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Chapter 21
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
The Mother Paula’s story turns into a huge scandal over the next few weeks. It comes out that the company did complete the Environmental Impact Statement, and it documented three pairs of nesting owls. This means the company couldn’t build without serious legal issues and a public relations scandal. Later, the report turns up in Councilman Bruce Grandy’s golf bag, along with $4,500. The councilman denies that the money was a bribe and then hires an expensive lawyer.
Ultimately, the Mother Paula’s corporation’s corruption comes to light: when it turned out they couldn’t legally build in Coconut Cove, they bribed a local government official to hide the evidence and proceeded anyway. The company, as well as Councilman Grandy, were willing to put profits over what the novel suggests is right: doing what’s right for the environment and its animals.
Themes
Kimberly Lou Dixon cancels her contract with Mother Paula’s and publicizes her lifetime Audubon Society membership. Mrs. Eberhardt tracks the actress’s meteoric rise following this—Miss Dixon is even booked to do a movie with Adam Sandler. Meanwhile, Mother Paula’s stock value tanks. Chuck Muckle is demoted and is forced to take an anger management class, but he later quits his job to become a cruise director. Eventually, Mother Paula’s cancels the Coconut Cove location plans.
Officially incorporated in 1905, the Audubon Society is a nonprofit that advocates specifically for birds. This helps explain why Dixon was so eager to join the protest: as a member, she’s given money to an organization that would no doubt support Roy and his protest. As her star rises, the Mother Paula’s corporation suffers, suggesting that at least in this context, doing the morally right thing will in fact pay off.
Themes
Now, everyone cares about the owls. NBC and CBS send crews to Trace Middle School to interview students and faculty—Roy is amused to hear from Garrett that Miss Hennepin told the crews that she encouraged kids to protest. One evening, Mrs. Eberhardt fetches Roy to come watch the news just as the Mother Paula’s president announces plans to preserve the Coconut Cove property as an owl sanctuary and make a donation to the Nature Conservancy. He says his company is committed to the environment and he regrets his employees’ “careless actions,” but Roy says he’s just lying to make himself look good. Mr. Eberhardt agrees, and Roy points out that he doesn’t even deserve all this credit. Mullet Fingers does.
Over the course of the novel, Roy has become increasingly adept at recognizing when adults are being hypocritical. So, he realizes Miss Hennepin is just trying to make the school look good and righteous, and the Mother Paula’s president is trying to smooth over the public perception that the company doesn’t care about the environment. Still, Roy seems aware that at least in this context, what’s more important is the outcome: the owls are safe, and Roy and his classmates aren’t in trouble at school.
Themes
After the protest, Mullet Fingers lasted two days at home. Lonna spent that time trying to get reporters to pay attention to her, so Beatrice helped her brother escape while Lonna and Leon were fighting. Unfortunately, a neighbor who saw Mullet Fingers climb out the window reported a burglary to police, so they caught and arrested him—Lonna told the police he'd stolen her jewelry. Mullet Fingers lasted 17 hours in juvenile detention before he broke out with none other than Dana Matherson’s help. Roy knows that Mullet Fingers only invited Dana to join him in their escape because Dana clearly isn’t fit—he’s a great decoy. Mullet Fingers was able to slip away and the police didn’t much care. Now, Roy knows he won’t see the boy again unless Mullet Fingers wants to make contact.
Once again, without supportive adults at home, Beatrice is forced to step up into an adult role and help Mullet Fingers herself. Sadly, though, this passage highlights how much power adults tend to have over children, even when those adults are wrong or cruel: Lonna can get her own son imprisoned on false charges because no one is going to take Beatrice or Mullet Fingers’s word over an adult’s. It’s thus extremely satisfying that Mullet Fingers was able to use and frame Dana in much the same way Roy did earlier and escape with his help.
Themes
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Back in the present, Roy assures Mrs. Eberhardt that Mullet Fingers will be okay, and Mr. Eberhardt suggests they go for a drive. They drive to the corner of East Oriole and Woodbury, where they join Officer Delinko and Curly to watch for owls. Delinko has recently been recognized for helping recapture Dana, while Curly has been driving his wife and mother-in-law around. The bird watchers stand in silence and gaze at the empty lot. Crickets appear as the sun sets and before long, owls emerge from the burrows. Even Curly admits that they’re cute.
When even Officer Delinko and Curly are at the owl sanctuary and admit that the owls are cute, the novel ends by highlighting how preserving natural areas can benefit people—even those, like Curly and Delinko, who once stood to gain from the construction project. The owls are adorable, and they delight those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them. They’re not entertainment, per se, but the novel nevertheless suggests their presence is entertaining and has a positive effect on people’s lives.
Themes
On a Saturday after the Mother Paula’s scandal has died down, Roy attends one of Beatrice’s soccer games. He doesn’t miss Montana so much anymore, though he does miss real seasons. The heat reminds him of a different afternoon, so Roy slips away and rides his bike to the Molly Bell. He takes off his sneakers and swims out to the top of the pilot house, where he soon sees an osprey and then tarpon in the water. On his belly, Roy watches the water seem to boil—the mullet are coming. Roy attempts to snatch a fish out of the water, and he even feels one in his hand. But the fish squeezes free. Roy is convinced it’s impossible to catch one.
Roy is feeling more and more at home in Florida. He has friends now, as evidenced by his coming to Beatrice’s soccer game. He’s also becoming increasingly appreciative of Florida’s wildlife offerings. Again, the novel links Roy feeling at home to how he feels about nature wherever he happens to be. Attempting to catch the mullet, like Mullet Fingers, suggests that Roy now genuinely wants to integrate into his new home and have a closer relationship with Florida’s wild animals and spaces.
Themes
From the mangroves, Roy hears what sounds like a laugh and he calls for Mullet Fingers. No one answers, so Roy returns to shore. He dresses, but he can only find one shoe. The other, he discovers, is in the shallows and is tied to a root. Inside is a mullet. Roy gently lets the mullet go and listens intently, but Mullet Fingers is gone. It is possible to catch mullet. Roy will just have to come try again, like a “real Florida boy.”
In the novel’s final passage, Roy truly dedicates himself to becoming a “real Florida boy.” Again, he connects this transformation to getting more comfortable with Florida’s wilderness—being able to catch a mullet with his bare hands, he implies, will mean he belongs here. The natural world, in this sense, will continue to delight and intrigue Roy–and offer him new ways to feel like he belongs, wherever his family moves next.
Themes
