Summary

Chapter 17 is titled “Fish in the Water.” Jake takes Marc to the river every other day, and Marc has learned to handle himself. He can do the dead man's float, tread water, and has mastered the crawl stroke. He swims alongside the bank, often “without touching the bottom at all” (112). One day, Jake announces that Marc has to swim across the river today. Marc immediately panics, and imagines he will be “helpless, just like I was back in the koi pond when I was a kid” (113). There are two images related to this part of this scene. The first shows Marc standing by an oversized drop of water, indicating that he and water are friends. The second shows a giant wave with an evil face about to pour over Marc, who is running away, showing that Marc is again afraid of the water...