Chapter 4 Summary

A drive through a "colored" (filled with many Black people) town is necessary to get to the location where the funeral service will be held. This fact makes Nadine feel unsafe and she locks her door as they pass through. As they approach the church, the homes get statelier and Nadine would enjoy rubbing shoulders with and gossiping about their occupants. In one yard, Ellen spies an angel fountain she would like to have.

At the graveside, Ellen avoids looking at her mother's body by examining the attendees instead. Included amongst the visitors is Starletta, a friend of Ellen's, and her mother, who eats dirt. Ellen once tried eating dirt herself but was slapped by her father for doing so.

Ellen's well-to-do maternal grandmother is also in attendance and calls Ellen's father a bastard as well as a variety of other names. For...