35 pages • 1-hour read
Socks
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Chapters 6-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “Old Taylor”
Following the biting incident, Socks is banished to sleep in the garage and spend all his time outdoors. He misses the Brickers, even Charles William, and will often look in the windows just to feel like he’s still part of the family. Socks’s greatest worry, though, is Old Taylor, an unfriendly cat who belongs to one of the neighbors. The cats have an understanding to stay out of each other’s way, until one morning when Socks finds Old Taylor eating his food. Socks warns Old Taylor to back off. Old Taylor doesn’t listen, and the two cats fight. Socks takes a beating and runs. He’s too injured to leap up into the garage window, so he goes to the house and quietly meows for help.
The Brickers are horrified to discover Socks’s condition. They fuss over him, cleaning his wounds with warm bath towels. Elsewhere in the house, Charles William starts to fuss. Instead of going to the baby, though, “this time Socks got the attention, which made him feel better” (115). The Brickers blame themselves for what happened to Socks and let the cat live in the house again. Finally, Marilyn brings Charles William into the room, and the baby speaks to Socks for the first time, calling him “Ticky.” The Brickers realize Charles William is trying to say “kitty” and give praise to the baby before correcting him. Socks settles atop the dryer, comforted by the warmth. In the kitchen, Marilyn and Charles William go back and forth with “kitty” and “ticky,” and Socks purrs because “Mrs. Bricker and the baby were talking about him” (121).
Chapter 7 Summary: “Socks and Charles William”
Though Socks is glad to be back in the house, he quickly realizes that Charles William has grown into a loud, destructive little human. The baby’s favorite activities include crying when left in his playpen, slamming objects against the floor, and throwing Socks’s food everywhere. One day, Charles William throws his bottle on the floor, causing it to spill, and Socks laps up the milk. Charles William jerks in his crib until it blocks the closed door and then starts ripping cotton out of his crib bumper to throw for Socks. Socks catches the cotton, diving and rolling all over the room as the mess increases. Marilyn tries but can’t get into the room. Charles William thinks this situation is so funny that he “laughed harder than he had ever laughed in all his ten months” (132).
As Marilyn frantically searches for a way to get into the room through the window, Charles William continues the game, peeling off wallpaper and learning to flip the light switch all by himself. Finally, he tires himself out and falls asleep. Similarly, Socks is exhausted from all the fun, but he’s thrilled he has someone to play with. Socks jumps into the crib and, for the first time since the night the sitter was there, he feels content. Before he can fall asleep, Marilyn finds a stepladder and climbs through the window. Seeing Socks in the crib, she pauses, concerned, but Socks gives her a look that says, “I have found a friend. This is where I belong” (138). Marilyn moves the crib away from the door and pets Socks’s head, telling him it’s okay if he stays in the crib.
Chapters 6-7 Analysis
Chapters 6 and 7 show Socks coming back to his place in the Bricker home, exemplifying The Search for Belonging Amid Shifting Familial Dynamics. When Socks is wounded in his fight against Old Taylor, Socks seeks help from the Brickers, even though he doesn’t know if they will give it. After everything that’s happened, Socks still considers Bill and Marilyn as family and hopes that means they also still care about him. Bill and Marilyn’s response shows they do care about Socks and triggers the couple to allow Socks back into the house. The care they show to Socks means they have forgiven him for the bite and that they recognize Socks bit Marilyn out of emotional distress, not a desire to harm. Marilyn telling Charles William to wait because Socks needs her is another turning point. This is the first time the Brickers have put Socks’s well-being above their son’s. While Charles William is important and should not be ignored, this moment shows that there are sometimes situations where their priorities need to shift. Marilyn knows Charles William doesn’t need her immediately, so she’s okay with attending to Socks first before going to her son.
The end of Chapter 6 represents a general shift in the household. Charles William notices Socks for the first time, likely triggered by the importance Marilyn has placed on the cat. The Brickers ignore Socks because Charles William said his first word harkens to their Charles William-centric attitude throughout the book, but this situation is different because Socks is at the center of why the Brickers suddenly pay attention to their son. In this way, “ticky” represents the family coming completely together, and it foreshadows the relationship Charles William and Socks forge in the final chapter. The final line of Chapter 6 symbolizes The Search for Belonging Amid Shifting Familial Dynamics. Socks doesn’t need anyone to pay direct, exclusive attention to him here because just the knowledge that he’s being talked about is enough for him to feel appreciated. This, coupled with how the Brickers dropped everything to care for him, makes Socks realize they always loved him but that they sometimes have other things that need attention. Earlier in the story, Socks objected to the Brickers’ wavering attention because he didn’t know if it would ever come back. Now, Socks knows they will pay attention to him again, so he accepts not being the center of everything in the moment.
The events of Chapter 7 show Charles William growing and becoming a force in his own right. The evolution of how Socks and Charles William view each other is the final representation of Overcoming Struggles in Changing Relationships to Form Lasting Bonds. While the two have known about each other for several chapters, Chapter 7 is the first place they become fully aware of the impact each can have on the other’s life. Initially, Socks finds Charles William’s attention to be overwhelming because the baby is only focused on himself. When Charles William blocks the bedroom door with his crib, though, Socks and the baby gain an opportunity to see how they can work together and play. At first, Socks is apprehensive, but as Charles William offers more and more things for Socks to play with, Socks recognizes the partnership he can have with the baby. Socks curling up in the crib at the end of the chapter brings Adapting to New Situations Through Acceptance, Not Resistance to its conclusion. When Marilyn finally gains entry to the room, she is concerned about Socks being so close to the baby because of the time the cat bit her. However, she changes her mind when she realizes that Charles William is content and that Socks now views himself as the baby’s protector, showing that he has finally adapted to and accepted Charles William’s presence in the home.
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