The Seventh Most Important Thing

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Chapters 5-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

The judge doesn’t believe Arthur’s story. Arthur’s father was a high school dropout, had been arrested for several biker crimes, and died in a motorcycle accident. The judge figures Arthur is just like his dad, saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” (17).

Mr. Hampton asks to speak with the judge, which takes a couple of hours. When the hearing readjourns, the judge tells Arthur that James Hampton requested that Arthur be “assigned to work for him until his arm has healed” rather than being sentenced to juvie (20). Arthur asks what kind of work Mr. Hampton does. The judge says Arthur will find out and sends Arthur home.

Chapter 6 Summary

Arthur shares a bedroom with his sister. The things at home that annoyed Arthur before, like his sister’s pink bedspread, don’t bother him so much now. He’s just glad to have “a bedroom he could walk into” (22).

Arthur’s mother is concerned about Arthur becoming more like his dad. She lays down some new house rules: Arthur will talk about things that bother him; he won’t get in trouble at school; he’ll come straight home after school to watch his sister; money is tight. Arthur already comes home to watch his sister, and the last rule doesn’t sound like a rule to him. Still, he agrees.

Chapter 7 Summary

Arthur unpacks the one paper bag he was allowed to bring to juvie while talking to his sister, Barbara (age seven). Barbara offers to help Arthur make better friends. Though she’s kind of an annoying little sister, she “stayed fairly okay” while Arthur was in juvie (27), and Arthur appreciates being around someone who’s acting normal.

In bed that night, Barbara asks Arthur if he’s going to die because “he was bad” like their father (28). Arthur says he isn’t. Barbara also asks if their dad is in Heaven. Arthur says of course, because where else would their dad be, but he really isn’t sure “about heaven or anything else” (29). Barbara finally stops asking questions, and Arthur falls asleep.

The next morning, Arthur goes out to get the paper and finds his dad’s cap on the porch steps with a note under it that says “Sorry, I took it for the wings. St. James” (31). He doesn’t know what it means.

Chapters 5-8 Analysis

Another major theme of the book is “People Aren’t Always Who They Seem.” In Chapter 5, Judge Warner wants to sentence Arthur to juvie because Arthur’s dad was a troublemaker. The judge doesn’t care that Arthur has no criminal record and threw the brick out of sorrow and anger. Arthur’s dad was a biker and committed crimes, and Judge Warner judges Arthur based on who Arthur seems to be, rather than who he is. Arthur’s mother also fears Arthur is becoming more like his dad. She creates new house rules to prevent that change from happening. Arthur feels betrayed by the opinions of Judge Warner and his mother, but to appease both, he resolves to stay quiet and prove them wrong, which starts a cycle of Arthur using the opinions of others to motivate his actions.

Mr. Hampton’s reaction to Arthur’s attack foreshadows how Arthur will grow during the story. Unlike everyone else, Mr. Hampton recognizes the attack for what it was—a cry for help. Mr. Hampton’s motivation for building his sculpture is to turn trash and ugliness into something beautiful. He does the same with Arthur—transforming Arthur’s ugly anger into acceptance and more positive emotions.

Heaven and wings are two motifs in the novel. Arthur begins the story unsure about heaven’s existence or if his dad went there when he died. He wants to believe, but heaven seems too abstract to be real. Later, when Arthur learns about Mr. Hampton’s sculpture of heaven, heaven becomes more concrete, and Arthur’s perspective shifts. Wings symbolize Arthur’s motivation for his attack on Mr. Hampton, as well as the inciting incident of the novel. Mr. Hampton took the cap to use the wings for his sculpture. If he hadn’t taken the hat, Arthur wouldn’t have thrown the brick. The two would not have formed a partnership, and neither would have grown from their friendship with the other.