Summary
During naptime one afternoon, Ellen's father arrives at
the school and demands that Ellen surrender herself to him. He stands
in the parking lot shouting and waving an envelope of money with
which to bribe her. Ellen notices that he has parked his truck in
a flowerbed that the "special handicapped children" have planted.
She knows it is him before she sees or hears him and immediately
feels ill. Her teacher is gone on her coffee break, so Ellen takes
it upon herself to instruct the class, demanding they sit and stay
quiet until her father leaves. She wonders what they will remember
of this episode when they are older. Eventually, her teacher returns
to the room and shoots Ellen a dirty look, as if she is to blame.
Ellen tells her teacher that she can make her father stop if she
can have a pistol, then yells to her father to put his money on
the ground and leave. At last, the police arrive and arrest Ellen's
father. Julia takes Ellen home with her and produces the money that
her father had left.
Shortly after the episode at school, the court believes
that Ellen should be with her family and orders her to live with
her mama's mama. Ellen is confounded by this because Roy and Julia
are the only family she has ever known. Roy and Julia go to court
to fight for Ellen, but they are powerless against the judge's order.
Ellen believes that the judge has her family mixed up with another
group of people; he thinks that they are a "Roman pillar" when,
truly, they are a "crumbly old brick."
Ellen's new mama makes delicious meals, especially on
Sundays, though they must attend church before they may eat. Her
new mama receives a portion of the collection money each week for
the children's food and clothing, and they carry themselves with
pride when in church, as to show that they are a loving, respectable
family. Ellen looks to her new mama during the service for an example of
how she should compose herself, as her new mama wants them to behave
appropriately.
The only child who is not required to attend church is
Roger the baby, who Ellen says reminds her of Starletta. Dora and
Nadine attend the same church as Ellen and her foster family, and
they strut down the aisle as if to boast their wealth and sophistication,
of which they have none. Ellen remembers when she had to live with Dora
and Nadine, before she even knew her new mama, who she thinks is
mother who best suits her. Even while she was staying at Dora and
Nadine's house, Ellen would think of how much her new mama looked
like she actually does, before she even knew her name.
After church, Ellen, her new mama, and her foster sisters,
Stella, Francis, and Jo Jo all participate in cooking the Sunday
meal. Stella and Ellen work the stove, as they have cooking experience,
and Jo Jo gets time off to practice her dancing. Afterwards, Ellen
finishes her homework, watches television, or reads in her room.
Sometimes, Roger will crawl in, and Ellen will make sure he does
not grab anything that he can choke on. She thinks, matter-of-factly,
that though he has a mother, Stella, he did not get a father.
Analysis
Ellen's extraordinary maturity is evident when she takes
charge after her father has come, probably drunk, to school to reclaim
her, as if she were a piece of his property. Ellen's father tries
to buy her back with money, which by now has become a recurring
and prevalent image. The idea of exchanging money for a service,
or, in this case, Ellen herself, has appeared already in Chapter 7 when
Ellen offers Starletta's mother a dollar to take her in and later,
in Chapter 15 when Ellen offers her life
savings to her new mama as incentive to adopt her. Money is important
to Ellen, though obviously not important enough for her to return
to her father's cruelty and abuse.
