THEME

Jaws (Character Profile)

JAWS

- over sized shark

- crazy and vicious

- always hungry

- smart and fast

- king of the sea

- older than man

- animal

Cheif Brody (Character Profile)

BRODY

- honest and trust worthy

- smart and clever

- helpful and caring

- head of police

- leader and captain

- family man

Matt Hooper (Character Profile)

Hooper

- a wife stealing prick

- cocky and confident

- smart and convincing

- brave

- somewhat ladies man

- happy and proud

- sneaky

Quint (Character Profile)

QUINT








- old fisherman
- very experienced trophy fisher
- former war-vet
- tall, scruffy, and weathered
- confident, proud, and wise
- independent and selfish
- hard working

Journal 1

So far not too much has really happend in my book besides an early shark attack on young female that I'm guessing is the same one as in the start of the movie. Seeing as Jaws is one of my favorite all time films (especially when I was younger) it's cool to see where they got everything for the movie because not until I started this projest I had no idea Jaws was originally a best selling book. Although I can't see the book being near as good as the movie, I still think the book will be one of my favorite novels. So far the background story of how Cheif Brody and his family moved to the island has dragged on a bit much but gave info I didnt know before like How Brody was raised on Amity and his wife Ellen was a tourist he met. The one thing I know I'll enjoy about the book for sure, is the way it will kinda fill in the cracks of the story. For example once I reach the part where they plan to catch Jaws and meet the shark hunter (chalk board scratcher) I'm hoping to get more info on who he is and where he comes from, also to see if it gives more than what I saw in the movie. Overall I'm happy about my decision for which novel I'm doing now that I've finally found it. It took alot of looking around and asking until I finally found a copy. Another thing I found interesting is how the movie cover was even adapted into the film cover although the book cover shark looks much less frightning it's still good to see it kept original.

Journal 2

I just finished reading how Amity Island Mayor wants to keep the shark talk to a minimal so tourist don't get the wrong idea and decide to take their July 4th vacation elsewhere (a different island). This personally is quite sickning how the mayor of the town would keep a tragedy like this quiet just to make some more cash for himself but gangsters too. It's funny how the mofia is brought into the book a little and how they run the town in the novel. In the movie I saw no indication of there ever being mobsters. When the news came up the mayor did everything in his power to keep the beach open with no indication of there ever being a shark attack, he wouldn't even allow signs warning visitors of what happend. This just shows what money can do to a person in power, they get greedy and always need a little more. I'm hoping soon the story will start to pick up once everyone is 100% that there is a shark in the water, because as of now it does at times get very hard to read through.

Journal 3

After finding the remains and being told by an examiner the incident was shark related, all of a sudden the examiner explains to Brody how he was mistaken and the damage was done in a boating accident and Brody went along with it. How often does a professional examiner mistake a shark bite for purpellors? I believe this was obviously set up by the mayor to keep Brody's mind off it, but not long after being told it wasn't a shark, Brody still seems to show he does have a feeling that a shark could possibly be out there. Where I currently am Chief Brody is on the beach (which is packed) with his family enjoying the nice day but I have a feeling things are about to pick up at Amity. So far the books been okay with a few parts I didn't really understand but other than that I can see why this would scare people way back when it was released. It's almost as if the book is warning you about sharks and how easily an attack can happen.

Journal 4

Just like I expected while at the beach with his family, Chief Brody witnesses it first hand as a young boy was attacked and killed in the shores of Amity beach where his sons were also swimming. Once it was official and the town was at a panic, the mother of the young boy eaten placed a bounty on the shark which turned the town into a big shark hunt. This also is right around the time where "Quint" the shark hunter is introduced and demands a higher pay for killing the monster. With his offer kept in mind Brody then brought in another charecter "Matt Hooper" a Marine Biologist and shark expert to study the remains found from the first victim and was convinced it was done by a giant shark. Now with almost the entire town on a giant shark hunt for the fish that killed the young boy, it seems now that the number one thing on Chief Brody's mind who feels somewhat responsible for the death is to find and kill the shark.

