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Introduction
Maya talks about her living in an ugly dream because the things that her mother gives her make her look ugly.
She says that deep down inside she is a beautiful white girl with flowing blonde hair and blue eyes.
She gets a new dress and she imagines it being the most beautiful thing in the world but once she gets to church the sunlight reveals it to be very ugly.
During church she raises 2 fingures in the air to says he needs to use the bathroom, on her way our she trips and pees herself. -
Chapters 1-3
The children are sent to Stamps and they live with their grandmother in a store along with their uncle Willie who acts as their disciplanary and one night the sheriff came saying the KKK was coming and they needed to hide Willie so they emptied some potato barrels and hid Willie in them. -
Chapters 4-6
People make fun of Maya for being ugly. They point out her every flaw. Momma tells Maya and Bailey to observe rules and respect their elders. Reverend stays for the weekend and Maya and Bailey don't lik ehim because he eats all the good food on sunday. -
Chapters 7-9
Momma thinks it isn't safe to talk to white people. Christmas comes and the kids hate their presents they start crying over them. Their father comes and takes them to St. Louis. -
Ch. 10-12
Maya is raped by Mr. Freeman and she is told if she screams he will kill her and he says that if she tells anyone he will kill bailey. -
Ch. 13-15
Maya goes to court about being raped by Mr. Freeman and she lies and Mr. Freeman is killed an then she becomes mute and her mom sends her away back to Stamps. -
Ch 16-18
Maya gets a jop at Mrs. Cullinans. She hates the job because she is a racist white. She quits her job. Bailey stays out really late because he saw a actor that looked just like his mom in the movies. Maya's family goes to the annual revival. -
Ch 19-21
People crowd in Mamma's store to listen to the heavy weight boxing chamionship game. A black boxer wins.Tommy valdon asks maya to be his valentine. Maya rips up the note. Bailey starts to play sexual games, after six month Bailey loses his verginity to Joyce. Later she randomly dissapears to marry some railroad porter. -
Ch 22-23
On a stormy night a man named George taylor comes into the store and starts talking about how the night before the ghost of his wife came and told her that she wants to have children with him. This really creeped Maya out she was so scared that it was extremely hard for her to leave the fire side and she came back horrified. Mya graduates form either grade soon after. The black kids are put down by a white speaker, then Henry Reed saves the day and brings everyone spirits back up. -
Ch 24-26
Maya gets 2 cavities and the dentist in town says that he would rather put his hands in a dogs mouth than a "niggers". So Momma takes Maya to the doctor in texarkana 25 miles away. Bailey was forces to help put a dead black mans body into a truck. The kids go to live in Los Angelos for a while then move to San Francisco. -
Ch 27-29
Maya, Bailey, Willie, and Momma live in San Francisco now and Maya goes to school for a year then gets a scholarship and takes up the offer and becomes a dancer. They tell a story about all the people in the housing and then they tell a story of a criminal. -
Ch 30-32
Maya's father, Bailey invites Maya to come to California with him and Mrs. Delores and Maya goes up there, while there Maya goes with Bailey to mexico and she parties and then her dad gets too drunk and she has to drink him home. She drinks him home and gets into an accident. Then once Maya gets to baileys house her and Mrs. Delores and get into a fight and she harms Maya. After that Maya spends a night in a car in a junkyard. -
Ch. 33-36
Maya thinks she has changed alot since she got out of school. Bailey dates a prostitue. Maya takes a semester off from school and work. she tries to find a job and she finds once. then she returns to school. She gets introduced to lesbianism and she gets pregnant and has a child. then the book ends