45 pages • 1 hour read
Joseph BruchacSkeleton Man
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001A 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 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “Pictures”
The next day at school, the nurse, Mrs. Rudder, and the school psychologist all meet with Molly and decide that her problem is “chemical” and is brought about by stress. They want to put her into therapy. However, Ms. Shabbas supports Molly’s perception, asserting that the girl’s intuition is on target and that Molly only needs hard evidence. When Molly returns to her great-uncle’s house at the end of the day, no one is there. The door to the computer room is open, so Molly quietly enters and is horrified to discover monitors displaying live pictures from hidden cameras by the front door, the back door, and the door to Molly’s room. Later, when she has returned to her room, she hears her great-uncle arrive. She calls down to him that she is sick and is going to bed. Her great-uncle hurries up the stairs and locks the door.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Looking”
Molly reels with the knowledge of the hidden cameras. She is thoroughly frightened, but she remembers that her mother always told her to “think first before you try to run away from a problem” (69). Molly knows that she proceed logically in order to figure out her next move. She knows that because she is a light sleeper, her great-uncle will not be able to sneak up on her in the night. She then begins piecing together the similarities between her great-uncle and the Skeleton Man of her dreams. She begins to hope that her next dream will reveal an answer to her plight.
She also recalls how often she has felt as though she is being watched; she realizes that there must be a hidden camera in her room, possibly in the overhead light fixture. Molly does not try to find and disable the camera because she knows that her great-uncle will be watching. Instead, she begins to see her situation as a chess match and realizes that she does not have to be a victim. In a chess match, she would have the opportunity to launch countermoves and attack her opponent. For now, she thinks about the “Mohawk warrior wisdom” (72) that her father has taught her: “Sometimes the most important thing you can do in a tough situation is to keep quiet, breathe slowly, and think” (72). She quietly asks her dreams to help her.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Running”
Molly falls asleep and reenters the dream world. There, she meets the rabbit, who tells her that she must run as fast as she can because the Skeleton Man is closing in on her. In the dream, Molly runs after the rabbit and hears thudding footsteps behind her. She and the rabbit run down a slope to a river, but the bridge that Molly expects is not there. She hears a huge howl comes from top of the slope, and there stands the Skeleton Man. He is a tall skeleton with shredded clothing, a bloody mouth, and glowing green eyes. He points at Molly and screams that he is coming for her.
Chapters 12 Summary: “Across the Log”
As the dream continues, the Skeleton Man starts down the hill toward Molly. However, his bony feet slide with the steepness of the slope, and he falls into the river. The rabbit reappears and says that he knew the Skeleton Man would fall down the hill and into the river. The rabbit warns Molly that they must continue running. He leads her onto a steep trail that climbs up to a waterfall. The rabbit tells her that they must cross over the falls by walking on a fallen tree. Although Molly is not usually afraid of heights, the rushing water and the narrowness of the tree bridge frighten her. Suddenly, the Skeleton Man is upon her, and she runs across the tree as he pursues her. When he is in the middle of the log, Molly pushes on the tree as hard as she can, causing him to fall into the waterfall and hit the sharp rocks below.
When Molly awakens, she is sure that she will be at her own house with her mother and father, but she is still at her great-uncle’s house. When she looks out the window, she sees him walking toward the shed.
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
In this section, Bruchac continues to use dynamic, action-oriented sentences and ghoulish sensory imagery to add tension and suspense to the rapidly accelerating plot. To this end, he frequently uses forceful verbs to create a sense of urgency, and this technique features prominently in the passages describing Molly’s latest dream. Verbs like “thud,” “split,” “force,” “rips,” and “burn” emphasize the mortal peril of her dream-self and propel the narrative toward its climax. This approach is further enhanced by Bruchac’s use of fantastical details to convey the supernatural essence of Molly’s foe, for he describes the Skeleton Man’s eyes as burning “like strange flames, and there is a darkness about his teeth that [Molly is] sure is dried blood” (79). In addition to this vivid visual imagery, Bruchac also relies on auditory descriptions to heighten the tension, as when the Skeleton Man speaks in a whisper that is somehow more terrifying than a scream and declares, “I am coming for youuuuu!” (79). The repetition of this phrase throughout the chase and the elongation of the word “you” emphasizes the virulent danger of the novel’s protagonist and implies that Molly is now in imminent danger in the real world, not just in her dreams.
As Molly’s situation becomes more dire, Bruchac leans heavily on The Importance of Cultural Heritage and Traditional Wisdom to convey the fact that Molly’s dreams often connect her with her own people’s historical past, illustrating her place within her family’s broader cultural tradition. As Molly learns to follow her intuition and act upon these insights in the real world, her decisive nature reflects The Courage and Resilience of Young People, for she combines her logical reasoning skills with the knowledge she has gained through her intuition and dreams.
This section of the novel focuses primarily upon Molly’s efforts as she works on Gaining Insight Through Dreams and Intuition. Through the dynamic medium of her aware dreams, Molly finds herself clothed in deerskin and wearing a leather bracelet and moccasins as she explores an old growth forest. These clues signal that Molly’s dreams have sent her back in time to the days when her ancestors lived in the forests of northern New York State. Thus, her dreams connect her to the traditional wisdom of her culture, and from the moment when she identifies herself with the Mohawk girl in her dream, she becomes one with the dream-girl and takes on her skills and determination. In addition, her dreams encourage her to analyze the story of Skeleton Man; because a young woman was able to defeat this figure, Molly’s dream indicate that she will be able to use similar ingenuity to defeat her supposed great-uncle. In this way, Bruchac uses a traditional story to demonstrate the benefit of paying attention to the messages and wisdom contained within such legends.
Even in the waking world, Molly continues to draw upon her heritage for strength, courage, and strategy. For example, she remembers her father telling her about “Mohawk warrior wisdom” and saying, “It doesn’t matter if you are the hunted or the hunter. Sometimes the most important thing you can do in a tough situation is to keep quiet, breathe slowly and think” (72). Molly embraces this wise advice and knows that instead of panicking, she must think through her situation and devise a strategy to defeat her foe, just as she would in a game of chess.
Bruchac also demonstrates The Courage and Resilience of Young People by using Molly as a model of what a young person can accomplish despite seemingly impossible situations. By relying upon her parents’ guidance, her own creativity, and her intuitive instincts, Molly uses all the tools at her disposal to arrive at a strategy that will keep her safe and allow her to solve the mystery of her parents’ disappearance. In addition, although Bruchac describes Molly’s fears and self-doubt, he also offers proof that she is strong enough to overcome these inhibitions. Whereas many children might be completely cowed by their own powerlessness in the world of adults, Molly finds creative alternatives that allow her to achieve her goals. As she draws upon her Indigenous heritage and taps into her own inner resources, her determination to act despite her fear proves that she is a strong, brave protagonist who refuses to succumb to the forces arrayed against her.
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