Previous Next

Chapters 7 & 8

Summary: 7. Every Chihuahua in America Lines Up to Take a Bite out of Byron

Kenny and Momma are sitting in the kitchen when Byron comes home, wearing a hat. As soon as he enters, he tries to leave, which makes Kenny and Momma suspicious. Momma makes him take his hat off. Byron has straightened and dyed his hair. Momma is immediately upset, asking if Byron did not like the way he looked. Byron says he wanted a “Mexican-style” haircut. Momma tells him he has to wait in his room until Dad comes home. 

Kenny and Joey visit Byron in his room. Kenny starts making fun of Byron, telling him that he is on death row, waiting for the executioner to come home. Joey is worried what will happen and asks Byron why he cannot behave. Byron describes a show he watched that talked about wolves. He describes himself as the alpha wolf and how he is surrounded by weaker wolves that are always waiting to take him down. When Dad comes home, he takes Byron into the bathroom. Dad cuts off Byron’s hair and shaves his head. Dad and Momma make a long-distance call and talk to Grandma Sands in Alabama.

Summary: 8. The Ultra-Glide!

After the phone call with Grandma Sands, Dad starts going around town, buying things for the Brown Bomber. He replaces the tires, the antenna, get new seat covers, and change the oil and antifreeze. Later, Dad comes home and tells the family that he has a surprise for them. When they get outside, Dad reveals that he has purchased a True Tone AB-700 Ultra-Glide record player for the dash of the car. An additional speaker has also been installed behind the rear seat. Momma is initially upset at the cost and goes inside the house, but everyone else is excited to try it out. 

Kenny describes how Dad likes to make a big production out of everything and tease the family. Eventually Momma comes back out, and Dad acts like a radio host, playing “Under the Boardwalk” for Momma. Everyone is excited and gets turns picking which records to play. Momma then explains that they are going to take a road trip to Birmingham to visit Grandma Sands. Byron is going to stay with Grandma Sands for the summer. Dad and Momma have threatened Byron with this before, but Kenny thought that it would never happen. Alabama is far away, Byron would never be allowed to ride a bus that far by himself, and Grandma Sands is very strict. Momma lists all of the mischief that Byron has been getting into. Byron gets upset and goes into the house.

Analysis: Chapters 7 & 8

The themes of race and family intersect in this section when Byron gets a “conk,” a kind of chemical procedure to straighten Black hair. This appears to be the last straw for the Watson parents as it is one of many in a string of defiant behaviors. But more than that, it is an act of self-sabotage against Bryon’s own Black identity. The bond between the Watson siblings is evident in Kenny and Joey’s reactions as they wait with Byron to hear his punishment. The drastic nature of Momma’s and Dad’s decision to drive the family to Birmingham and leave Byron with Grandma Sands for the summer reflects their unified nature and their desire to teach their son a lesson as well as their desire to remove Byron from the friends who have been a bad influence on him. Altogether the Watson parents’ choice speaks to the importance of the family bond and the fact that the Watsons prioritize family above all else. 

The scene in Chapter 8 in which Dad lifts Kenny up to the mirror to help him pretend to shave plays an interesting role in the context of the coming-of-age novel, or bildungsroman. It highlights a moment in which Kenny believes he is too old for his father’s help, while in reality, he is far too young to actually participate in the activity they are play-acting. Coming as it does at the midpoint of the novel, the scene represents a benchmark moment that suggests Kenny has grown and changed, but that he also still has more growing and changing to do. The scene also demonstrates Kenny’s innocence, as he is still young enough to believe that being a man is about growing facial hair, but by the end of the novel he realizes that the important changes come with experience, both good and bad.

Previous section Chapters 5 & 6 Next section Chapters 9 & 10

Take a Study Break