41 pages • 1 hour read
Judy BlumeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“You won’t even be able to see her house. There’ll probably be a forest separating us.”
Peter falsely assures Jimmy that they won’t have to be anywhere near Sheila during the vacation. It is one of the first moments in the story where Peter’s tendency to avoid problems comes into focus. He has no idea what the living situation will be like, and this false assurance comes back to him when he stresses about how to break the news to Jimmy about living in the same house as Sheila.
“Hey, Peter…no offense…but a week with your family can feel like a long time.”
Jimmy’s comment about Peter’s family foreshadows the way that Navigating Chaotic Family Life becomes a key component of the vacation in Maine. A total of three families, all with different values, makeups, and approaches to life, end up living under one roof and learn to understand and appreciate each other in the process. This includes Jimmy, whom Peter notes does not have siblings and whose parents are divorced. Despite finding the Hatchers chaotic, Jimmy’s skepticism fades the more time he spends with them.
“Mom kept right on reading. I don’t know why she thinks Fudge pays any attention to her lectures on history. He hears only what he wants to hear. Everything else goes right by him.”
Peter’s observations of his brother often point to Fudge’s flaws, although these flaws are usually just due to Fudge’s much younger age. Peter sometimes lacks understanding for his younger brother, including in this scene; Fudge, in fact, regularly repeats things his family members say, much like Uncle Feather. It is not until near the end of the vacation that Peter reflects on his tendency to be critical of his brother and starts to realize that he should be easier on Fudge.
“Learn to share and you’ll be a very happy person.”
Fudge often surprises Peter and his parents with the words of wisdom he shares. Although they are usually phrases he repeats, he occasionally hits the mark and manages to correctly use these proverbial lessons to help his older brother see things from his perspective. Fudge’s childlike view of the world allows him to see things simply and honestly.
“She says at her age you really appreciate the morning and there’s no point in wasting it.”
Grandma’s appreciation for the current moment is a valuable aspect of her character. It is what allows her to live bravely and with gratitude and understanding for others. Peter looks up to his grandmother, who often provides words of wisdom and advice as well as comfort when Peter struggles with the pains of growing up and accepting difficult feelings, such as disappointment.
“Outside the fog was so thick you couldn’t even see the cars parked in our driveway. It was like standing inside a big white cloud.”
Chapter 5 is filled with visual imagery as the fog rolls into town and covers it in a thick white blanket. The fog adds mystery and intrigue to the scene that follows in which Peter and Fudge venture out in search of Uncle Feather. The natural, relatively wild environment of Maine is a contrast to the constant lights and sounds of New York City, where the Hatchers live.
“There was no sound except the waves breaking against the rocks.”
The calm and quiet of the coastal town in Maine is an immediate and powerful source of awe for Peter, who is used to the chaos and noise of city life. All that can be heard in this moment is the sound of the water approaching the shore, highlighting the town’s isolation.
“I’m going to be a bird breather.”
Fudge’s character is a source of humor and entertainment, and not always intentionally. Fudge one day proudly announces that he plans to be a “bird breather,” although it soon becomes clear he has virtually no idea what he’s talking about. Peter determines that he must mean a “bird breeder,” but Fudge doesn’t know what that is either, and Peter and Sheila attempt to dodge the awkwardness of the topic, unable to find an age-appropriate way to explain it Fudge.
“This is the life, I thought, as I stretched out in the hammock in the backyard. I can do anything I feel like doing now. I can finish my Gary Paulsen book…or ride my bicycle out to the lighthouse.”
In this quote, Judy Blume makes reference to the middle grade genre on a wider scale by including a nod to another prolific children’s author, Gary Paulsen. Paulsen’s books frequently feature child protagonists finding independence, navigating The Trials of Approaching Adolescence, and confronting their fears through experiences in the wilderness—just like Peter does in Maine.
“It’s so quiet in the country…and dark. In the city it’s never dark. You can always look out your window and see lights. It’s never quiet either. You can hear the buzz of traffic even in the middle of the night.”
Peter quickly learns to see the beauty in being somewhere quiet and isolated after living most of his life in the heart of New York City. Peter compares the stark differences between city life and country life and finds that he appreciates the peace and quiet that Maine offers.
“This is all your fault, Peter! Chaos follows you and your family.”
Navigating chaotic family life is a central theme in the novel, and Libby is correct in her observation that chaos seems to follow the Hatcher family everywhere they go. As a family with three children, two of whom are five years or younger, the Hatchers stand in contrast to the Tubman and Fargo families, whose families are smaller and whose children are older. Each day brings new misfortune, accidents, and humorous events that unfold and force the families to exhibit patience and cooperation.
“Being a baby is so easy, I thought. Riding around on Dad’s shoulders, knowing he’d never let you fall. And doing and saying whatever you please, without worrying about what the other guy will think.”
Peter’s struggle with the fact that he is approaching adolescence is constantly evident through his attitude and behavior. Here, he watches his brother and sister as they play and live the carefree existence of early childhood. All the while, Peter’s childhood is slipping away from him, and he is growing more aware of the thoughts and judgment of others. This is a major source of internal conflict for Peter at this stage of his life.
“I think I smiled back but I’m not sure. I felt like I was in a dream and everything was happening in slow motion.”
