39 pages • 1 hour read
Lauren TarshisI Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Sunday, May 22, 2011, 5:42 a.m., Joplin Missouri”
A “typical Sunday afternoon” is disrupted as a tornado tears through Joplin, Missouri, destroying everything in its path (1). Eleven-year-old Dexter (Dex) James is in an SUV when the tornado finds him, smashing a window and engulfing him. Dex’s desire “to see a tornado for real” has been realized, and he understands “there could be no escape” (3).
Chapter 2 Summary: “One Day Earlier, Saturday, May 21, 9 a.m.”
Dex is riding his bicycle through his neighborhood, his dog, Zeke, at his heels. Stephanie and Bobbie Tucker, the twin daughters of his neighbors, ask him to buy lemonade from their stand, and he cannot refuse. His parents, both math teachers at the local high school, grew up with the girls’ parents. Mr. Tucker emerges from their house with two suitcases, explaining that the family is going out of town for a few days. He asks how Dex’s 20-year-old brother and best friend Jeremy, a US Navy Seal, is doing.
Thinking about Jeremy upsets Dex. Initially, Dex’s pride in his brother overrode any concerns for his brother’s safety. Neighbors called Jeremy a hero, and Dex’s classmates wanted to hear everything about him, even Dylan, Dex’s former best friend. The two had grown apart as they got older, but now Dylan and his new friends are eager to hear stories about Jeremy. Lately, however, all Dex can do is worry about his brother. He answers Mr. Tucker briefly and hurries on his way. Distracted by thoughts of Jeremy being injured, he rides through a stop sign, hears a horn and the screech of tires, and flies off his bicycle.
Chapter 3 Summary
Dex realizes that Zeke knocked him off his bicycle to prevent him from riding through the stop sign and being hit by the red SUV that had honked at him. The man who emerges from the vehicle is Dr. Norman Gage, a storm chaser with his own TV show, Tornado Mysteries. Dr. Gage went to college with Dex’s father, David. In town for a workshop, he is also planning to chase a storm expected to hit near Joplin, in Galena, Kansas. Dex knows that tornados are “one of the most destructive forces in nature,” but he is also fascinated by them and longs “to see one with his own eyes” (15). Dr. Gage invites Dex and his father to join him the next day. Dex says that his father will not be able to go, since his parents have to attend the high school’s graduation, but Dr. Gage suggests David call him. The invitation still stands for Dex.
Chapter 4 Summary: “That Night, 7 p.m.”
Dex’s mother, Deb, is initially opposed to Dex “heading off with some thrill seeker” (17). After David assures her that Norm “really doesn’t take risks” and joining him “is an incredible opportunity for Dex,” she relents (18). After dinner, his mother hopes for a game of Scrabble, a Saturday night family tradition, but Dex declines. The game has not been the same since Jeremy left. After watching two episodes of Tornado Mysteries, Dex climbs into his perfectly made bed. Jeremy had taught Dex how to make his bed when he had returned home from SEAL training. Making his bed right was, Jeremy professed, the greatest lesson he learned in training. Dex’s friends had been surprised by that, but according to Jeremy, it was key to starting and ending the day right. Tonight, Dex is not worrying about Jeremy but thinking of tornados.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
Each of the novels in the I Survived series begins the same way: in media res, which means in the middle of the action. Starting with the protagonist in danger establishes the high stakes of the novel immediately. In addition to grabbing young readers’ attention, it creates a roadmap of where the story is headed. Readers anticipate the danger to come, which creates tension as they speculate how the protagonist will end up in that situation.
The following three chapters in this section shape Dex’s character and his relationship to his hometown, the site of the disaster to come. The details about Joplin that the author includes characterize it as a friendly, close-knit community of people who have grown up together and stayed in the city to raise their own families, a detail that the author notes in her afterword as well. Dex stops to support the twin daughters of his parents’ friends and chats with their father. This evidence of Dex’s connection to his community emphasizes the human and emotional nature of the impending disaster, as opposed to grounding the story in the science of storms or the tornado's physical destruction.
The narrative gives Dex his own worries and emotions outside the context of the tornado, which develops his character and makes him relatable to young readers. He has experienced the decline of a friendship, and his older sibling, who he considers his best friend, has moved away. In addition, his brother is a Navy SEAL, which creates anxiety and fear for his safety. Being distracted by his concerns is what causes Dex to nearly get run over but for Zeke. The bond Dex has with his dog may also resonate with young readers. Zeke represents the stability and safety in Dex’s life, literally saving Dex from being run over and, later, when the dog returns after the tornado, helping to mark the end of Dex’s immediate ordeal.
The narrative brings Dr. Gage and Dex into contact in characteristic fashion for the series. That is, Chapter 2 ends with a cliffhanger, a sudden and potentially tragic event, as Dr. Gage almost hits Dex with his car. Cliffhangers of this kind help keep readers engaged and eager to turn the pages.
Together, the first four chapters provide the exposition of a traditional narrative arc that establishes the characters and setting as well as foreshadows the conflict: the impending tornado. At the end of Chapter 4, readers know that Dex will chase the storm with Dr. Gage while his parents are at the high school where they teach. Each of the central themes developed across the novel is introduced. Dex’s reflections on his brother introduce the theme of The Need for Resilience and Resourcefulness. Dex’s relationship to his city introduces the theme of The Importance of Community and Solidarity, and the opening chapter suggests the theme of The Limits of Human Knowledge, since Dex and Dr. Gage were not able to predict how the storm would turn and thus found themselves in danger.
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By Lauren Tarshis
