56 pages • 1 hour read
Bethany HamiltonSoul Surfer
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2004A 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.
Key Figures
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton is 13 years old during the events related in Soul Surfer. She lives on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and is a successful surfer with a fierce competitive streak and, like all competitive athletes, a willingness to withstand inconveniences and injuries in pursuit of her athletic goals. Hamilton has two older brothers, who are also athletic and who push her to succeed, and supportive parents who are also surfers. Hamilton is a devout Christian, with a large community of friends from school, the island, her church group, and fellow surfers.
The story of the shark attack on Hamilton would be short were it not for Hamilton’s message of faith, which allows others to find inspiration in her resilience and positive attitude. Hamilton’s handling of the attack and loss of her arm exhibited a maturity and depth of understanding beyond her years, and because of this, the media clamored for more interviews. Soul Surfer is the natural result of people wanting to know more about Hamilton and how a young female athlete could face the future with only one arm with such optimism.
Soul Surfer incorporates several elements designed to draw the reader into Hamilton’s world, so that even the urban reader who has never seen the ocean can find a piece of common ground with Hamilton, who, despite her unusual circumstances and exceptional story, is, in this memoir, an adolescent girl trying to find her way in the world.
Tim and Cheri Hamilton
Tim and Cheri Hamilton are Bethany’s parents, and they are responsible for introducing Bethany to surfing, as well as instilling several valuable life lessons in her.
Neither Tim nor Cheri is from Hawaii, but both were drawn to the islands by their love of surfing. They took jobs that allowed them to remain on the island and have time to surf and, after marrying, had three children, whom they also raised to love the ocean and water sports.
Tim and Cheri introduced their children to Christianity, and Cheri, in particular, exhibits a deep faith, particularly in the wake of the shark attack on her daughter. While both parents are active supporters of Bethany’s surfing career, it is Tim who imparts the lessons of resilience that allow Bethany to recover, not only from losses in competition, but also from the shark attack.
Timmy and Noah Hamilton
Bethany’s older brothers are important figures in the most intimate circle of her community, her family. The brothers are athletic and taught Bethany to be tough, but they are also remarkably supportive of her surfing success. One brother, for instance, takes videos of Bethany surfing and sets them to music, while the other uses these videos to reach out to potential corporate sponsors. After the shark attack, Bethany’s brothers respond in different ways, but it is clear that they are both deeply affected by what happens to their little sister.
Alana
Bethany Hamilton’s best friend, Alana, is a fellow surfer, and, as Hamilton explains it, more like a sister than a friend. She plays a central role in Hamilton’s life, not only because she shares Hamilton’s love of surfing, but also because she experienced the trauma of the shark attack from only 15 feet away. As the person closest to Bethany Hamilton outside of her family, Alana occupies a starring role in Bethany’s story, and represents the ideal of community because she shares in Hamilton’s victories, her defeats, and also her recovery after the attack.
