36 pages • 1 hour read
Dan SantatThe Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel
Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaPages 89-172Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Pages 89-107 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and animal cruelty and death.
Three months later, Sophia and the aquanaut have become friends. They’re at Aqualand together, and Sophia mentions how she and her dad used to trade seashells before each research trip. She carries the last one he gave her around her neck, and it’s the perfect shape for a hermit crab. The aquanaut pays for a mermaid keychain with a gold coin, shocking the clerk. Sophia and the aquanaut run away, laughing together, until they reach the arena where the new orca show is taking place. Sophia doesn’t want the aquanaut to see it, but it’s too late, and the sea creatures stare into the orca’s eyes. Sodapop can tell that the orca is scared and wants to see more. The petting pool is filled with animals who look exhausted and pained, and the fish tanks have dead fish in them. Sophia can see that the sea creatures are upset and tries to explain that her father would never have approved of any of this. When people want to take pictures with the aquanaut, Sophia intervenes and pulls them away into a hidden room. There, the sea creatures see a huge giant squid. It becomes too much to bear, and they fall backward. Sophia panics, and everything goes black.
Pages 108-119 Summary
In a flashback scene, Sodapop (the crab) is young and with his father as they explore an area with a lot of dumped human garbage. Sodapop’s father explains that most of it is harmful but that some of it can be useful. Next, they come across an old, rusted car, and Sodapop’s father explains what the word “unique” means. They go inside the car, and Sodapop’s father points out an old can that Sodapop could use as a shell. Suddenly, massive roars come out of nowhere, and a giant squid scoops up a nearby eel. Sodapop is terrified, but his father assures him that they are safe in the car. Later, Sodapop’s father goes up to the window and thinks the squid is gone, but it grabs him as Sodapop watches with a look of total horror on his face.
Pages 120-131 Summary
Uncle Paul finds Sophia and the aquanaut and wonders what is going on. Sophia explains that she found the aquanaut in Aqualand and that they were carrying her father’s journal. Their feat intrigues and amazes Paul, but he is scared that if Mr. Lula sees the aquanaut, he will want to use it as an attraction. Sophia wants the aquanaut to stay in Aqualand because they’ve become good friends, and she reminds Paul that he hasn’t been around to support her lately as she fights off tears. Paul decides to let the animals stay, but they must remain in the research lab in a tank. The other animals are ready to take things easy for a while, but Sodapop has one more thing he needs to do.
Pages 132-153 Summary
That night, the aquanaut sneaks out and makes it past the guards by pretending to be a statue. They find the orca in a small tank inside a large room and tell her that they plan to free her. Carlos uses the crane to lift the orca out of the water, and the rest drive a semi-truck to put her in. The guards eventually notice what’s going on and chase after the truck, but it makes it down the hill and to the dock. Chaotically, Jobim admits that he doesn’t know how to brake, and the truck drives off the dock and into the water with a huge splash. They free the orca, and she pulls the others up to the surface before thanking them and swimming away. The aquanaut washes up on shore, where Paul finds them. He instantly realizes that his orca is gone as he stares off into the deep, dark sea.
Pages 154-172 Summary
The next morning, Sophia wakes up to hear the news announce the freeing of the orca. She panics and comes downstairs to see Uncle Paul sitting with the aquanaut. He explains that he found them washed up on the shore with a broken power line and brought them home to fix it. At the same time, he is sure that the animals need to return to the ocean and are no longer safe at Aqualand. Mr. Lula arrives with two guards and accuses him of freeing the orca. Paul denies it, but Mr. Lula doesn’t believe him and threatens to send him to jail. Sophia and the aquanaut are about to escape, but they turn back and decide to help. Sophia tries to take the blame, but the sea creatures won’t let her. They decide to show themselves so that Mr. Lula will take them to an exhibit. They stick together and do it for the sake of Sophia and her uncle. Mr. Lula finds the aquanaut fascinating and agrees to let Paul keep his job in return. Before the aquanaut leaves, they give Paul the message in a bottle from Michel, which contains the message, “Take care of Sophia” (172). Paul cries, knowing he never got to say goodbye.