Journal 5

Not long after the big shark hunt started a local fisherman brought in what he believed was the shark as did Brody, with the town in relief a not so convinced Hooper (shark expert) measured the mouth to find the radious to be much smaller than what was measured on the first victims body. Hooper although seems more professional in the book rather than in the movie, he still seems more stuck up and selfish than in the movie which I didn't really like. Wanting to know for sure, Brody and Hooper later sneek back to the dock to cut open the so called human killing shark to find nothing but fish and garbagein its stomach. Now convinced the shark still roams the area both men are getting ready to take Hooper's boat out to see if they can possibly find anything. One thing that I never saw coming was Hooper and Brody's wife having a secret relationship, if Brody ends up finding out it could possibly change the situation completly.

Journal 6

After Brody and Hooper searched the area for a bit, they came to a sunken ship and thats when Hooper got into the water leaving Brody above water to wait. While searching the wreck Hooper came accross a giant tooth but unfortunetly droped it when a pale torso frightened Hooper making him drop it as he quickly got back on to the boat. Now totally convinced there is for sure still a shark at bay Hooper and Brody hoped to explain their discovery and have the mayor shut down the beach until the shark was dealt with but with July 4th right around the corner I can't see Mayor Vaughn closing the beach right before the big holiday and ruining the mofia's income. Now things should start to pick up.

Journal 7

Finally the three (Brody, Hooper, and Quint) are setting out to sea to catch the giant man eating fish. After Mayor Larry Vaughn still continued to keep the beach open on July 4th it finally happened. With the beach covered in happy tourist, a group of young teens decided to play a prank on fellow swimmers and life guards by wearing fake fins on there heads. After the two were spotted, Amity lifeguards and authorities raced to the scene only two find two young boys wearing fins. While all authorities were concentrating on what they believed to be a shark, the real one entered a one-way body of water, were chief Brody’s son, his friends and a life guard were cornered. The shark right away attacked the life guard killing him, leaving the kids to swim back to shore except for Brody’s son who went into shock. With the shark stocking him as he stared it down in fear, a group of people along with Chief Brody raced into shore pulling the young Brody to safety. After the chaos chief Brody finally convinced Vaughn to hire Quint to do the job. Now the hunter (Quint), the scientist (Hooper), and the chief of police (Brody) must go and find the shark that is hunting and killing the people of Amity Island.

Journal 8

I just got finished reading how Chief Brody got his first up close look at the shark while laying down what I believed to be a chum line (fish guts). I think this is right around the time when he says in the movie "Where gunna need a bigger boat". Just before the up close sighting Quint attempted to snag Jaws after finally finding him with a large fishing pole but it failed. I’ve also noticed a tension between Hooper and Quint starting to build up which is something I don’t remember seeing in the movie or at least grow as much as it has in the book. So far the trip has gone alot slower than in the movie and has dragged on in a more realistic way, it took awhile just for the three to find Jaws and now that they have, they need to stay with him.

Journal 9

After a long night of battling with Jaws and successfully attaching a tracker to it (Quint harpooned a barrel to Jaws), Hooper, Quint and Cheif Brody settled down for a little relax time as they shared stories and scars while also having from the impression I got, a few beers too. Quint told of how he was in the World War and how survived when his ship was sunk which is something I didn't really get because that would make him alot older than he seemed in both the movie and book. anyways as night went on it seemed that the three began to drink more and more which cauused them to get louder and louder before breaking into a song. Which soon led to the wrong kind of attetion as the shark suprising attacked the boat leaving it to slowly fill with water. Once morning came and the three just finished repairing the boat, all of a sudden the barrel Quint harpooned to Jaws poped out of the water and now Brody is starting to get uneasy and nervous.

Journal 10

So far the battle between the three and Jaws has gone on much longer than in the movie for sure, now being several days in on their big fishing trip with no radio to use and little resources for fighting the beast. The three are getting much more intense and uneasy with each other, especially after Quint smashed the radio so Brody couldn't call for help. To make matters worse right after the smashing of the radio, Jaws returned for some more fun before being chased several minutes until being attached with another barrel/tracker or two. Thinking their chances just got better as they tied the rope to the stern so they'd keep track of Jaws, things actually got worse when it started to drag the boat backwards causing it to fill with more water before it eventually flooded the engine. After attaching a third barrel while still being pulled, Quint got his machete out to cut the ropes but just before he could do so, Jaws ripped the cleat's right off the boat's stern. Now with almost no hope the three must fight off the shark as it seems to not be settling down one bit and their boat is slowly disappearing under sea.

