Chapters 5 and 6 Summary and Analysis

The Sea Monster

The shark that attacked in 1916 had returned from the southern waters where he had suffered in his competition with many larger predators. He was tossed northward by the strong current of the Gulf Stream. Many years later, ichthyologist George Burgess concluded that the shark was a rouge, serial killer, but in the rhetoric of the day, the shark was a sea monster.

Since it was unusual for the young white shark to be close to the shore in July 1916, experts later theorized that the lone predator was led toward shore by scents and currents and hunger. This was a plausible explanation for the presence of a shark near the shoreline for several reasons: A plethora of organisms washed inland and the fish industry trapped tons of fish close to shore with large nets. The scent of...