83 pages • 2 hours read
E. B. WhiteThe Trumpet of the Swan
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1970A 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.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “School Days”
Soon after their arrival at Red Rock Lakes, Louis resolves to learn how to read and write in order to communicate with others. Although he is well liked by the other water birds and his family, he still feels compelled to develop “along other lines” (53). To achieve his goal, Louis decides to find Sam Beaver and ask him for help. The next day, he takes off in a northeasterly direction. When he does not see Sam among the children of the first schoolhouse he lands next, he flies to the next town and spots Sam chopping wood outside a ranch house.
Louis greets Sam by pulling the boy’s shoelace, and Sam recognizes him as the cygnet that never spoke at the pond. Sam invites Louis to stay overnight with his family and guesses that there is something wrong with the young swan’s voice. When Mr. Beaver comes home, Sam explains the situation to his father and asks for permission to keep Louis in the house. After calling the local game warden for advice, Mr. Beaver agrees that Sam can care for the bird for a short period of time. Mrs. Beaver insists that Louis sleep in the barn.
The next day, Sam takes Louis to the first grade classroom in his school. The teacher, Mrs. Hammerbotham, adamantly refuses to have a bird as a student, but Sam is calmly gives reasons why Louis should stay. Eventually Mrs. Hammerbotham relents, guesses Louis’s name correctly, and instructs him to begin copying the words “CAT” and “CATASTROPHE” on the blackboard (60, 62). As soon as Louis passes this test, Mrs. Hammerbotham tells Sam he can return to the fifth grade. Sam’s class is in the middle of a math lesson. Sam gives a clever response to his teacher’s question, and the other children provide additional common sense responses.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Love”
Back at Red Rock Lakes, the swan and cob discover that Louis is missing. The cob honestly states that he does not want to leave the comfort of the lakes to go out searching for his son. While his wife is not particularly impressed with this response, she agrees that since they do not know where Louis is, they should “wait here and see what happens” (66). The following spring, when all of the cygnets have grown into young adults, Louis returns to the lake. Around his neck, he carries a small chalkboard slate and a piece of white chalk hanging from a string.
In the eighteen months since his departure, he has grown more handsome and has mastered reading and writing. Unfortunately, nobody in his family knows how to read, so while they are happy to see Louis, they do not understand the messages he writes on the slate. It feels good to be home, but Louis is sorrowful that he can’t converse with them. However, when he writes a message to the visiting grain man, Louis realizes he can still communicate with humans. This makes him feel better, and he promises to carry his slate with him no matter where he finds himself in the world.
Later that spring, Louis falls in love with a young female swan named Serena. He wants to court her and puts on displays in her presence, but she ignores him because he cannot speak. Louis’s mother notices this and updates the cob on their son’s seriousness situation. The cob, with his wife’s support and some practical suggestions, sets off for Billings, Montana, in search of a trumpet for their son.
Chapter 9 Summary: “The Trumpet”
As the cob flies to Billings, the thought of stealing a trumpet troubles him, but he considers it “a noble quest” (76). Upon his arrival in town, he quickly locates a music store where he sees a trumpet hanging by a red cord in the display window. The cob dives straight into the window, breaks it, and steals the trumpet. In the process, he cuts his shoulder on a piece of glass, but otherwise manages to escape unscathed. Customers and staff are left in shock, glass and instruments are scattered everywhere, and amidst the chaos, the storeowner fires at the cob with his shotgun, missing.
News of the theft spreads quickly through the town. People refuse to believe it is true, even though a journalist reports on the story for the local newspaper. The police estimate the damage to be $900 and vow to find the thief, though they concede that since the thief is a bird, it will be a “special problem” as “birds are hard to deal with” (81).
The cob flies back home with mixed feelings. He is proud to have helped his son, but “[i]n his heart was the pain of having committed a crime” (80). After landing at Red Rock Lakes and greeting his wife, the cob tells Louis life may now be “smoother and richer” if he learns how to play the trumpet (82). Louis cannot directly communicate his thanks to his father, but he shows his appreciation through the movements of his body.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Louis and Sam share many traits as they travel a similar journey from childhood to adolescence. Both have an independent mindset, and both trust in their ability to solve problems rather than accepting setbacks. In Louis’s case, by deciding to read and write, Louis rejects cruel fate and takes responsibility for his own life, declaring that, “If I’m defective in one respect, I should try and develop myself along other lines,” Louis is (53).
Repeatedly in the book, Sam and Louis encounter stubborn adults who believe they are right, and refuse to acknowledge an alternative point of view. At the elementary school, the two teachers are limited by their adult understanding. When Sam tells Mrs. Hammerbotham Louis needs to learn to read and write, she argues that “[o]nly people need to communicate with one other” (58). It takes much convincing before the close-minded Mrs. Hammerbotham allows Louis into her classroom.
Upon his return to Red Rock Lakes, Louis discovers literacy is of no use with the swans. Louis needs to master swan social norms; however, his mastery of human social norms does help him to feel “a whole lot better” (70). Once he falls in love with Serena, he faces a dilemma: There is no way he can effectively woo her or prove his worth so she can choose him as a mate (71-73). The only solution to Louis’s courting problem is vocalizing sounds. The cob understands it is his job to take action, but to help Louis achieve “a smoother and richer and gayer” life, the cob must tarnish his own honor (82). Out of love for his son, he is willing to do this. At the same time, this act is a “miserable fate for a bird” and his father’s debts burden Louis (80).
Related Titles
By E. B. White