Pages 89-172 Analysis
Symbolism is constant throughout the novel, and as Sophia and the aquanaut bond, several significant symbols arise. The first of these is the aquanaut’s helmet’s lens on their diving suit. Through it, the whole world is reflected. Whoever looks into it sees their reflection back, and Sophia is the first to try this. The animals are only seen when they want to be seen; otherwise, the aquanaut is often an observer. The orca also reflects on the helmet’s lens, symbolizing Sodapop’s understanding of the orca’s fear and his desire to help the orca escape. The aquanaut also buys a keychain of a mermaid and pays for it with a gold coin. This emphasizes the antiquity of the diving suit itself. Additionally, there is the shell that Sophia wears around her neck, which symbolizes Finding Home in Family. Sophia carries it with her because it connects her to her deceased father. It also happens to be the perfect shape for a hermit crab, which foreshadows their eventual exchange.
Santat continues to develop The Courage to Face Fears as the narrative progresses. As the aquanaut wanders around Aqualand, they look into the many tanks and see that the animals are miserable and scared. Sodapop and the others know what it’s like to feel scared, but they are horrified to realize that these animals are being kept against their will. The animals in the suit thought that Aqualand would be a sanctuary, which is why they left the ocean behind, but they now realize that they need to help these animals return to their homes. While a marine conservatory is meant to help marine life by treating sick and injured animals, Aqualand has turned into a place that keeps perfectly healthy animals indefinitely. Seeing this and adding the sight of the giant squid to the mix, Sodapop falls into a panic. His fears take hold of him, and he loses control. Two pages of pure blackness follow, as though Sodapop has lost consciousness and fallen back in time into a pivotal, traumatic memory.
The flashback scene in which Sodapop recalls the last day with his father is one of the most important scenes in the narrative, even though it takes place in the past. The scene explains Sodapop’s motivation and fears, as well as how he lost the feeling of home that he felt with his father. The scene takes on a teal blue tone as Sodapop recalls how his father found a can for him to use as a shell and protected him from the giant squid. Sodapop’s father was resourceful and kept his son safe by hiding out in an old car, but he emerged too soon. The can that Sodapop got that day became a symbol of his undying connection to his father, just like Sophia’s shell is for her. Seeing the giant squid again triggers Sodapop’s painful memories, but his fellow sea creatures and his new human family are there to help him through it.
The Right of All Creatures to Live Freely rises in significance as the aquanaut discovers the true nature of Aqualand and takes drastic measures to change the fortune of the animals kept there. Sodapop plans a scheme to release the orca, and his friends are always there to help him, even if they don’t understand why he’s doing it. Paul agrees to keep the aquanaut safe, but only before the aquanaut releases the whale, and Mr. Lula immediately starts looking for someone to blame. It sets off a chain of events in which the creatures, as the aquanaut, promise themselves to Mr. Lula as an upcoming park attraction. The release of the orca is a cathartic moment for Sodapop, who goes out of his way to help the animal escape captivity and quickly realizes that he and his friends don’t belong there either. When Paul realizes that his whale is gone, the ocean takes up almost the full visual frame, while Paul is a tiny speck in its wake. The imagery symbolizes Paul’s inability to “contain” the ocean and the way that human attempts to contain nature always eventually spill over.
Everything changes again when Paul decides that the aquanaut needs to return to the sea and receives the note from Michel asking him to watch out for Sophia. Paul realizes how much time he has missed and how much he has hurt Sophia in doing so; he cries, thinking about how his brother is lost forever. The emotion in Paul’s eyes when he is reminded of his brother’s death demonstrates how close they were and how devoted Paul remains to Michel, further cementing the theme of finding home in family. The aquanaut is now devoted to Paul and Sophia as well, which is why they agree to go with Mr. Lula.
