A Lion to Guard Us

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1981

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-23

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 22-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 22 Summary: “The Other Side of the Island”

The children board one of the two boats headed to Virginia. Meg asks Jemmy about being lost on the island, and he tells her his story. He went to see if Master Waters had the lion’s head, but along the way, he got lost and had to sleep in the woods. In the morning, he called for help, and Master Waters and Master Carter found him and took him back to their camp. Jemmy asked them for the door knocker, and Master Waters said he was keeping it for him so no one would take it in case they went back to England. Master Carter said that he needed to give it back to Jemmy, and the two fought. While they were fighting, Jemmy went into the tent, got the door knocker, and ran. He hid under a bush until night and that’s when he saw Amanda’s candle. Amanda chides him for making them worry, but she is proud of him.

They board one of the two ships leaving Bermuda and eventually reach Point Comfort in Chesapeake Bay. When they arrive, they learn that all the other ships made it to Virginia safely. They also learn that Jamestown only has a few inhabitants left. Illness, war with the Indigenous people, and starvation have plagued the colony. Admiral Somers says they will go to Jamestown as quickly as they can.

Chapter 23 Summary: “The Lion’s Head”

The children stay on deck as the ships sail up the James River. Jemmy searches the banks for “Indians” while Meg looks for deer. Meg asks Amanda what she’s looking for, but Amanda is saying to herself over and over “Let Father be safe, let him be well” (110).

When they reach Jamestown, located inside a wall of tree trunks, the captain shouts but receives no answer. The children wait their turn to deboard, after all the ladies and gentlemen. The town is small, the roof has come off one of the buildings, and the church door is broken. Most of the buildings are empty, and only a few “wild-looking men” are in the middle of the town (112).

Amanda pushes open a door and sees a thin and bony man lying on the floor in rags. She recognizes him as her father, but at first, he doesn’t recognize his children. When Jemmy shows him the lion’s head, their father remembers it and then remembers them. Amanda tells Meg and Jemmy to get the Admiral, food, and water. She cradles her father’s head in her lap. Her father is looking at the door, and she checks to see what he captured his attention. Jemmy placed the lion’s head on a peg on the door, and the brass, catching the light, makes the room brighter.

Chapters 22-23 Analysis

Throughout the novel, Amanda is the one telling stories to her siblings, but after Jemmy goes on his adventure, he has a story to tell about his own experience of being independent, demonstrating his Journey From Childhood to Independence. He uses his wits to recover the stolen door knocker, tracking down Master Waters and acting quickly when he sees a window of opportunity. Meanwhile, his success in navigating home again depends upon Amanda’s determination and fierce desire to keep the family together no matter what. She stands in the darkness with a candle until he finds his way back, symbolizing the way love and family can be a guiding light amid adversity.

The novel has at different points foreshadowed the horrific conditions at Jamestown, and when the ships reach Chesapeake Bay, the children learn that the conditions there are dire, highlighting the difference between The Imagined and Real “New World.” The children have lost every parental figure in the text so far, and with the revelation that their father might not be waiting for them, Amanda becomes extremely anxious. Her more adult perspective contrasts with her siblings, who still see their circumstances through childlike perspectives. As they approach Jamestown, Jemmy and Meg search the river banks as though they are in an adventure story—Jemmy looks for Indigenous people, and Meg hopes to see deer. Amanda’s worry, by contrast, is captured in her repeated prayer for her father’s safety.

While their father and Jamestown are in terrible shape, the door knocker’s symbolism becomes fully realized in the book’s final chapter. Ill and malnourished, their father doesn’t recognize them, but his memory is sparked when he sees the lion’s head. With this, he comes to recognize his children as well, representing the door knocker’s power to unite them. The lion guarded the children on their transatlantic journey and kept their family together during its hardest trials. Now, it catalyzes their reunion and offers hope for a new home and life together, symbolized by the warm glow it illuminates in the room. Although their journey is not over, Amanda is no longer afraid because the family is back together again.