The rig is undone with Wild Boy still inside, but Wild Girl is in the cornfield. Two men surround her with a lasso, and Riley walks as if drunk, his gun pointing towards the men and Wild Girl. Woodrow chases after Riley, who attempts a shot but misses. Woodrow takes a shot at the man whose lasso is now around Wild Girl’s neck. It is not Woodrow’s first time shooting a man, and he successfully scares the men off. They know they can’t guide Wild Girl back into the rig, so they bring the rig closer to her in the hopes that she’ll see Wild Boy and join him. Wild Girl’s leg split is open. They coax her back to the rig with onions, where she steps in to join Wild Boy. While Riley attempts to redo the splint, Woodrow notices that Red has driven off. Riley tells Woodrow to blame the gun shot on him, and Woodrow says that if he wanted to kill the man, he would have.
They stop for gas, and Percival joins them; he is in the truck Riley noticed following them earlier in Tennessee. Percival approaches Woodrow with a wad of bills—more money than Woodrow has even imagined. Percival tells Woodrow that if Riley doesn’t accept the money, Woodrow can. Woodrow reveals Riley’s real name, and Percival says that Riley is a murderer. Woodrow pockets the money as Riley returns with a sack of onions. Riley hits Percival’s driver with the onions and punches Percival. They quickly drive off, but Percival’s truck catches up. Percival sticks more cash out the window for Woodrow. Percival draws his pistol, and Riley draws his shotgun. Riley notices the wad of cash sticking out of Woodrow’s pocket. The stand-off ends when an oncoming vehicle forces Percival’s truck off the road, where the tires pop on the parallel railroad. They drive on, Woodrow nervous about what Riley will say about the money. Riley tells him to drive through Memphis; they must put the plan to stop on hold and get to Little Rock if necessary.
Woodrow realizes it’s his birthday. He is now 18 years old.
The narrative flashes forward to Woodrow’s older adult years. A Black man comes to visit him and calls him “Pops.”
Chapter 10 Summary: “Into Arkansas”
Woodrow is nervous to cross the long bridge over the Mississippi River, but there’s no other way to go. The bridge crossing goes well, and Riley becomes more relaxed. They stop for food and to check Wild Girl’s splint. Riley tells him that his promise for Memphis has changed, but that they’ll talk about it later.
They drive into a “sundown town,” a town that once excluded Black people and non-white people after sundown, using discriminatory laws and violence. They pass by a Black man, whose pecan truck has broken down in a collision with a deer. The man runs into the trees, and Riley approaches him. He convinces him to gather some pecans and travel in the rig with them. They are stopped by a gang of white people preparing for the sundown watch. The Black man hides in the rig, and Riley and Woodrow successfully drop him off unharmed on the outskirts of Little Rock.
In Little Rock, they pull up to the zoo, newly built by the Works Progress Administration. The zoo is small, but they are happy to host the giraffes for the night, eager to impress Mrs. Benchley. The zoo vet tends to Wild Girl. Riley tells Woodrow that they can’t stay long enough in Little Rock to find a new driver, so he needs Woodrow to drive all the way to California. He tells Woodrow that they’ll drive through Texas, which worries Woodrow. He doesn’t want to leave the giraffes, but he knows he can’t return to the Panhandle. Woodrow heads for the exit but runs into Red. She shows him a card a man from the “Hooverville” handed to her after she took his picture. The card offers thanks for any contribution and vows to do everything the man can to work hard for America. Woodrow asks her about being on the run, but she tells him she only borrowed the car from the reporter who didn’t want to chase the story. She gives him another goodbye kiss on the cheek.
Despite the busy street, Woodrow is sure he can hear the cry of the giraffes. He hurries back in the zoo and sees a young boy stealing food from the giraffes’ stall. He pauses, contemplating how hungry the boy looks. The boy knocks him down and escapes. When Riley checks in, Woodrow asks him why he hadn’t dumped him for taking the cash. Riley says he knows what hunger feels like. Woodrow sleeps fitfully through his nightmares. In the morning, he asks Riley what California is like. Riley tells him about the San Diego Zoo, where there is enough space for the animals to roam freely, as though they were in the wild.
Chapters 6-10 Analysis
Chapters 6 through 10 balance moments of joy with intense conflict. Woodrow is avoiding more than the memory of his trauma in the Panhandle. A major moment of character development comes in Chapter 10 when, faced with the certainty of returning to Texas, Woodrow initially chooses to walk out on the giraffes. The fear of what awaits him is so great, that it makes him nearly compromise his responsibilities to the giraffes. When he decides to stay on with the giraffes, it is with the clear understanding that he is making a risky but empowering decision. Wrestling with his past is part of Woodrow’s character development, even as an older adult man writing his story. In confronting his past, he can create a brighter future for himself. Still, Rutledge doesn’t yet reveal why the police officer knows Woodrow’s name, or what other secrets Woodrow is keeping from Riley. This foreshadows future conflict and a revelation of Woodrow’s past in the climax of the story.
As Woodrow and Riley travel through the different states of America, more historical allusions are referenced to place the story in the context of the 1930s. Riley is happy to drive past the CCC or, the Citizens Conservation Corps. In response to the Great Depression, President Roosevelt developed the Hard Times Program and Works Progress Administration, two policies that were designed to create jobs for the many unemployed Americans. Often, these jobs were through the Citizens Conservation Corps, in which people were given work building roads, museums, zoos, and trails through national parks. The effect of this program was multilayered. People had employment, which was life changing, and more employment brings up the economy of the country as a whole. Because that employment developed more cultural and practical institutions, Americans could support the idea of “job handouts” because they could see the immediate concrete effects: new roads, museums, and other symbols of infrastructure were good for the entire country. Seeing the CCC at work was a hopeful sign of healing, rebuilding a damaged economy and a ruptured ethos.
