42 pages • 1 hour read
Jack GantosJoey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Off the Wall”
Joey Pigza explains that he can focus on his schoolwork in the morning, but in the afternoon, his meds wear off, and he becomes distracted. Despite his proficiency in Math, when Mrs. Maxy, his teacher, calls on him to answer a multiplication problem, he impulsively answers by saying “Can I get back to you on that?” (3). This leads Joey to laugh hysterically and, after repeating this dialogue several times, Mrs. Maxy ejects him from class. He entertains himself by tying his sneaker laces to his belt and spinning as fast as possible in the hallway. He follows the Superball that bounces out of his pocket and spins down the hallway until bumping into the glass walls of the principal’s office. The principal holds him against the wall, reviews his “behavior goals” (6) and has Joey sort crayons into separate piles of colors for the remainder of the day.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Family Tree”
Joey’s parents, Fran and Carter Pigza, left when Joey was in kindergarten. His paternal grandmother raises him alone until recently, when a stranger who identifies herself as his mother appears at the door. She apologizes for having been away for so long, but Grandma is unhappy that she has returned. Mom announces that that she will make up rules and control the disorder in the household.
Joey explains that his disorder is hereditary: both his father, Carter Pigza, and his grandmother have the same characteristics. Grandma has sudden mood fluctuations. Once, when she was in a good mood, she advised Joey to “[…] pull your act together” (9) so that he would not experience the same problems his father had. Although Grandma tries to care for Joey, her own difficulties prevent her from providing a stable environment. Joey describes newspapers spread over his bedsheets to prevent paint dripping from an unfinished job started by Grandma; Joey kept them on his bed to use as a blanket. The boy notes that “[…] nothing in the house was ever finished or cleaned up right” (10).
When Mom is at work one day, Grandma tries to punish Joey for jumping in the house by giving him a time-out in the refrigerator, but the boy refuses to comply. Grandma leaves the house and Joey finds her shoe near the sewer grate, leaving him contritely imagining that she has slipped through the bars. Grandma returns eventually. Joey realizes that Grandma should have been prescribed medication, and he notes that she always apologized after verbally abusing him.
Life changes for Joey when his mother returns. She imposes order upon the household, administers his medication regularly and establishes rules, such as “[…] Slow down and think about what you’re doing” (16).
Chapter 3 Summary: “Handful”
Joey’s mother attends a school meeting regarding his progress over the summer. She tells him that his file indicates that he should have repeated grades and received help, but his teachers passed him to avoid having him in class for a second year. Joey is perplexed that his teachers don’t want him, as he spends so much time out of the classroom for punishments or alternate activities. He recalls occasions when he has helped at school by stocking supplies and killing spiders; he is sad because none of these events are in his file. His mother kisses him and says that the doctor will “[…] get you fixed up” (18). Joey notes that Grandma had thrown previous school reports into the trash.
Joey still experiences trouble with hyperactivity in the afternoon, but Mrs. Maxy, who has read his file, has a talk with him after class. She has printed the class rules on a white card for him, but he has the same problem on the following afternoon. He admits to feeling “antsy,” and she gives him a box of pencils to sharpen, enjoying the process so much that he proceeds to sharpen blackboard chalk and then his fingernails “[…] to look like a vampire” (23). This results in a bloody injury, the loss of the nail, and a visit to the school nurse. The following day, Mrs. Maxy has a long talk with Joey and reviews the necessity of adhering to classroom rules, but he has great difficulty in following the conversation because “It was more like listening to circus music than to talk” (25). She explains that he go to the Special Education room if he cannot function in class.
He explains the incident to his mother upon her arrival home and mixes her some of her medicine from a bottle of Amaretto liqueur, which she calls her medicine. Joey recalls the clinic doctor who evaluated him prior to prescribing his medicine, asking questions such as “Can you do your homework while watching TV?” (27). The pharmacist fills the prescription, and Joey is excited at the prospect that it might help him, like a “[…] little white round superhero pill on its way to beat up all the bad stuff in me” (28). Sadly, after a wonderful first day, the pills are effective only occasionally; the school nurse attributes this to the clinic having prescribed cheap medication. His mother cautions him that if his behavior does not improve, the school may let him “[…] slip down a drain” (29). When Joey asks if this was what had happened to his grandmother, his mother explains that Grandma has gone to live with Joey’s father, Carter Pigza, in Pittsburgh.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The first three chapters of this book introduce us to the protagonist and narrator, Joey Pigza. He is a grammar school student who, until recently, was raised by his paternal grandmother; his parents had both absconded when he was in kindergarten. Joey advises the reader that he, his father, and his grandmother were all born “wired,” and proceeds to describe behaviors that may be consistent with a diagnosis of hyperactivity, or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Joey takes medication prescribed to help him to control his behavior, and it’s effective in the morning hours but becomes ineffective after lunch.
In addition to suffering the academic and social consequences of impulsive behavior that leads to his frequent expulsion from the classroom, “spinning” episodes in the school hallway and frequent review of his “behavior goals” with the school principal, he suffers under the care of his apparently well-intentioned, but similarly hyperactive, grandmother. Grandma is mercurial and lacking in the capacity to regulate her emotions. She will sometimes play with Joey, running through the house and pretending to be a fly caught in a giant spider’s web. During her rare quiet moments, she attempts to talk to the boy about the necessity of controlling his actions. On the other hand, she ignores reports from school about his problems and runs a household characterized by the physical disorder and chaos which is caused by her inability to maintain focus and complete tasks.
Upon the return of Joey’s highly apologetic biological mother, whom he failed to recognize due to the length of her absence, his grandmother’s erratic behavior starts to border on abusiveness. When Joey behaves manically while his mother is working as a beautician, his grandmother becomes violently angry; she hurls the contents of the refrigerator to the floor and orders him to stand inside it as a punishment. Joey wisely refuses to comply, noting that Grandma has become “meaner” since his mother imposed rules upon the household.
Joey suffers the consequences of his own behavioral challenges as well as those resulting from his abandonment by his biological parents and the care of an inadequately prepared grandparent. He is still young and unable to understand many events that occur. For example, when his grandmother disappears and he finds her shoe near a sewer grate, he assumes that she has slipped through the drain. Weeks later, his mother explains that the older woman now resides in Pittsburgh with Joey’s father; however, the boy suffered feelings of guilt about Grandma’s fate until his mother clarified. The concept of someone “slipping away” is familiar to him; the analogy has been used with him by adults who try to explain the importance of his complying with regulations at school.
Despite his frequently manic energy, Joey is depressed, ostracized, and other children victimize him. The constellation of problems that he experiences are both the repercussions of hyperactivity as well as a cluster of additional events beyond his control. Daily life is a struggle for Joey. Sadly, this is not an uncommon experience for children dealing with the cluster of symptoms associated with ADHD. Diagnostic literature indicates that school failure is common, despite average or above-average intelligence; conflicted parent-child relationships are commonplace; and rejection by peers occurs frequently.
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