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Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twilight, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Lust
Self-Restraint and Morality
Good, Evil, and Perspective
Family
Summary
Analysis
At school the next day, the jokes about Bella fainting during biology class are extremely annoying. But even worse, Jessica pesters Bella about her lunchtime conversation with Edward yesterday. During lunch, Bella watches the remaining Cullens talk while Mike chatters about the beach trip tomorrow. Lauren keeps shooting Bella dirty looks—and on the way out of the cafeteria, Bella hears Lauren ask why Bella doesn’t just sit with the Cullens.
Bella has been worried about fitting in Forks. Now her association with Edward has made those who already judge the Cullens for being different see Bella as also being different. Meanwhile, the social life of high school continues, with Jessica wanting gossip, and Mike focused on the beach outing—that all of this pales in comparison to the intensity of Bella’s focus on Edward emphasizes the intensity of their growing relationship.
Themes
On Saturday morning, Bella is surprised to wake up to sunshine. She drives to Mike’s parents’ store and joins the group of kids in the parking lot, where Lauren gives her a dirty look again. Though Bella agrees to ride with Mike in the Suburban, she lets Jessica sit next to him. She stares out the window during the drive and takes in the breathtaking sight of First Beach when they arrive. First Beach is a pebble beach, and it’s cool and windy. Mike leads everyone down to a circle of driftwood logs and starts a fire.
Bella may object to Jessica’s interest in her budding relationship with Edward, but she still wants to stay in Jessica’s good graces. So letting Jessica sit next to Mike serves two purposes: Bella can give Jessica what she wants, while also distancing herself from Mike’s unwanted advances.
Themes
Bella accompanies some boys to the tidepools rather than staying at the campfire with Lauren. She hikes carefully and then sits on the rocks so that she doesn’t fall and embarrass herself. Eventually, she heads back to the beach with the boys. The group has expanded since they left—Quileute teenagers from the reservation have joined the group from Forks. Bella accepts a sandwich and sits next to Angela, who fortunately isn’t talkative. As the afternoon wears on, the group splits up again for various activities.
Doing everything in her power to not fall doesn’t just guard against Bella embarrassing herself. It also means that these boys won’t have any opportunities to “rescue” her and vie for her attention that way. The Quileute teens’ arrival also represents a way for Bella to attract less attention; with more kids, there are necessarily more people to pay attention to.
Themes
Bella stays at the campfire and after a bit, a boy named Jacob comes over. He introduces himself and says that Bella has his dad’s old truck; he’s Billy Black’s son. Bella doesn’t remember Jacob from her childhood summers in Forks, but she remembers his older twin sisters. They talk about the truck, and Jacob shares that he builds cars. When Jacob flashes a huge smile at Bella, Lauren notices and asks how they know each other. Then, she remarks that nobody thought to invite the Cullens. The tall, older Quileute boy says that the Cullens don’t come here in a tone that ends the conversation. Bella is a bit taken aback.
Lauren seems to resent that Bella is popular with nearly everyone. Her meanness makes it seem like Bella is still going to struggle to fit in in Forks. Jacob, though, offers Bella hope—someone else likes her, and she doesn’t make it seem as though Jacob is necessarily interested in her romantically. The older Quileute boy’s phrasing about the Cullens not coming here reads as ominous, especially given that Edward only refused to come to the beach once he learned the group was headed for La Push.
Themes
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As Jacob asks Bella how she likes Forks, Bella has an idea—hopefully Jacob is too young and inexperienced to see through her pitiful flirting attempts. She invites him to walk on the beach with her, tells him he looks much older than 15, and then asks what the older boy meant about the Cullens not coming here. Jacob explains that the Cullens aren’t allowed on the reservation. He’s not supposed to say why, but he then asks Bella if she likes scary stories. They take a seat on a log and Jacob says that supposedly, the Quileutes are descended from wolves. There are also old legends about “the cold ones.” Jacob gives Bella a look that conveys he doesn’t put much stock in this.
Though Bella seems to think of herself as wholly incapable of flirting with boys, she nevertheless has four boys at Forks High fighting for her attention—and she wins Jacob over without much effort. Indeed, his willingness to tell Bella this old Quileute legend suggests that he’s trying to impress her—her flirting, even if it’s “pitiful,” is working. Though Jacob doesn’t believe this legend at all, it nevertheless introduces a supernatural element—and the reference to “cold ones” echoes the detail that Edward’s hand was frigid when Bella touched it.
Themes
Jacob explains that his great-grandfather made a treaty with the Cullens to stay off Quileute land, since the cold ones and the werewolves are natural enemies. The Cullens, though, weren’t like other cold ones and supposedly weren’t dangerous. The deal was that the Cullens would stay off Quileute land, and in return, the Quileutes wouldn’t expose the cold ones to white people. Bella doesn’t get it; she asks why they made the treaty if the Cullens weren’t dangerous. Jacob says that the cold ones are always dangerous for humans, even if, like the Cullens, they’re “civilized” and hunt animals instead of humans. Then, Jacob says the Cullens of today aren’t descended from the cold ones his great-grandfather met—they’re the same Cullens.
Jacob’s story offers several clues about what the Cullens are. At the same time, Jacob’s story about the Cullens being different and hunting animals rather than humans both defines the potential danger of whatever kind Edward belongs to, but also seems to back up Bella’s instinct that Edward himself isn’t bad, even if he’s dangerous. The Cullens might have the capacity to do harm, in other words, but they don’t.
Themes
Bella is floored, which seems to spur Jacob on. She asks what the cold ones actually are, and Jacob says they’re vampires. Jacob is thrilled that Bella has goosebumps and says it’s no wonder Billy doesn’t want them talking about it. But then, worried, Jacob begs Bella to not tell Charlie about the story—Charlie was incensed when he learned that some Quileutes weren’t going to go to the county hospital after Dr. Cullen got his job there.
Jacob might not believe his story—but for Bella, hearing the word “vampire” makes a lot of things fall into place. If Edward is a vampire, for instance, it would make sense that he skipped the blood typing biology lab. Interestingly, Jacob seems far more willing than his father to judge the Cullens on how they act—whereas Billy sees the Cullens only as vampires and can’t see beyond that to judge them based on how they behave.
Themes
Just then, Mike and Jessica appear. Mike is relieved to have found Bella, and Jacob picks up on Mike’s obvious crush. Bella assures Jacob that Mike isn’t her boyfriend and invites Jacob to come visit her in Forks, once he has his license. Mike says that everyone’s getting ready to go, so Bella follows him back to the parking lot.
Again, Bella’s perception of herself as an inept flirt seems to be very wrong—now, Jacob acts jealous of Mike. It’s also worth noting that Bella has a lot of power in these situations as she manipulates the boys into doing what she wants.
Themes
