If I Ever Get Out of Here

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-7

Part 2, Chapters 8-10

Part 2, Chapters 11-13

Part 2, Chapters 14-17

Part 3, Chapters 18-20

Part 3, Chapters 21-23

Part 3, Chapters 24-26

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Part 1, Chapters 1-3 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “If I Ever Get Out of Here”

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “With a Little Help from My Friends”

Lewis is with his friends, Carson and Carson’s cousin, Tami. Carson is helping Lewis cut his hair with the hope that it will help him fit in better at school. Like many Native Americans, Lewis wears his hair long with a traditional braid. The two boys are discussing how best to cut the braid off. Tami grows impatient, grabs the scissors, and lops it off in one quick cut. It’s tradition to keep the braid, but Tami cut it before they could properly secure it. When Lewis gets home, his mom doesn’t reprimand him for cutting his braid. Instead, she hauls out the old and slightly rusty clippers and shaves off the rest of Lewis’ hair. Lewis shares a bedroom with his uncle, Albert. Albert says that Lewis will get used to not having any hair; Albert lost his when he was sent to Vietnam.

Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “Man, We Was Lonely”

It’s the first day of seventh grade. Lewis has never had any luck making friends at school. There is a new kid, and Lewis hopes he can become friends with him. The new kid, George, takes a natural liking to Lewis. George is interested to know that Lewis is a Native American; George’s dad grew up around Native Americans. George and Lewis are in the same chorus class together. They both like music. Lewis is a huge Beatles fan and so is George’s dad. George lives on the nearby military base. His father is an Air Force officer and his mother is German. George lived in Germany and Guam before coming to New York State. Later that night at home, Lewis’ brother, Zach, is visiting and tells Lewis that George is friendly to him because the military kids don’t know about the reservation. Albert tells Lewis that living on a military base is sort of like living on a reservation. Zach agrees but notes that the military base has running water.

Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “I Call Your Name”

Summer Barnes tends to give Lewis a hard time. She “instructs” him on how to dress properly, that one should tuck in one’s shirttails and never button the top button, which is exactly what Lewis does. Lewis always has a snide comment to make. George asks him why he does that, telling him, “Trouble’s going to find you often enough without you seeking it out” (23). George points out, as an example of trouble for Lewis, one kid giving another kid a wedgie. The next Monday begins the annual round of fire drills. Outside, Lewis watches the kid from earlier, whom he begins calling the Wedgie King, circling another victim.

Back inside, the vice principal—Summer’s dad—chastises the students for their poor time in exiting the building. Lewis asks Summer what’s wrong with her dad. Summer defends her dad, telling Lewis that he is a volunteer fireman. Summer’s friends join in to point out Lewis’ insensitivity regarding matters of grave importance. George instructs Lewis again on not putting his nose into matters that don’t concern him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to go looking for trouble. In a nice way, George points out that Lewis’ old way of handling things hasn’t been working well for him.

Part 1, Chapters 1-3 Analysis

Lewis is an autodiegetic narrator, which means that he is both the protagonist and the first-person narrator of the novel. The reader’s experience is based on Lewis’ perspective. Therefore, the title of the novel and the first part of the novel signals to the reader a major emotion brewing within Lewis. The title of each part and chapter in the novel coincides with a song from the Beatles or Wings—the band Paul McCartney started after the Beatles separated. The lyrics for each of the listed songs will have some sort of bearing on the contents of each chapter. The title for Part 1 is taken from the Wings song, “Band on the Run.” The idea of “getting out of” somewhere signals to the reader that Lewis feels trapped. In Chapter 1, we learn that Lewis goes to the extreme length of cutting his Native American braid in order to fit in better at school. This gesture signifies that perhaps Lewis is trying to “get out” of his Native American heritage and “into” the predominantly white culture at school. In Chapter 2, we learn that Lewis struggles to make friends, thus, “getting out” could also mean that Lewis wants to escape from his isolation at school.

The title for Chapter 1 introduces the importance of friendship, which will become a major theme as the novel progresses. In the opening chapter, Carson and Tami help Lewis remove his braid, which is supposed to help Lewis fit in better with the others at school. Carson and Tami are helping Lewis transition from the Native American world to the one at school. In Chapter 2, the title emphasizes both Lewis and George’s loneliness and desire for friendship. The song title contains the first-person plural pronoun “we” and not the first-person singular “I,” therefore setting up the requisite emotions for Lewis and George to meet when they’re both searching for someone. Chapter 3’s title is more subtle in its relation to Lewis, as it is the title of an unrequited love song. However, one stanza in the song has significance for Lewis: “Don’t you know I can’t take it / I don’t know who can / I’m not going to make it / I’m not that kind of man” (cf. lyrics to “I Call Your Name,” The Beatles: Past Masters, Vol. 1). This stanza relates to Lewis’ diminishing patience and strength as he faces the rigors of junior high without anyone to help him or with whom he can share the experience, hence, the importance of George’s entrance into the story.