Zane and the Hurricane

Tru’s “battered and green and beautiful canoe” is the vehicle that saves the lives of Zane, Bandy, Tru and Malvina from the flood and allows them to escape Dylan Toomey at the school (91). The canoe represents safety and stability, though, like all things, it is imperfect. A deadly cottonmouth enters the canoe and Bandy tips it over, but Tru’s experience and skill as pilot of the canoe mitigates both dangers. The canoe offers the friends freedom to navigate and escape the floodwaters. It stands out in a landscape of dirty brown water, its green color suggesting both hope and new beginnings.

The canoe reflects Tru’s own steadfast, honest nature. When it is stolen, Tru feels violated because he “bought and paid for” it (116). The theft of the canoe emphasizes Philbrick’s themes of racial inequity and profiling. Boss Man assumes that Tru and the others are dishonest because of their color, but ironically, it is someone from the wealthy, mostly white community who stole the canoe.

The loss of the canoe also signifies a change in responsibility. Tru is no longer in charge of the boat. His mobility is compromised, and he cannot take care of Zane and Malvina. Instead, Malvina and Zane must take responsibility for Tru. The cheap, five-wheeled office chair Malvina finds becomes Tru’s new mode of transportation. Now, Zane and Malvina take charge of the journey, pushing the chair and making decisions. The ride is bumpier than before, and this reflects their youth and inexperience. Despite their age, they are able to care for Tru and protect him from further injury. Zane believes that the chair “gives us hope that things will get better, if we give them a chance” (130). The chair ultimately conveys them to safety.

With its pink feather standing up in the hatband “like an exclamation point,” Tru’s straw top hat expresses Tru’s individuality (53). An exclamation mark is used in writing to express strong feeling or emotion, and Tru shows both in his creative profession and originality. As Zane says and Belinda confirms, Tru is “a cool dude” (165).

Zane observes that while wearing the “Mad Hatter kind of hat” (53), Tru appears “jaunty,” but when he takes it off, he looks much older, suggesting that wearing the hat gives Tru vitality. Tru values the hat: He uses it to bail out the canoe but carefully replaces the feather when he is finished. He clutches the hat even when running from the school. The hat is unique, like Tru. Symbolically, pink is a color of hope, optimism, and spirit. Tru has all these qualities. He is unflaggingly optimistic, keeping up Zane and Malvina’s sprits, and he takes setbacks or obstacles in stride. Boss Man scoffs at Tru’s hat, linking it scornfully to Tru’s profession as a musician, mistakenly inferring that since Tru wears an eccentric hat, his own personality is flighty. 

When Boss Man crushes Tru’s hat, he symbolically exerts dominance over Tru, taking away his identity. Boss Man does not see Tru as an individual, but part of a suspicious, inferior group. Boss Man uses his prejudice and authority to reduce Tru and the others to a lesser, almost subhuman status. Zane compares the hat in the wind “an animal crawling away with a broken spine” (110), a disturbing image that represents the friends’ wounds and diminished spirits and suggests what further physical injuries Boss Man could inflict. Bandy rescues Tru’s damaged hat, restoring Tru’s hope and individuality. Because of “that crazy hat” (157), Belinda recognizes her cousin. Tru, with characteristic optimism, claims his hat is lucky because it brings them all to safety. 

To Zane, the mansion in the upscale neighborhood looks like something out of a television show. White, three stories tall, with columns holding up the roof, it appears undamaged by the storm. Even the trees around it are untouched. The mansion is not affected by the levee break that demolished houses in poorer neighborhoods like Miss Trissy’s. The mansion could be a refuge, it isn’t. Instead of providing safety and aid, the mansion represents white privilege and racial discrimination.

The mansion is unwelcoming. The street leading up to it is deliberately blocked by a barricade of branches. The paramilitary team at the mansion reveals that its wealthy owners value possessions over human lives, especially those of poor Black strangers. Moreover, the mansion’s color and architectural style evoke an antebellum plantation, the large farms where Black people were once enslaved. At the mansion, Tru, Malvina, and Zane are treated with contempt because of their race. Tru is physically assaulted, and Zane’s life is threatened. The mansion, where they had hoped to find help offers them humiliation, pain, and fear; emotions likely similar to those felt by enslaved people.

“Everything in this city about the music,” Tru tells Zane (68). Music signifies slightly different things to different characters, but it is predominantly a celebration of hope and community. To Miss Trissy, music expresses her faith and brings her closer to God. She sings gospel songs at home and at church. Her singing is “uplifting,” and brings people together. She continues to sing in a church choir in New Hampshire, where she becomes a force uniting Zane and his mom with the local Black community. Although she lost her home and physical memories in the hurricane, the storm could not take away her music or her faith.

For Tru, jazz and blues music is his livelihood and informs his identity. Jazz music is rooted in African American culture and represents cultural solidarity. Tru’s music reflects his racial heritage. It also raises peoples’ spirits: His performances in funeral bands celebrate life, and his work with famous musicians brings joy to an even wider audience.

The fact that the musicians’ fundraiser was so successful—restoring Tru’s instruments and leaving Tru enough to give to other musicians—reveals how vital music is to people’s spirits after the tragedy. The flood of donations also highlights the good, selfless side of humanity, which helps restore faith and hope for a new future.