The Victims

Character Analysis

Chrissie Watkins

The shark's first victim is a classic bathing beauty. This scene owes much to a similar scene from 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon. In classic horror movie fashion, she's killed when she runs off for a tryst with a boy. Bad idea—didn't she know about that horror movie trope? Here's a picture of the very alive Chrissie and her director preparing for the scene.

Alex Kintner

The shark's youngest victim (other than maybe Pippet, the dog, whose age is difficult to ascertain) is a boy at the beach with his mother. His death is among the most jarring of the film because it's the first one that Brody could/should have prevented. But it doesn't come without warning. Can you spot any clues that it will be Alex, and not some other beachgoer, who's about to be shark lunch?

Ben Gardner

The guy whose head floats through the hole in the hull is the same guy who brought Hooper to the island and the same guy who complains about the irresponsible fishermen hunting for the shark. When they catch the tiger shark, Brody immediately assumes that it was Gardner who caught it. And Brody recognized his boat right away when they come upon its wreck. All of this establishes that he was a well-known and well-liked fisherman, so what does that say about the shark? He can defeat even the good fisherman, not just the foolish guys in their little boats.

Rowboat Guy

Poor Rowboat Guy, just trying to help Michael Brody and his friends with their sailboat. Leading up to the attack, does Spielberg drop any clues that he's a goner?

Quint

He's the Shark's biggest catch. It almost seems he has a score to settle with Quint for all the sharks Quint's killed in his career. What is there about Quint's death that's different from the rest of the victims?