43 pages • 1 hour read
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
A 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 9-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “Dancing Frog”
Fourteen new species of frog, all members of the genus Micrixalus, or “dancing frogs,” were recently discovered in southern India. The male frogs “dance” as part of a mating ritual, and the females lay their eggs in streams.
Upon discovery, the dancing frogs were classified as endangered. Their habitats are being destroyed by human activity. Nezhukumatathil contrasts the “sobering thought” of their precarious situation with the fact that “frogs are the great bioindicators of this planet,” and therefore their discovery is “indicative of the health of the biosphere itself” (51).
Chapter 10 Summary: “Vampire Squid”
Nezhukumatathil describes the physical appearance and diet of vampire squids: They have eight tentacles and “two long ribbons of skin” and eat “bits of sea dander that are actually decomposing particles of animals who died hundreds of feet above the midnight zone” (53). If a vampire squid senses danger, it can flee very quickly. It “discharges a luminescent cloud of mucus” that “temporarily baffles the predator” (54).
Nezhukumatathil refers to her junior year of high school as her “cephalopod year.” She moves from Western New York to a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, and avoids interacting with other students in her new school as much as possible. Eventually, she opens up, makes friends, and participates in more school activities. Nezhukumatathil reflects on her gradual social and individual development toward the end of high school. While she is glad she branched out, she believes her “cephalopod year” helped her understand and connect with her quieter students and with her own children.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Monsoon”
“Monsoon” is set in Kerala, India. In her first year of graduate school, Nezhukumatathil and her sister visit their grandmother in the town of Kottayam. The power sometimes goes out, an occurrence her grandmother refers to as “No Current,” and there are lots of mosquitoes.
One day when the power is down, the family driver takes the three to a resort at Vembanad Beach. Along the way they watch children playing, look at the “gray sky of monsoon” (62), and savor the smells of food cooking outdoors. They buy ice cream at the resort, and Nezhukumatathil accidentally orders a small, pre-made children’s dessert. Her grandmother orders her a different dish in her native language, Malayalam. Nezhukumatathil enjoys the second ice cream.
The chapter is interspersed with Indian folk tales about different animals and their relationships to the monsoon. Nezhukumatathil also includes the entire ice cream menu from the resort, with each dish’s name and ingredients listed.
Chapters 9-11 Analysis
Throughout World of Wonders, Nezhukumatathil emphasizes the precariousness of life. “Dancing Frog” is a meditation on the meaning and importance of the scientific discovery of 14 new species of frogs in southern India, which were immediately categorized as endangered. Nezhukumatathil presents a balance of warnings and hope, highlighting both the danger and the resilience that define the natural world.
“Vampire Squid” builds on the themes of vulnerability and belonging developed in chapters like “Peacock” and “Axolotl.” She moves from Western New York to suburban Ohio in high school and again feels like an outcast. As in other chapters, an animal’s defense mechanism (in this case, the vampire squid’s ability to disappear quickly) symbolizes Nezhukumatathil’s social behavior at school. Like “Catalpa Tree” and “Peacock,” “Vampire Squid” ends on a positive note: “if not for that shadow year, how would I know how to search the faces of my own students?” (57). The lessons Nezhukumatathil learns from animals are lifelong, and her application of them changes over time.
“Monsoon” is the first chapter explicitly set in Nezhukumatathil’s adulthood. We learn more about her grandmother, briefly introduced in “Comb Jelly.” Through her grandmother, we learn about Nezhukumatathil’s relationship to India—it feels both familiar and foreign to her. Her familial bond with her grandmother is strong, but she isn’t able to order her own ice cream because she isn’t familiar enough with her grandmother’s native dialect, Malayalam.
“Dancing Frog” and “Monsoon” both take place in southern India, and both deal with seasonality and cycles. Animal species are lost and found, and monsoon season is important to both the natural and the human cycles of life in the region.
Unlock all 43 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Aimee Nezhukumatathil
