38 pages • 1-hour read
I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980
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Chapters 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary
Terrified, Jess, Sam, and Eddie flee the cabin and realize that the whole mountain is shaking. Trees and branches come down around them as they try to find a safe hiding place. Suddenly, the shaking stops. Without saying a word, Jess and the twins join hands and race down the trail, away from the shack. As Jess runs, she feels that Missy must be right: The forest really is cursed by Skeleton Woman. When they arrive at the cabin, Mr. Rowan grabs them in a bear hug, relieved to see that they are safe. A man comes up to greet them and tells them that the shaking was caused by an earthquake. Jess realizes that her nervousness over the Skeleton Woman story made her think irrationally; she now finally understands what really happened. The man’s name is Dr. Timothy Morales, and he is a seismologist, or earthquake expert, who works at the University of Washington. Dr. Morales reveals that there have been 50 earthquakes under Mount St. Helens that week alone. He believes that the volcano will soon erupt.
Chapter 7 Summary
The Rowans and Jess travel back to Jess’s family diner, along with Dr. Morales. Jess’s mom is shocked to hear that there was an earthquake and that Mount St. Helen’s could erupt soon. Mom is also surprised to learn that the mountain is an active volcano; she always believed that it would remain dormant. While the volcano has not erupted for generations, Mount St. Helens is still the most active volcano in the Western United States. For millennia, the local Indigenous people, such as the Cowlitz tribe, avoided the mountain and referred to it as “the mountain of fire” (34).
Dr. Morales assures Mom that the town of Cedar is safe, as it is quite far from the mountain and is located on a ridge. He reveals that although lava flows can be dangerous, in this region the bigger hazards are rocks and mudslides, as well as the “pyroclastic surge” (a wave of hot air that explodes from erupting volcanoes). He explains that the pyroclastic surge was the main danger during the eruption of Mount Pelée. Intrigued, Eddie and Sam beg to hear the story of the deadliest volcanic eruption in the 1900s.
Chapter 8 Summary
Dr. Morales tells the story of the eruption of Mount Pelée, which is located on the Caribbean island of Martinique. Like Mount St. Helens, it was dormant for years. Then, a series of small earthquakes occurred in 1902, after which the volcano began releasing dangerous sulfurous gas, which smelled like rotten eggs. Without any scientific knowledge on the subject, people had no idea that these were signs of an impending eruption. Over the next several days, the volcano began spewing ash, rocks, and boiling mud. Poisonous snakes that had lived on the mountain’s slopes were shaken from their habitat and slithered down the mountain, biting people. Many people fled the area, but others couldn’t afford to leave. Days later, the volcano exploded, releasing hot air, gas, ash, rocks, and mud. The eruption killed 30,000 people in the nearby town of Saint Pierre. Dr. Morales compares the pyroclastic surge to a hot-air hurricane that burned everything around it and covered the land with toxic gases and ash.
He tells them that that could happen on Mount St. Helens as well, though with a much lower death toll as the area is not very populated. Jess reflects that she has always loved the mountain, believing it to be a peaceful, beautiful place. Dr. Morales asserts that the volcano will erupt very soon.
Chapter 9 Summary
Back at home, Jess and her mom talk about Dr. Morales’s prediction, agreeing that whatever happens, they will be safe and find a way to get through it. Feeling guilty, Jess thinks about telling her mom that she lost her dad’s camera, but she can’t get the words out.
At school, Jess’s teacher teaches them how volcanoes form and erupt. The Rowan twins tell their classmates all about Dr. Morales’s predictions and the story of Mount Pelée.
Over the next few days, the police block off all access to the mountain, and everyone waits to see what will happen. That Friday, Jess and her classmates hear a huge boom and see smoke rising from the mountain.
Chapter 10 Summary
That night, Dr. Morales stops by the diner and tells Jess, her mom, Eddie, and Sam that the smoke from the mountain wasn’t a real eruption—just more volcanic activity called a steam eruption. Dr. Morales tells the children that this is another sign of an imminent eruption.
Weeks go by, and there are more steam explosions. Dr. Morales is featured on the news, explaining the volcanic activity. He continues travelling to and from the top of the mountain by helicopter, hopping out to gather samples of ash from the crater summit. Eddie and Sam love hearing his stories; they admire him for defying danger to gather new evidence about the volcano.
