Chapter 7 Summary

Charley Ford becomes ill and can't live with his illness or his guilt over Jesse's death. He stays with his parents and one day goes into his bedroom, lays himself on the bed and shoots himself through the heart. Bob is under scrutiny with people wondering if he were about to do the same. Jesse's younger brother, John Samuels, doesn't die but eventually recovers from the gunshot wound. He dies at age seventy-one. Dr. Samuels goes crazy and spends his last years in a mental institution. Zerelda Samuels capitalizes on tourists, charging for a look at the house where Jesse grew up and encouraging tourists to send back photos of Zerelda on her porch, which she then sells to other tourists. Zee is completely destitute. She lives with her children, staying with her siblings for periods of time and finding work as a...