Journal 11

For some reason Quint started to move what was left of the boat in towards shore hoping for Jaws to follow and get itself possibly beached but before he was able to get anywere with it the engine over heated and blew. Now unable to move and stuck in the middle of a body of water. Thinking quick the three decided to try and stab the shark with a giant spear found on board the ship. With everything on the line, the very confident and cocky Hooper (shark expert) decided it was best to attempt the stabbing while at level with the shark. So Hooper got himself ready and into the shark cage with the spear in hopes of putting an end to the madness. Unfortunetly he only lasted several minutes as Jaws quickly destroyed the cage leaving Hooper to attempt a fleed back to safety. Unfotunetly while escaping Hooper was grabbed on the arm and dragged by Jaws to sea leval as to show a warning to Brody and Quint, but before Jaws was able to finish Hooper off Brody grabbed his gun and got ready to fire. I thought at first he was making a last minute attempt at saving Hooper but instead fired directly at Hooper killing him as he struggled in Jaws' mouth. I think Brody did that to either put Hooper out of his mysery or because he knew Hooper was secretly porking his wife. After Brody and Quint were loading the battered cage back out of the water when Jaws returned in a careless and angry way by throwing himself on top of the boat, crushing the frame and causing the boat to start to sink. Now with little hope and a giant man eating fish swimming just below, Brody and Quint must find a way to stop the shark before it does the same to them.

Journal 12

Once I started to read Jaws I right away noticed where they got the ideas for the movie but I didn't expect the ending to be so off and unexpected. Soon after Hooper's odd death, Jaws later returned for the finish but in bad shape. With Quint and Brody pushed back as far as possible in what remained of Quint's boat Jaws rushed in for another snack but was unsuccessful. Although Jaws wasn't able to "eat" Quint, while he swam back down for cover one of the several ropes attached to it got caught on Quints foot pulling him down below with Jaws, leaving Quint to drown. After both Hooper and Quint died in odd ways not really done by the shark it was kindoff silly and took away from the ending. As did after with only Brody left and no ship, I thought for sure he would die too but as soon as Jaws got close to Brody it suddently stoped in front of him and just died. Although the shark did take alot of damage through out the long battle at sea, the ending just seemed carelessly done as if Benchley just wanted to wrap it up. Even for the unfortunate ending Jaws was still an okay novel and one of the longest books i've ever read (the longest). I also see why the movie Jaws was made the way it was with no wife stealing, more than one survivor and an actual death by Jaws at the end when Quint was eaten. The one thing I did enjoy about the book's ending was how it ended more realistic, when instead of dying from an exploding scuba tank instead Jaws simply died of exhaustion.

Jaws Scene

1975 Trailer

Amity Island Shark Alert! (news article)

This morning around 7 am police found the remains of a young girl who at this point was believed to be attacked and killed by a shark. Police say the remains were found washed up on shore with severe bite marks surrounding the left over parts. Although it has not been proven 100% that the incident was shark related, a local marine biologist who has already examined the remains describes the bites as horrendous and frightening, just knowing a creature of that size roams these waters. As of now there are no current changes being made to our local beaches but lifeguards are reminded to keep a close eye on future possible shark attacks. If in the future other incidences like this occur, city council will place signs along the beach warning visitors of possible shark attacks but for now the beaches are open and available for you to use at your own risk. Later this evening Mayor Larry Vaughn addressed the town describing the situation as unfortunate but he believes the cause of death was not from a shark but from a possible boating accident. With the 4th of July weekend coming up, I’m sure Amity Island will be doing it’s best to keep the "shark talk" to a minimum if they hope to bring in tourist during the holiday. As of now no final decision has been made on the case but police chief Brody says that to be sure, Amity is bringing in a high ranked marine biologist to make a full report on the suspected shark attack remains. As for the owner of the remains, police only know they belonged to a young female who was wearing a ring and was expected to be at a party, taking place on the beach last night. Other teens who were expected to be at the party will be questioned on what they remember. So the next time you go near the water, be alert, be prepared, and watch out for a possible man eating monster.

JAWS

Is an old but very successful novel that spend close to 45 weeks on the best seller list and was written by Peter Benchley. It was later made into a blockbuster hit that was directed by Steven Spielberg. After the novel became a best seller, the movie was released just a year after the book's release. Both the novel and movie take place during the summer on Amityville Island, New York. It tells how the towns chief of Police "Brody" discovers a giant 25 foot shark that is tormenting the Island. Now Cheif Brody and his two assistants must stop the shark before it ruins the towns reputation forever.