90 pages • 3 hours read
James BaldwinA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
In his cell, Fonny dreams of the uncertainty he feels during his first effort to create a sculpture out of a piece of wood. He wakes up from this dream. He is tired, smells bad, and feels a growing sense of despair. He masturbates to pass the time. Tish comes to visit him that evening, and she notes with concern how ragged he looks. Tish tells Fonny that his trial date is coming up and that the baby will soon arrive as well.
Tish also updates Fonny on Hayward’s progress on his defense. Victoria is likely to break under the pressure of questioning on the stand, and Hayward has uncovered that she is a sometimes sex worker. In addition, the decision to place just one African American man—Fonny—in the lineup probably tainted the identification enough that they can get the case thrown out. There is also the accusation that Bell killed a little boy. Fonny is not reassured by these bits of news.
After Sharon returns home from Puerto Rico, she tells her family that the last she heard of Victoria was that the woman had a miscarriage and suffered a complete psychological breakdown.
By James Baldwin
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Giovanni's Room
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Going To Meet The Man
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Go Tell It on the Mountain
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I Am Not Your Negro
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If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?
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Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son
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No Name in the Street
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Notes of a Native Son
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Sonny's Blues
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Stranger in the Village
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The Amen Corner
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The Fire Next Time
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The Rockpile
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