35 pages • 1 hour read
Gary PaulsenThe River
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 20-MeasurementsChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 20 Summary
The current grows stronger, and the raft picks up speed. Brian realizes that the river may have drops ahead and immediately hears water whooshing and falling. They are headed toward a waterfall.
Chapter 21 Summary
Brian has no time to steer the raft or slow their speed, and Brian sees that the river narrows between two bluffs, causing the water to pick up speed and crash over rocks. The water takes control of the raft, and Brian can only try to protect Derek as they hit an underwater boulder. The river throws Brian from the raft, and he struggles to free himself from the pressure wave crashing down on him. He finally makes it to the surface with his lungs screaming for air, but he hits his head and blacks out.
Chapter 22 Summary
Brian comes to in shallows below the rapids and is uninjured. Suddenly, he remembers Derek and the raft. He looks down the river, but can’t see the raft, and realizes Derek may have fallen off. He quickly recognizes that he must swim to try and catch up with the raft and see if Derek is alive. After just a few strokes, he realizes his fatigue from paddling and soreness from taking a beating in the rapids. All he can do is keep going and try to catch the raft.
Chapter 23 Summary
As he swims, Brian rounds several bends in the river, and worry overtakes him when he does not see the raft. He fights his way forward despite the pain and fatigue throughout his body, and the river seems to close in on him. Brian continues his swimming strokes and feels he becomes one with the river. He finally comes to the raft, almost swimming past it in his singular focus to keep going. The raft is caught in some trees at a bend in the river, and Brian would have missed it if he hadn’t looked up at the exact right moment. Derek’s body is twisted sideways on the raft, but Brian feels small breaths coming from his mouth. Derek is alive. In exhaustion, Brian falls across Derek.
Chapter 24 Summary
The next thing Brian knows, he is awake and paddling with a newly carved paddle. He has no memory of his actions and thinks he must have been moving in his sleep. Ahead he sees only “endless green” (128) and has no idea how much farther until the trading post. His hands are “beyond bleeding” and blistered (128), and all he knows are his paddling strokes: two on the left, then two on the right. All day and all night, he keeps paddling and can only see the river. Finally, he thinks he sees a building up ahead and hears a dog barking. He keeps pulling with the paddle until the raft nudges a dock, and a young boy sees him and returns with a man and woman who help Derek and Brian with strong hands. They made it to help, and Brian’s ordeal is over.
Measurements Summary
Brian and Derek’s journey took 63 hours, and they covered 119 miles down the river. The raft soaked up water and doubled in weight from 200 pounds to 400 pounds over the course of their run. Derek came out of his coma in a week and made a full recovery. Brian lost 12 pounds over the course of the run but suffered no lasting injuries, and his hands healed quickly. Seven months after the run down the river, Derek sends Brian a canoe with a note expressing his thanks. The canoe is inscribed with the words, “The Raft.”
Chapter 20-Measurements Analysis
Paulsen increasingly uses short sentences and wordplay to describe Brian’s thoughts and highlight the intensity of the situation. As Brian approaches a waterfall, Paulsen uses one short sentence at a time to show Brian’s gradual realization of what lies ahead: “Falling water. A waterfall.” (114). Once Brian wakes after being knocked unconscious, short sentences such as, “He was all right” (119) show Brian’s realization of his current state and the thought waves that come bit by bit about Derek and the raft.
Paulsen uses imagery and metaphor to describe the rushing water, raft, and the position of the raft: “The raft seemed to come alive, turn into a wild, crazy animal.” (116). More imagery describes Brian’s complete fatigue as he begins to swim down the river: “Every muscle in his body was on fire” (124). Brian swims so long he seemingly becomes the river. Worry overtakes him, but he keeps going. He becomes something “other than himself” (123) and feels immense relief and exhaustion when he finally finds Derek alive. Paulsen’s use of imagery to give a detailed description of the river’s power and Brian’s fatigue continues to contribute to the realistic feel of the story, as well as place the reader alongside Brian, observing his thoughts and surroundings.
Diction and repetition function in these chapters to show Brian’s strong will to survive and save Derek, as well as his declining mental state. Brian’s instincts take over, and he paddles in his sleep. Nothing matters except continuing to paddle. Paulsen creates a rhythm with words to reflect Brian’s paddling rhythm: “Two left. Two right. Two. Two.” (128). When he makes it to the trading post, the repetition of “hands” shows that Brian processes nothing but the hands of his saviors. When the strong hands come to help, Brian knows he and Derek are safe.
The final Measurements section gives precise figures of how long and how quickly Brian and Derek traveled, as well as how both men recovered; these details contribute to the realistic feel of this fictional story.
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