The Seventh Most Important Thing

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Chapters 17-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 17 Summary

Arthur finds a mirror and a table (wood) right off the bat. He realizes that finding some of the other things on the list will be more difficult and that he’ll actually have to open trash cans. In the first can he opens, he finds foil dinner trays right on top, “like they were waiting for him” (73). The rest of the day is also successful in terms of finding things. Arthur even finds lightbulbs; though, he’d been ready to give up. Arthur hauls the cart back to the garage, feeling for the first time that the items on the list aren’t “totally random and pointless” (75).

“The First Important Thing” Summary

When Arthur gets home, his mother tells him they’re going to put up the Christmas tree. Arthur doesn’t want to put up the tree because it reminds him of his dad but brings the tree down from the attic, anyway. Once the tree is downstairs, Arthur’s mother offers to help put it together, but Arthur says he can do it. He “wanted to be sad and angry at his dad by himself” (79). His mother looks upset, so Arthur changes his mind.

Arthur starts putting branches in the bottom part of the tree, and the whole thing falls over on top of him. His mother laughs uncontrollably. Arthur tries to be upset, but eventually, he laughs, too.

Arthur and his mother put the branches in the wrong holes and just toss the lights on the tree. It doesn’t look like a tree when they finish, but Barbara thinks it’s beautiful just the way it is. They switch off the lamps to look at the lit-up tree, and for a moment, Arthur feels like he did before his dad died, “as if their old life had briefly flickered back on” (83).

Chapter 18 Summary

Officer Billie comes by Arthur’s house to tell Arthur he’ll get two weeks off from probation for Christmas. She also gives him caramel corn, which shocks Arthur because she doesn’t seem like the type to give gifts. She tells Arthur not to mess up over Christmas and that a lot of people do because it’s a difficult season. She leaves Arthur feeling confused, and he concludes “people [can] surprise you” (87).

Chapter 17-18 Analysis

Following Arthur’s acceptance of his task, Arthur finds the things on the list without issue. By the end of Chapter 17, Arthur feels more confident about probation and the items on the list. He doesn’t understand the significance of the items yet, but his shift in attitude foreshadows how the seven important things will change his life.

The first of these changes occurs in “The First Important Thing.” Arthur begins this chapter not wanting to decorate the Christmas tree because doing so reminds him too much of his dad. A mishap with the tree gets Arthur laughing, and the finished tree looks nothing like the perfect Christmas symbol his dad used to decorate. When Barbara comes home, her happiness about the tree makes Arthur feel less like he failed to follow his dad’s blueprint for decorating. With the tree plugged in, the lightbulbs bring brightness to the darkness Arthur has carried since his dad’s death. Lightbulbs symbolize hope, and Arthur feels his family isn’t broken beyond repair, after all.

Officer Billie shocks Arthur by giving him a Christmas present. Arthur reflects on his surprise, showing Arthur isn’t the only person to be judged prematurely. Arthur starts to realize he did the same thing to Officer Billie that Judge Warner and Vice did to him. He judged her based on who she seemed to be, not who she is. Arthur continues this pattern through to the end of the book, which aligns with Mr. Hampton’s later statement about work never being finished. Like Mr. Hampton’s sculpture, people are works in progress and never truly finished, even if they seem complete.