A less hopeful sign of this rebuilding is the image of Hooverville in Little Rock. A Hooverville is a makeshift shanty town built by homeless people displaced by the Great Depression. They are named after President Hoover, who was the President at the onset of the Great Depression and is widely blamed for the Great Depression. Hoovervilles popped up in most, if not all, American cities. The card Red receives from one of the residents of Hooverville advocates for the man’s humanity. Many Americans saw Hoovervilles as tents of vagabonds, a blight on a city’s safety and aesthetic. However, residents of Hoovervilles were not homeless by choice and needed to peacefully fight to be seen as worthy of empathy and second chances. Woodrow is triggered by the sight of the Hooverville; he internalizes the shame of his poverty and tries to distance himself from homeless people whenever he can even though he is, technically, homeless.
Another historical issue explored in these chapters is that of race in America. In 1938, Black and white Americans were separated legally through segregation. Black Americans were allowed to live in certain areas, use certain bathrooms or train cars, but were not allowed to mingle with white people. In 1938, many Southern states had Jim Crow laws, which were used not only to segregate, but to penalize and kill Black people on white people’s whims. Segregation in this novel is demonstrated via the Jackson family. The Jacksons are relegated to an area labeled with signs that formalize their segregation. Despite these oppressive measures, the Jackson family is hospitable and kind to Riley, Woodrow, and Red, though they have no reason to be. They invite them to stay in their mandated area, which Riley readily accepts but makes Red and Woodrow nervous. Woodrow’s reaction to the Jackson family is indicative of internalized structural racism. Woodrow has no reason to fear Black people, but growing up in an all-white environment and being taught that Black people are inferior to white people makes Woodrow timid around the Jacksons. When “Seventh Son” shows up, Woodrow is immediately on edge. However, all the Jacksons want to do is help, proving that Woodrow’s assumption of danger is a product of his racism.
Red, who as a woman is herself a victim of society’s class system, is also nervous around the Jackson family. She initially refuses their offer to stay in a cabin and stays with Woodrow in the rig because she fears the Jacksons. Woodrow’s experience with the Jackson family proves that travel and exposure can alleviate some ignorance and produce some change. Now that Woodrow has had the opportunity to see the humanity and kindness in Black communities, he can revise his racist narrative.
Institutionalized racism is also seen in the sub-plot of the man with the pecan truck in Arkansas. The town in Arkansas labels itself a “sundown town.” Sundown towns were a method of racial cleansing; essentially, white people would gather with their local law enforcement to force Black people and non-white people out of the town after sundown. This was a direct message to Black people and non-white people that they were not welcome in the town. These sundown towns acted without legal recourse because of Jim Crow laws and the fervor of racism.
In the sundown town, Riley sees a Black man stranded and helps sneak him out of the town. Riley also readily accepted the Jackson family’s help and told Woodrow not to tell him if Woodrow has a problem with Black people. Riley’s plethora of experiences, natural empathy, and willingness to put himself at risk to help the man with the pecan truck is indicative of Riley’s overall courageous and accepting nature. He is not a man bound by the stereotypes of white masculinity that informed male experiences in the 1930s. He is proud of his boss, who is a woman. He is not racist, and he even forgives Woodrow for taking Percival’s money because he has empathy for Woodrow’s poverty. As a secondary character, Riley builds up Woodrow’s character development. He is a mentor to Woodrow because he helps Woodrow see the emotional and social depth that a man is capable of. Through Riley, Woodrow learns about social issues in the world that he might never have otherwise been asked to consider. Though the journey itself is formative in Woodrow’s character development, Riley is central to that development.
Yet another example of the oppressive social standards of the 1930s is revealed through the conflict with Red and the law. The Mann Act of 1910 is a federal law that prohibits the transport of white women across state borders for debauchery. Of course, what exactly debauchery means is left to be decided by the men involved in the transportation. In Red’s case, the Mann Act is abused to keep Red with her husband. Red has left her husband of her own accord to chase a dream, but it is easy for law enforcement to accuse her of crossing state lines to violate her marriage with another man, thus giving an excuse for the police to arrest her. Laws such as the Mann Act and the Jim Crow laws were formally used to keep women and Black people under the control of white men. It took away their autonomy and forced them into subservient roles. Though Woodrow is clearly trying to avoid law enforcement, there aren’t laws designed to specifically arrest him simply for existing.
Lastly, Rutledge uses these chapters to explore the history of circuses in America and the abuses against animals inherent in those structures of entertainment. Percival represents the ultimate antagonist: cruel to animals, dismissive of human and animal life, and a cunning man who uses money to get whatever he wants. In the 1930s, there were no laws in place to protect animals against abuse. This mirrored the cultural ethos of animals versus humans at the time. If a society is struggling to keep their people alive and well, they have little incentive to consider the well-being of animals. In this novel, men like Percival don’t see animals as sentient beings, whereas men like Riley are animal rights advocates. Because typical American citizens didn’t have knowledge of or exposure to animals beyond farm livestock, stray dogs, or the meat on their table, people didn’t question the tactics of circus organizations. The circus was only concerned about making money on tickets, and the more exotic their animals, and the more those exotic animals bent to human will, the more people would buy tickets to the show.
This is placed in juxtaposition with the dream of the San Diego Zoo. Riley describes the San Diego Zoo as a haven for animals because it is large enough for the animals to roam. This calls into question the ethics behind having these giraffes in the rig in the first place. The giraffes might be headed towards a haven, but why and how were they stolen out of their natural habitat in Africa? Even in the context of Riley’s kindness to the animals, Wild Girl and Wild Boy are essentially imprisoned and forced into dangerous voyages that lead to a new setting far away from home.
