Chapter 5 Summary

Taylor and Turtle fly to Chicago, the first time on a plane for both of them and they appear on a show that features children who have saved lives. They resist the efforts of the people who are preparing them for the show to put a frilly dress on Turtle, but Taylor submits to makeup.

Chapter 5 Analysis

Having these characters experience flying on a plane for the first time reinforces the point that Kingsolver is going to make over and over-happiness is not limited to the things that cost money. She shows us value in characters that live at what many would consider the fringes of society in terms of what they possess and are able to do. Yet in this novel those people are heroic and their lives are seen as more valid and more worthwhile than those who live more affluently...