62 pages • 2 hours read
Jesmyn WardSalvage the Bones
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011A 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.
Chapter 12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary - The Twelfth Day: Alive
The Batiste family sits in the open attic until the waters subside. Although they are alive, Skeet is miserable saying he “failed” China. Esch reminds him that he didn’t fail them. Skeetah scans the area for China as the water starts to recede. He notices the tractor and decides that “when [the water] gets to the middle of the tires” he’s going to look for China (239). As soon as he could see the tires, he leaves. No one tries to stop him.
The whole yard and the house are waterlogged and uninhabitable. Randall suggests that they go towards Big Henry’s place to find shelter. Daddy agrees. Randall reassures him that they could fix things.
On their way through Bois Sauvages they see the destruction wreaked by the hurricane: “Every house had faced the hurricane, and every house had lost” (242). They watch as the survivors repeat “alive alive alive” (242). Marquise says he saw Skeetah staying by the house in case China comes back.
Big Henry takes them into St. Catherine to look at the wreckage. What used to be the school where Randall played basketball just a few days before is gone.
Unlock all 62 pages of this Study Guide
