Discussion Topic
Summaries of Chapters 1-9 in Twilight
Summary:
Chapters 1-9 of Twilight introduce Bella Swan as she moves to Forks, Washington, and meets the mysterious Edward Cullen. Bella quickly becomes intrigued by Edward, learning he is a vampire. Their relationship develops as Bella uncovers more about Edward's supernatural abilities and the dangers they might face. The chapters set up the central romance and the potential conflicts ahead.
What is the summary of Chapter 1 in Twilight?
Bella Swan is a seventeen-year-old girl who leaves her home in Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, in Forks, Washington. As Bella settles in, she laments on the rainy weather and tries not to be nervous about starting at a new school. Bella is afraid that she won’t fit in, as she is pale, uncoordinated, and doesn’t relate well to people her age.
When she arrives at the school many students are eager to befriend her, interested in the novelty of a new student. As she eats lunch with her new friends she notices a strangely gorgeous group of students sitting by themselves. The students are pale with dark shadows under their eyes, but absolutely beautiful and well dressed. Jessica, one of Bella’s tablemates, tells her that they are a family: Edward, Emmett, and Alice Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. Jessica informs her that the five were...
Unlock
This Answer NowStart your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
adopted by a young doctor and his wife. One of the Cullens, Edward, looks over, and Jessica tells her that Edward, though gorgeous, does not date.
In Biology, Bella finds that Edward is her lab partner. However, he greets her with an antagonistic stare and sits rigid in his seat, as far away from her as possible looking repulsed. When class is over, as Bella worries about Edward’s behavior, another boy, Mike, shows her to her next class. At the end of the day, Bella encounters Edward again in the office, and Edward makes a hasty retreat as soon as he sees her. She leaves for home upset and confused.
What is the summary of Chapter 2 in Twilight?
Chapter two begins with Bella telling readers that her next day at school was both better and worse than the previous day at school. The day is better because people aren't staring at her as much as they were the day before, but the day is worse because Edward Cullen isn't at school at all. Bella feels like she is the cause of his absence.
I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there.
While Edward might not be at school, Bella isn't exactly free from attention. Many of the boys, especially Mike, are showing an absurd amount of interest in Bella.
Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class.
Bella makes it through the school day, and after school, she heads to the grocery store. The previous night she discovered that Charlie is no good at cooking, and the house has almost zero food to cook. When Bella arrives at home, she immediately starts dinner and then goes to check her email. She has quite a few emails from her mom, and her mom is starting to get worried about Bella's lack of replies.
Isabella,
If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.
Bella replies, Charlie comes home from work, and the two of them sit down and eat dinner together. Bella asks Charlie about the Cullen family, and Charlie expresses his opinion that the Cullen family is a great family to have in town.
"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.
"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."
The rest of the school week is uneventful. Edward doesn't return to school, and the weekend is very relaxed and quiet.
On Monday of the next week, Edward is back in school, and Bella is prepared to skip biology class in order to avoid being near him. She doesn't skip class, and Edward is perfectly polite to Bella this time.
"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."
My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now.
The two of them make some small talk with each other as they successfully work through a lab about mitosis and the cell cycle. At one point Bella touches Edward's hand and is surprised at how cold it is. She also notices that his eyes seem to have taken on a new color.
I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone.
Bella and Edward successfully complete their lab, and they finish the class by making more small talk; however, their conversation becomes more personal as Bella explains to Edward why she moved away from her mom. Bella is annoyed that she let Edward know so much.
"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.
I glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book."
Edward reassures Bella that she isn't as easy to read as she thinks she is, and the class period ends. The chapter ends with the school day ending and Bella getting in her truck to drive home.
What is the summary of Chapter 3 in Twilight?
Bella wakes up to an ice and snow covered world, and carefully making her way to school, wonders to herself why she the boys at Forks High School seem so interested in her. As she parks her truck, noticing that her father had put snow chains on the tires, a van slides across the ice straight towards her. As if in slow motion, she notices Edward, four cars down away from her, watching in horror. Then, before she can even blink, Edward is on top of her, pushing the van out of the way. In the chaos after the accident, Bella tries to ask Edward how he got to her so fast, but he assures her he was right next to her. She remains unconvinced, especially after seeing his family looking disapproving instead of worried.
At the hospital, the driver, Tyler, apologizes. Dr. Cullen turns out to be Bella’s doctor, and she tells him the Edward saved her. He politely moves on to another patient, and Bella becomes even more suspicious. But when she pushes Edward for an explanation, he refuses to give her one, saying, “I hope you enjoy disappointment.”
Her father meets her in the waiting room and tells her to call home to Renee, her mother. As she calms her hysterical mother who implores her to come home, Bella realizes that she doesn’t want to leave, because she is intrigued by Edward. That night, as she sleeps, she dreams of Edward.
What is the summary of Chapter 4 in Twilight?
Bella has a dream in which she chases Edward through the dark, but cannot
catch him. During Biology class, Edward sits as far from her as he can and
occasionally seems to clench his jaw and fists. She thinks he regrets
saving her life, and tries unsuccessfully to talk to him. He does not
speak to her, but every day she watches him, noticing that his eyes seem to
grow darker and darker. She continues to dream about him as well.
