Summary

4: Nailing Jelly to a Tree begins with the men leaving the Mills’ home in the early hours of the morning. Stella begins to clean up after the guests, but Mama tells her to get some sleep before school. As Stella lies in bed, she considers the newsprint that is used to decorate the walls of the home.

The next morning, the family gets ready for their day together. Mama makes breakfast while Papa reads his three daily newspapers. Stella likes the slogan of the “Carolina Times” newspaper: “The Truth Unbridled” (25). She also likes the way that reading the newspaper makes her feel “like she was a part of something bigger” (25). When Stella asks Papa if the Carolina Times will be reporting on the Klan meeting, he says no. Mama explains it’s because “they believe...