Time passes, and the volcano’s activity dies down. Dr. Morales is frustrated with the mystery around the volcano and puzzles over its many signs. Meanwhile, many locals are tired of being kept off the mountain; they want to return to their logging jobs or fishing cabins. Some people begin to doubt whether the volcano will erupt.
One day at school, Jess’s classmates begin talking about Skeleton Woman again, and Missy reminds Jess that she never took a photo of the shack. Jess is overwhelmed with guilt that her dad’s camera is still inside the abandoned cabin, and she cries. Her friends reassure her that they will find a way to go back and retrieve the camera.
Chapters 6-10 Analysis
In these chapters, the author builds suspense by hinting that Mount St. Helens is edging ever closer to its catastrophic eruption. Dr. Morales repeats his predictions about the mountain multiple times, and these conversations are surrounded by realistic descriptions of the volcano’s accelerating activity. In this way, Tarshis crafts a tightly paced story while simultaneously educating young readers and delivering useful scientific facts, remaining true to a key trait of the entire I Survived series.
As the mountain gradually awakens, the seismologist’s discussions emphasize The Unpredictability of Nature, for although Dr. Morales has a strong inkling that dramatic activity is soon to appear, even he cannot predict precisely how or when this will occur, and the lengthening weeks without an eruption lull everyone into a false sense of security. By showing how the mountain’s sudden resurgence of activity takes everyone by surprise, Tarshis suggests that the forces of nature simply cannot be predicted with complete certainty. A prime example occurs when the three friends are shocked by the earthquake and can scarcely believe that this mountain, which they have always viewed as a quiet, peaceful haven, will soon be transformed into a violent, fiery monster far more formidable than the so-called Skeleton Woman could ever be. While Jess has always felt “calm” at the sight of Mount St. Helens, “as if it were watching over her” (41), these intensifying events prove that she will soon be forced to change her views on the matter.
The imminent eruption of the volcano is further emphasized when Dr. Morales tells the story of Mount Pelée, making it clear that Jess and the other residents of Cedar are not the only people who have ever been caught off-guard by their own local mountain. He highlights the fact that seemingly dormant mountains can remain outwardly peaceful for years before becoming dangerous again. As Dr. Morales recounts the different stages of Mount Pelée’s famous eruption, Tarshis once again uses this dialogue to indirectly deliver a crucial lesson to her readers, creating a firm template of what to expect from the novel’s climax—and what to expect from volcanoes in real life.
By using Dr. Morales to explain that the natural world can change in an instant, as when Martinique’s “fairy-tale kind of mountain” (36) suddenly “woke up” in 1902, the author delivers crucial exposition to the story. The descriptions of Mount Pelée’s toxic gases, disturbed snakes, falling ash, and other dire hazards convey the reality that volcanoes are volatile and unpredictable. The details conjure up a hellish scene of an alien world, stressing the fact that even the most peaceful landscapes can suddenly dissolve into chaos. As Dr. Morales explains of the Pelée eruption, “Pumice and mud rained down. And then a wave of searing hot gas and ash exploded out of the mountain and into Saint-Pierre. […] Within seconds, thirty thousand people were dead” (39). This real-life story gives the novel additional credibility and foreshadows the specific events that Jess and her friends might soon experience.
With an eruption now likely, Jess and her mom try to keep a positive attitude, and their measured reactions demonstrate their Courage in Times of Crisis. For instance, when Jess admits to being worried about the mountain, her mom tells her, “Whatever happens, you and I will make it through. Like we always have, and like we always will” (43). In this way, her mother acts as a source of stolid support amidst an unpredictable world, and Jess also relies upon her intense bond with the Rowan boys. Even when they are terrified by the initial earthquake, they stick together and make logical decisions to keep each other safe: behavior that will serve them well when they later experience the main eruption. Similarly, Jess leans on Eddie and Sam when she is feeling upset about losing her dad’s camera, and their kind and supportive reaction shows The Power of Friendship even as Jess’s need to find the camera moves the plot forward by hinting that an illicit return to Skeleton Woman’s cabin despite the dangers of the mountain.
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