Campfire Tales

In Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire", a nameless prospector in the snowy Yukon is deserted by his dog when his attempts to build a fire in the wilderness fail. By 1908, the year the story was published in its final form, the campfire was well established in American literature as a symbol of the pioneering spirit. From the Leatherstocking novels of James Fenimore Cooper to the folksy horror of Stephen King, tales told around the campfire have always hinted at the threat that lies somewhere out in the darkness. Indeed, in ghost stories - such as the one John Houseman tells at the beginning of The Fog - the campfire itself is often identified as a potential danger, attracting the attention of whatever danger lurks in the wilderness. A campfire encourages people to sit around it in a circle, a symbol of harmony, and, by temporarily providing both light and warmth, it gives the illusion of safety.

In Jaws the circle of teenagers arranged around the fire is broken up by gaps (just as some of Amity's fences are), and the interaction within in the group (some clearly identified as couples, others superficially arranged in pairs) suggests that this is an improvised community. Although Cassidy (Jonathan Filley) makes up part of the circle, he sits with his back to the group and directs his gaze away from the fire. His later conversation with Chief Brody on the beach will identify him as an Islander although he no longer lives on the island; in effect, he is of the community of Amity without being a part of it.

Tellingly, Chrissie (Susan Backlinie) sits outside the group. Early versions of the screenplay made it clear that she was a stranger, a fact that is only implied in the finished script by the description of her as "a summer girl". That no one comes forward to challenge the doctored coroner's report or to collect her remains for burial suggests that she is an outsider, and, as such, her death can be easily swept under the carpet. Indeed, she seems already consigned to the garbage by her association with the detritus - a wooden packing crate and cardboard boxes - that has been discarded around her. She is also sitting to the right of a large metal bin, which resembles one of the steaming try-pots in which Quint boils the flesh off shark jaws. When Cassidy gets to his feet in a wide shot that reveals the complete geography of the scene we see that he has been sitting beside a battered metal beer barrel, a container that will later indicate the presence of the shark. Were these artfully arranged props placed there with a purpose, or is it too fanciful to read into them some element of predestination?