47 pages • 1 hour read
Paul TherouxThe Mosquito Coast
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1981A 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 10-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
The Fox family takes up temporary residence in the city of La Ceiba, and Allie prepares for their move into the jungle. Charlie is disappointed by the city and its unsanitary conditions, keeping track of the Unicorn in its mooring for as long as it remains. Mother takes the children to tour the city, but they find that there is not much to experience. Charlie is introduced to a German immigrant named Weerwilly, who tells Mother, “I am talking to your husband. He is crazy” (109). Having paid Weerwilly for land, and nervous that he will not follow through with his end of the bargain, Allie asks Charlie to stay to ensure he fulfills the end of the bargain. Producing a deed and presenting it to Allie, Weerwilly is relieved to be rid of the property. Allie is elated to inform Charlie and the family that he has purchased a town in the jungle. Weerwilly had established the settlement known as Jeronimo as a banana farm; he is eager to sell because the remoteness of the location presented significant challenges. The Fox family remains in La Ceiba until Allie has procured the necessary supplies. Charlie accompanies Allie as often as he can, watching him haggle and negotiate with business owners in the process of outfitting their camp. He is overwhelmed by a feeling of both dread and dependence: “If he dies, I thought, we are lost” (114).
Chapter 11 Summary
To access Jeronimo, which is situated alongside a river deep in the dense jungle, Allie commissions the services of Mr. Haddy and his vessel, the Little Haddy, to ferry them and transport their tremendous volume of equipment and materials to their new location. As they sail along the coast of Honduras toward the mouth of the river, Allie continues to pressure Mr. Haddy for control of the boat. Met with resistance for a time, eventually Mr. Haddy relents and allows Allie to steer. Watching his parents as they proceed further and further into the jungle, Charlie reflects, “The longer I looked the more they seemed like a wild man and an angel” (123). Their original route was more circuitous to preserve the boat’s integrity against treacherous riverbeds, but Allie insists on sailing the Little Haddy upriver directly to Jeronimo by the quickest route. Mr. Haddy mounts vehement protests, reminding Allie that his boat is his only possession and represents the entirety of his livelihood. Ignoring him, Allie manages to reach Jeronimo, but not without wrecking The Little Haddy in the shallows. Dismissing Mr. Haddy’s distress over the destruction of his property, Allie brings the family ashore.
Chapter 12 Summary
The Fox family spends their first moments in Jeronimo appraising their new surroundings and assessing the status of the settlement. Though significantly overgrown since its use as a banana farm, signs of Weerwilly’s failure remain. Immediately inspired, Allie begins to map out his redesign concept for Jeronimo.
Finding that the settlement has inhabitants, the Fox family meets the Maywits, an Indigenous couple with four young children. They also first meet those referred to as the “Zambus,” who have their own settlement nearby. Francis Lungley, John Dixon, and Bucky Smart factor most heavily in the community of Jeronimo among the Zambu people.
With the help of the Maywits and Zambus, the Foxes set up a temporary camp and begin to clear the area of vegetation. They construct an irrigation system, plant the first of their crops, and assemble the first of Allie’s inventions. They begin construction on a custom home and several additional structures, repurposing many of their materials from the remnants of Weerwilly’s farm. Allie explains to everyone in residence that he has been sent there for a reason, one that they must discover for themselves. Although Allie claims that he is working for them, every person in the settlement is subject to his instructions and whims; children and adults alike are assigned individual tasks for completion. When the Foxes first arrive, the Maywits are prepared to evacuate Weerwilly’s former home, where they bad been residing, but Allie informs them that they are welcome to stay. “This is your house,” he tells them. “You don’t have to evacuate as long as you make yourselves useful” (134).
Chapter 13 Summary
The Fox and Maywit families and the Zambus living nearby continue to work tirelessly to develop an improved Jeronimo according to Allie’s vision. With his aptitude for ingenuity and design, and the industrial tools and raw materials he brought to the settlement, Allie devises and directs the construction of increasingly sophisticated apparatuses to provide the comforts he desires. Their planted crops begin to grow. Socializing in the evenings, the Fox family learns more about the Maywits and their dedication to Christianity. Allie teases them, and Mr. Maywit responds with his characteristic his unwavering deference, never once challenging Allie but remaining humble and apologetic.
When Mr. Haddy returns to Jeronimo after a brief trip, he brings a missionary named Mr. Struss. Having visited the settlement before, he declares that he has been sent by God to spread the Christian faith and ask the inhabitants of Jeronimo if they have been saved. Struss is surprised at Allie’s persistence in insisting that he leave. Though Struss insists that he knows the Maywits, Allie explains to him that while the others are free to interact with him elsewhere, Struss is not allowed in Jeronimo, which is private property.
Chapters 10-13 Analysis
Charlie is disappointed in La Ceiba and grows increasingly anxious the longer the family lingers. His nagging sense that something terrible is going to happen to his family is the catalyst behind his decision to attach himself to Allie throughout all his errands after the purchase of Jeronimo. During their temporary residency in the port city, the presence of the Unicorn as a vestige of comfort, his last link to the life that they left behind. When the ship eventually sails out of port, Charlie expresses a sense of loss and helplessness. Charlie’s belief that the family would not survive without Allie is evidence of the amount of control he exerts over his wife and children, and the extent to which Mother is willing to allow Allie to make determinations for all of them. Without the social exposure which might have suggested to him that his mother might be negligent in her responsibilities to her children as defined by cultural standards of protection and prioritization, Charlie doesn’t react to her inaction or willingness to be kept in the dark. The incident in Maine during which Allie moved the family off the grid, which failed miserably after a year and resulted in Allie’s breakdown, not only serves as foreshadowing, but reveals that Mother has experiential knowledge of the likelihood that this experiment may also fail.
In encountering the Maywits and Afro-Miskitos who live nearby, Allie is invigorated by the prospect of a new captive audience. In a peculiar form of manipulation, Allie’s agreement with the Maywits, whereby they may stay in Weerwilly’s former house if they make themselves useful is in direct contrast with his proclamations that he has been sent there for a special purpose and is working for them, not the other way around. Allie’s charisma, like his ability to invent, is a protective factor for him. When in a favorable mood, Allie is capable of entertaining and even fascinating his audience.
The Mosquito Coast is home to a diverse representation of ethnic groups, including members of the various, distinct tribes indigenous to Honduras, Creoles, Afro-Miskitos, and recent and generational European immigrants. The Afro-Miskitos, referred to as “Zambus” in the narrative, are an ethnic and cultural group representing combined African and Indigenous ancestry. Although Allie relentlessly criticizes the United States and the amount of control the government exerts over citizens, his behavior at Jeronimo is highly reminiscent of the colonial attitudes expressed by the representatives of powerful western governments who displaced Indigenous persons for hundreds of years. His paternalistic attitude, patronizing criticism of their belief systems and lifestyles, and insistence that through his own ingenuity and brilliance he will improve the lives of the “savage” people living in the jungle harkens back to 19th century philosophies that led to imperialism, displacement, and mass death.