After class, Edward talks to Bella, and she confronts him about his cold
behavior toward her in the past few weeks. He explains that if they stay
away from each other it will be better for her, but Bella accuses him of
regretting saving her life. This upsets him and he leaves without another
word.
After school, Eric asks Bella to the dance, and she tells him she can’t
go. Once she gets to the parking lot, Edward blocks her exit; and during
this momentary pause in traffic, Tyler asks Bella to the dance. Bella
declines and then notices that Edward is laughing at her in his rear-view
mirror.
The next day at school, Edward asks Bella if she would like for him to drive
her to Seattle. He says it would be more prudent for Bella to stay away
from him, but he is tired of avoiding her.
What is the summary of Chapter 5 in Twilight?
In the cafeteria the next day, Bella is surprised to see Edward sitting alone, and even more surprised when he motions for her to join him. Explaining, he tells Bella that he may as well go all the way, if he’s going to Hell anyway. As they talk, Edward tries to figure out what Bella is thinking, and Bella tries to figure out what Edward is. He persuades her to give him a theory, and she says he may have been bitten by a radioactive spider. After reassuring her that he does not possess any of the typical super-hero qualities, he asks her if she has considered that he might be the villain instead. She agrees that he may be dangerous, but refuses to believe that he is a bad person. He tells her she is wrong about that.
Edward ditches Biology, and Bella goes. When she gets to class and sees that they are doing a blood-typing lab, she starts to faint. Mike offers to take her to the nurse; once outside, they run into Edward, who takes her to the nurse and sends Mike to class. Bella dreads going to gym, so Edward sweet-talks the nurse into letting him take Bella home.
Dropping her off at home, Edward makes Bella promise to try to be safe during her trip to the beach.
What is the summary of Chapter 6 in Twilight?
During her trip to the beach, Bella meets Jacob Black, the youngest son of Charlie’s friend, Billy Black. While she is talking to Jacob, Lauren interjects that it is too bad any of the Cullens couldn’t come on their trip; one of the boys from the reservation answers that the Cullens do not come to La Push and offers no other explanation.
Jacob explains to her that an old Quileute legend describes a group of beings known as the cold ones. One pack of cold ones came to the tribe during the time of Jacob’s great-grandfather, and made an agreement with the Quileutes to stay off the Quileute land if the Quileutes did not rat them out to the pale faces. This particular pack that made the truce claimed that they did not hunt humans, but drank from animals instead; however, the Quileutes still did not trust them absolutely. He then says that the Cullen family is supposed to be that same group of cold ones that met with his ancestors all those years ago. He shrugs the story off as a local legend and nothing more, but Bella seems to see some truth in it. She promises not to say anything to anyone, because Jacob could get in trouble for sharing the story. He also says that the Quileutes still do not like the Cullens and will not go to the hospital now that Carlisle works there.
What is the summary of Chapter 8 in Twilight?
After school, Bella enjoys her girl’s day out with Jessica and Angela. They go to the nearby town of Port Angeles, which offers more opportunities for shopping than Forks. Since they finish shopping early, Jess and Angela walk down by the bay while Bella goes to look for a bookstore. As she starts to wander the streets, Bella soon realizes that she is headed straight for the bad part of town. She sees a group of four men standing together in an alley, and they begin to follow her. Suddenly, a Volvo appears out of nowhere, with Edward behind the wheel. He tells her to get in, and they drive off. Edward asks Bella to distract him, and they go to find Jessica and Angela. The girls are just leaving the restaurant, so Edward tells them he will take Bella home after he and Bella have dinner. During the meal, Bella shares with Edward that she notices his eyes change color from black to topaz. She questions him about his apparent ability to read minds, and he answers her by using hypothetical responses to skirt the issue. He then tells her that he followed her to Port Angeles and used his telepathic ability to keep track of her and make sure she was safe. He also tells her that it was hard for him not to kill the men who had been chasing her. When he drives Bella home, Edward tells her that tomorrow it will be his turn to ask the questions, and her turn to answer.
What is the summary of Chapter 9 in Twilight?
Continuing her questions on the way home, Bella asks Edward about the specifics of his mind-reading abilities. He turns the tables on her, asking for another theory she has about him. She tells him about Jacob’s story, and about her research about vampires. Then she surprises him by telling him that she has decided it doesn’t matter what he is, because she still wants to spend time with him. Without saying the words, he admits that he is a vampire, and then explains to her that most of the myths are untrue. He also says that he and his family do live off of animal blood rather than humans, but it is like living on tofu instead of steak.
They continue to talk, and Bella admits that she did not care for him being out of town, because she is anxious when he is away. He feels that this is wrong, that he shouldn’t be dragging her into a relationship when he is a monster and she’s an innocent girl. She tells him it’s too late, that she’s in all the way whether he likes it or not. When he drops her off at home, he tells her not to go into the woods alone, since he might not always be the most dangerous thing she would encounter.
Back at home, Bella mulls things over in her mind, coming to three conclusions: that Edward is a vampire, that he probably wants to drink her blood, and that she is in love with him entirely.