Chapter 13 “New York”

New Characters Aunt Laura: Aunt Mary: Uncle Hal: Aunt Bernadette: Oldest and richest of the aunts; her husband Paul Schiffman, owned apartment building Aunt Mary: Ran a clothing factory; Ruth worked for her; she had 2 daughters, Lois and Enid, who were not friendly with Ruth Uncle Hal: Owned a Kosher deli. Kosher= dietary nutrition, can’t mix meat and milk Aunt Bernadette: Married to a furrier Furrier: person who sells, makes, repairs, alters, cleans in clothing made of fur

New Characters Continued Aunt Rhonda: Hadn’t spoken to Aunt Bernadette in 15 years Aunt Betsy: Youngest of aunts; was nice to Ruth and helped her get an abortion. Bubeh: Ruth's grandmother; only person to truly love her

“New York” Plot: In this chapter we learn more about Ruth’s extended family. We learn that her mother’s siblings were wealthy and that all of her aunts were beautiful. We also learned that the family had lots of secrets which weren’t talked about, that they cared a lot about money, and that they did not discuss painful, or show love. Abortion Roe V Wade= law case before supreme court, made abortion legal in the 70’s Abortion was illegal in the 1930’s. Women would die

Chapter 14 “Chicken Man”

New Characters Big Richard: Chicken Man: Herman: Jack’s husband; a “cool customer” who hung out with some bad people; he was very street smart and James was in awe of him Chicken Man: Drunk who hung out on the corner; would sit on the Corner and talk about life; got killed by his girlfriend. When he wasn’t drunk, he was some kind of philosopher Teaches James a lesson, to make a decision to turn his life around Herman: Manager of a gas station where McBride worked; he was a big, mean man

“Chicken Man” Plot: James’ big trip to Louisville. In the beginning of the chapter, James is dealing with the death of his step-father, and how his mother is mourning his death. To avoid dealing with her pain, James turns to drugs a petty crime. His grades suffer and his mother sends him away to stay with his step-sister Jack who is now in Louisville, Kentucky. He hangs out with Jack’s husband, Big Richard, and is educated in part by a drunk man, Chicken Man. Chicken Man challenges James’ belief that he, McBride, is somehow special and can get away with dropping out of school. Chicken Man makes him question himself. While there, McBride sees the violence that is part of people’s lives.