Chapters 5 and 6 Summary

"Dakar - Houdia M'Baye" The compound named N'diayene is home to several women and their children. One of the women is Houdia M'Baye, who attempts to feed her child Strike (the youngest of nine) from flat, empty breasts. Meanwhile, Mame Sofi, Ramatoulaye, N'Daye Touti and Bineta arrive back at the compound after their ride in the once-stuck cart. Shortly after they return, a water seller stops by, and Mame Sofi first tricks and then bullies him into leaving them water as well as the pitcher he brought it in. Later, as N'Deye Touti leaves the house for a rendezvous with Beaugosse, narration describes how much of an outcast she feels - because of her beauty, because of her worldliness (having seen so many movies and read so many books), and because of her ability to read and write. She encounters a...