Peter experiences his first real crush on an older girl named Isobel, signifying that he is approaching adolescence whether he fights against it or not. He compares the experience to being in a dream and remembers the moment through a fog of initial attraction and fantastical thinking.
“Where is it written that life is fair?”
Grandma is always ready with words of wisdom and reminders about The Importance of Levity and coping with challenges with bravery, patience, and strength. She exemplifies these values in her behavior as well. Peter and the other kids look up to Grandma for this reason, and she is a constant example of how to live life fully and peacefully.
“I imagined the headline in tonight’s paper:
FIVE-YEAR-OLD FLATTENED BY ROLLAWAY BED.”
Peter has a vivid imagination that showcases his sense of humor and creativity. Here, he creates a mock headline outlining the most recent Fudge incident. When Fudge jumps on his rollout bed and causes it to collapse in on itself, Peter can’t help but see the humor in the situation. Fudge is often a source of unintentional slapstick humor, and this is only one of many such instances.
“But did he listen? Does he ever listen?”
Peter poses a rhetorical question, pointing out Fudge’s behavioral pattern of doing things his own way. Peter says this immediately after asking Fudge to stop talking at breakfast and just before Fudge continues anyway, revealing Peter’s crush to everyone, embarrassing Peter. Since Peter is approaching adolescence and struggling with the changes, he finds the exposure of his secret to be horrific.
“Peter got dizzy from Izzy at the library.”
Lacking the sense of self-consciousness and awareness of others’ judgment that Peter wrestles with, Fudge is always there to offer his unique brand of humor, parrot the amusing phrases he hears others say, and point out embarrassing facts about his brother. In this scene, Fudge latches onto a rhyme, which becomes infectious and spreads to the other kids. Before Peter knows it, everyone teases him about Isobel.
“First he tells me he can’t stand Sheila. Next thing you know it’s like they’re best friends. Who needs this?”
Peter occasionally interjects his narrative with internal dialogue, which is indicated in italics. These moments of internal dialogue usually represent a point of confusion that Peter is facing. In this case, he cannot understand why Jimmy is acting so friendly toward Sheila if he previously claimed to hate her. It seems that Jimmy is more open and forgiving than Peter, highlighting a difference in their personalities as well as the uneven nature of maturation and development.
“I don’t worry! I think ahead.
Too bad you didn’t think ahead before you swallowed that fly.”
Peter and Sheila often have sarcastic exchanges in which they harmlessly tease one another in an antagonistic manner. After Peter bikes ahead of the group in a fit of rage and embarrassment, he ironically ends up swallowing a fly and only embarrassing himself further. Sheila is there to point out the irony in his statement when he brags about thinking ahead.
“Fudge was sprawled out on the ground near his garden. His face was streaked with blue, his shirt was stained blue, his hands were blue, he had blue in his hair. Even his tongue, which hung halfway out of his mouth, was blue.”
Repetition in this quote drives home the imagery and drama of the scene when Fudge is found after eating too many blueberries. The scene follows a motif that runs throughout the chapter in which the color blue is prominent within imagery, and this is how it begins. In this sense, Fudge’s encounter with the blueberries foreshadows Mr. Fargo’s blue painting and the blue ocean the family sails upon.
“I liked the whoosh whoosh sound as the boat cut through the water.”
Peter uses onomatopoeia to describe the sound of the boat gliding through the cold Atlantic waters. Doing so creates a source of auditory imagery for the reader, one that allows them to more directly experience what Peter is experiencing. It is also an example of Peter’s more childlike side, as the language is more simplistic, and he is appreciating something small.
“Captain Fudge, with his Oil of Olay mitt, got to choose first. So who did he pick? The biggest, strongest-looking player? No…that would have made too much sense. He chose Mitzi.”
Peter sarcastically explains Fudge’s predictable but ironically poor choice of players for his team. It is clear that Fudge is less concerned with winning and more concerned with being close to his friends. As usual, Peter watches Fudge incredulously, marveling at Fudge’s behavior from an older and more rational perspective.
“Maybe I’m not such a loser. Maybe today just wasn’t my day. But next Sunday could be completely different. Next Sunday I might make a fantastic catch and hit a grand-slam home run! Anything’s possible in baseball.”
Peter’s internal dialogue reflects a rare moment of optimism at the end of the baseball game. Although he often leans toward pessimism, Peter cannot help but look forward to the next game because baseball is his passion. Baseball, like all sports, offers endless opportunities for improvement and encourages its players to try and try again. It is exactly what Peter needs to remind himself to stay positive.
“Mom and Mr. Tubman looked like they were in shock. I expected them to fall over any second.”
“Mom worried about the weather but when we woke up on Saturday morning it was clear and warm. We all helped decorate the yard. We tied pink ribbons around the swing tree and set pots of pink flowers in Fudge’s garden.”
This quote has many layers to it, including the subtle alliteration in words beginning with “w,” the imagery of the pink ribbons and flowers, and the repetition of the color pink. Additionally, the quote illuminates an aspect of Peter’s mother’s character that helps explain why Peter is pessimistic: His mother has a similar tendency. While she is not depicted as being negative, she does worry about what could go wrong more than other characters. Finally, this quote shows how the families come together to support the wedding after a long and chaotic vacation.
By Judy Blume