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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hoot, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Conservation and the Natural World
Bullying and Corruption
Morality, the Law, and Protest
Parenting and Support
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
While Roy is eating breakfast on Sunday morning, Mr. Eberhardt tells him someone is at the door with a skateboard. Relieved that it’s Garrett and not someone here to get him in trouble, Roy begs to go out for an hour. He shushes Garrett until they’re well away from the house and then pretends to be surprised when Garrett says that Dana got arrested last night for trying to break into a trailer. Dana said he was Roy (nobody believed him), and according to Garrett’s mom, Dana has a record and will go to jail this time. Roy feels a bit bad, but he also thinks getting Dana thrown in jail is a public service. Roy also feels good skating down the street, knowing nobody is following him.
Roy is fully aware that he did something morally questionable in framing Dana and getting him arrested. However, Roy ultimately feels good in his choice: he not only helped out Mullet Fingers and the owls, but he also saved himself and countless others from Dana’s bullying. It’s also worth noting that it’s likely that Garrett getting this inside intel from his mom isn’t ethical; school privacy laws often prohibit adults from sharing this kind of information, especially with kids. And yet, because Dana himself is so reprehensible, it’s again framed as acceptable to speak about Dana and get information about him in this manner.
Themes
Curly wakes up on Sunday morning in his own bed, since the Mother Paula’s vandal is in custody now. After Officer Delinko drove Curly home last night, Curly regaled his wife and mother-in-law with an exaggerated tale of his heroics. He plans to tell Chuck Muckle the same story tomorrow. While Curly watches a ball game on TV, a Mother Paula’s commercial comes on. Seeing Kimberly Lou Dixon reminds Curly that he doesn’t remember if his movie is due back at Blockbuster today or tomorrow. To avoid the late fees, he decides to return it today—and on his way to the construction site, Curly realizes he left his gun at the site last night. Losing a gun, especially a loaded one, is serious.
Curly begins this passage on top of the world, as he believes all his problems disappeared with Dana’s arrest. Readers, of course, know that Dana isn’t the real vandal, so this (combined with the missing gun) makes it clear that Curly will have to face reality soon. Notice that as Curly contemplates returning to the site to look for his gun, he no longer expresses fear about wild animals or mice. His perceived success is, perhaps, enough to boost his confidence when it comes to the otherwise terrifying natural world.
Themes
The gun isn’t in any of the owl burrows, so Curly worriedly checks the trailer. It’s not there, and it’s not anywhere else on the property. Did the vandal snatch it from Curly and hide it in a bush or something? As Curly’s search leads him out to the earthmoving equipment, Curly notices a bare human footprint, followed by another. He follows the tracks to a bulldozer and notices that the bulldozer—as well as all the other earthmoving machines—is missing its seat. The operators can’t use them if they can’t sit down. Did the kid from last night have an accomplice? Chuck Muckle will delight in firing him if Curly can’t fix this. Curly can’t find the seats anywhere, but he has to pee. Inside one of the portable toilets, Curly checks for alligators in the tank. He finds his gun instead.
As Curly searches the property and the owl burrows specifically, it seems as though Curly continues to see the natural world as his enemy. The owls and their burrows aren’t future victims of real estate developers; rather, they’re possibly out to make Curly’s life miserable. On the other hand, discovering the earthmovers are missing their seats symbolically represents that Mother Paula’s corporate greed isn’t infallible. Yes, the earthmoving equipment can easily and quickly transform the lot into a restaurant—but the machines need a comfortable spot for operators to sit in order to make that happen.
Themes
Roy desperately wants to visit Mullet Fingers, but Mrs. Eberhardt insists on a family outing once Roy gets back from skating. The family decides to take an airboat trip into the Everglades. The tour guide points out snakes, raccoons, turtles, bald eagles, otters, and alligators. Roy is struck by how beautiful and abundant the Florida wilderness is—it’s just as wild as Montana. That night, Roy feels more connected to Mullet Fingers and understands why he’s so against the pancake house. This is about all the animals who are at risk of being wiped out. Roy also feels closer to his parents, who, he realizes, are his best friends.
This trip to the Everglades is transformative for Roy. It impresses upon him that he can be just as happy here in Florida’s wilderness as he was in Montana, for one. But it also makes Roy realize how essential it is that he stand up for wild animals and areas, like Mullet Fingers does. Otherwise, corporations like Mother Paula’s—which aren’t as interested in protecting the environment—will continue to develop wild areas, thereby displacing and endangering the plants and animals that live there. Finally, this passage also helps explain Roy’s views on friendship. He certainly values his friendships with Mullet Fingers and Beatrice, but because he considers his parents such close friends, Roy didn’t feel the need to try too hard to make friends his own age when he first arrived in Florida.
Themes
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When Mr. Eberhardt and Mrs. Eberhardt come to tell Roy goodnight, Mr. Eberhardt shares that Officer Delinko left a voicemail while they were gone: they arrested Dana at the construction site, and Dana said he was Roy. Roy admits that Garrett already told him, and his mouth gets dry when his dad says it seemed like Delinko thought Roy knows something. He’s not ready to tell his parents the whole truth, and thankfully, Mrs. Eberhardt dismisses that notion as ridiculous. They discuss that Dana would never help Mullet Fingers; he’s too selfish. Then, as his parents leave the room, Roy asks his dad where he could check up on Mother Paula’s building permits. Mr. Eberhardt suggests calling the building department at City Hall.
Because Roy’s parents trust their son, they don’t automatically assume that Delinko is right—which certainly works in Roy’s favor. It means that rather than having to admit to his parents that he’s the reason Dana is in juvie right now, Roy can instead ask his parents for help. This highlights that Roy sees his parents as allies, rather than adversaries (as, for instance, Beatrice and Mullet see their parents).
Themes
Roy thinks he’s dreaming when he hears someone calling his name. But the person calls louder—and they’re under his bed. Beatrice announces herself, climbs out, and admits she’s been hiding here all afternoon. Roy loses his temper when Beatrice says it’s easy to break in through a sliding door, but he feels terrible when Beatrice admits that things got “hairy” at home. She says that Lonna and Leon had a huge fight and threw things at each other. Roy says Beatrice can stay here for the night, as long as his parents don’t find out. After tossing Beatrice bedding and turning out the light, Roy asks about Mullet Fingers and points out that eventually, he’s going to get caught. He suggests that if they can’t stop Mullet Fingers, they should join him.
Roy is upset at first because it seems like Beatrice broke into his house for fun—he’s law-abiding and fails to see the humor in breaking and entering. But Roy’s perspective changes immediately when he realizes that Beatrice just came looking for a safe place to sleep. Her parents, she implies, aren’t safe or trustworthy; even if she doesn’t fear getting caught or hurt in the crossfire, she still doesn’t want to be around that kind of violence. Roy’s friendship, in this sense, provides Beatrice a safe harbor and helps to make her life a bit more bearable.
Themes
