Sheila makes a comment that angers Tish: "If he'd done his reading and studying when he should have, he wouldn't be in there" (63). Tish feels her family's support and love in this moment. Mr. Hayward is also condescending towards Mrs. Rogers and it is evident he looks down on her. Because Mr. Hayward holds all the power in this interaction, they are careful about saying what they need. After this, Tish and Fonny arrive at Fonny's apartment. . Because of this, what Tish tells Mr. Hayward and what Baldwin relates to the reader have a similar purpose: they are meant to ignite listeners to action through their empathy with those that suffer. The family then decides that it is probably best to ask the Hunts over that night and break the news to them as a family. When the men emerge from their private conversation, Joseph says that he approves of the wedding. Tish reveals that she recognizes Daniel "by the light in Fonny's eyes" (99). However, Tish and Hayward find a point of connection right before she leaves his office. For Tish, they are the "very nicest people she had met in all New York" because "they cared" (57). You’ll be living in a world where roses hardly ever grow We're going to have a baby" (67). She suggests that her Christianity has "softened [her] brain" (69). I won't be trouble no more Joseph tells Frank that they can't descend into despair or start blaming themselves for where Fonny is now. Baldwin describes this intellectual change as also causing a physical change in Ernestine: "her face began to change. He refers to her as a "distraught, ignorant, Puerto Rican woman" whose actions, therefore, cannot be logically understood. It became bonier and more private, much more beautiful. Mr. Hayward informs Sharon and Tish that the case has been complicated by the fact that Mrs. Rogers has refused to change her testimony and now, she has disappeared. He responds to his wife that she has spent too much time thinking about religion when she "should have been with [her] son" (66). This shift in tone underscores the institutional powers that Tish and her family are fighting against. After everyone has a glass of brandy, Sharon gives everyone the news and tells them to drink. He also subverts the dominant narrative of the male being "provider" in the same passage. Daniel says that Fonny got lucky to have her and asks for another beer. I was walking through streets I had never seen before. Frank's mistrust of the lawyers shows a complete mistrust of and disdain for the system that holds African Americans down. . Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Fonny agrees and says that no one has ever been with him like that before. She tells Joseph to open the bottle, and even though he and Ernestine are confused, Joseph complies. First, they underscore the difficulty that the Rivers family, Frank, and Fonny are facing with the trial. starts and ends within the same node. "Troubled About My Soul," Part 3 Summary and Analysis, "Trouble About My Soul," Part 1 Summary and Analysis. She sits down on a footstool and leans against her father's knee. He tells Daniel that in the Lower East Side, there are many viable options: "They got lofts standing empty all over the East Side, man, and don't nobody want to rent them, except freaks like me. He keeps a smile on his face as he delivers the bad news and lights a cigar. Maybe not—but if she can, we're ahead" (121). The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. He asks her to smile for him, so that he can tell Fonny that she is alright and not have to lie to him: "I smiled, and he smiled, and something really human happened between us, for the first time" (97). During this conversation, Joseph recognizes that he is lucky for only having daughters: "If he had sons, they might very well be dead, or in jail" (123). She realizes that everyone's first thought upon hearing the news is, But Fonny's in jail! In this way, Fonny's case is just buying time. Even though Ernestine used to believe Joseph loved Tish more, she has come into herself in recent years and now has much more confidence. Ernestine's interjection causes Tish to think about her sister's relationship with Joseph, and how it is different from her own relationship with her father.