75 pages • 2-hour read
Money Hungry
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Chapters 21-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary
Raspberry blames Ja’nae for the loss of her money, and when she runs into Ja’nae and Ming outside of school, she demands that Ja’nae give her the money she made at Ms. Baker’s boardinghouse. When Raspberry sees that Ming is wearing the leather jacket that she assumes Ja’nae bought for him, she tells Ja’nae to either pay her what she owes or pawn Ming’s jacket. Ja’nae explains that she didn’t buy the jacket for Ming; it belonged to her cousin who died of an asthma attack. Unmoved, Raspberry demands her money again as Ja’nae and Ming walk away. Just as Raspberry thinks that they’ve gone, Ja’nae runs back to her and throws some cash at her. She tells Raspberry that the money was for her mother, not Ming, and calls Raspberry a “cheap greedy thing” (125). Raspberry at once gathers the money and counts $35, ignoring that Ja’nae is upset.
When Raspberry sees Mai later on, Mai echoes Ja’nae’s comment that Raspberry is “just so greedy” (126). While Raspberry maintains that she needs the money because “what’s mine is mine” (126), her underlying anxieties are revealed when Sato walks by and suggests there are rumors that Raspberry and Momma are being evicted. She knows that she’s lost a significant sum after Momma threw her money out the window and feels increasingly desperate and unsure now that her hidden stash is depleted.
Chapter 22 Summary
Raspberry decides that she will ignore her other problems and solely focus on refilling the money drawer to keep her and Momma off the streets. On her way back home, Raspberry sees Odd Job, who runs a neighborhood car wash. Raspberry observes the speed with which Odd Job performs his tasks and is especially impressed with the wad of money he carries. Odd Job notices Raspberry and offers her some money to work for a few hours.
Raspberry arrives home after curfew, already determined to double the money she made working for Odd Job by selling pencils at school the next day. Shoe and Check’s grandmother scolds Raspberry in the hallway, telling her that Momma is worried about her and calling her “selfish selfish selfish” (132).
Chapter 23 Summary
Raspberry walks home, exhausted, the next evening after another shift with Odd Job. She counts $30 including what she made from selling the pencils at school. When she arrives at her apartment building, she notices that the door to their apartment is unlocked and hanging wide open and it is pitch-black inside.
Raspberry sees that she and Momma have been robbed: Their couch, microwave, and television are gone. Raspberry runs out of the apartment and upstairs to the neighbor to call the police. When Momma arrives and they survey the damage together, Raspberry sees that the very last of her money stash is gone.
This latest trial proves to be too much for Momma; she breaks down crying and admits that she is “sick and tired” (135). She begins gathering up what little food they have stored in cabinets and instructs Raspberry to start packing “just a few things. Only what we need” (135). Raspberry realizes that Momma is suggesting they return to the streets. The fear and stress of this realization cause Raspberry to wet her pants.
As Momma helps Raspberry clean up, Momma explains that they can’t burden someone by asking to stay with them for a while. Raspberry asks if they can stay in a hotel, and Momma again refuses, claiming that she can take care of them and that they have to save money. Momma’s refusal to listen infuriates Raspberry. She screams at Momma, blaming her for their past and current struggles.
Without anywhere else to go, Momma and Raspberry break into the house in Pecan Landings. Raspberry notes the difference between the quiet of this neighborhood and the one they just left. As she falls asleep, Raspberry dreams again that she is back on the street.
Chapters 21-23 Analysis
Raspberry is increasingly driven by her monetary anxiety, especially now that her cash reserves are nearly gone. Raspberry resolves: “I’m gonna forget everything but filling up my money drawer again, and keeping Momma and me off the street” (128). Her actions in these chapters reflect this resolve and put her relationships with others further in jeopardy. Raspberry barely notices how upset Ja’nae is after she demands the money from her at school. She arrives home, after curfew, from working with Odd Job but doesn’t consider the kind of stress her lateness would put on Momma. Raspberry is called “selfish” repeatedly during these chapters: Ja’nae, Mai, and Check’s grandmother all call her selfish or greedy in different scenes.
In a moment of dramatic irony, this renewed commitment to a single-minded focus on money to keep her and Momma off the streets is broken by the robbery. The robbery is the climactic event of the text and sets into motion necessary character growth and plot development. The robbery shows how difficult it is to break the cycle of poverty and validates Raspberry’s concerns that the slightest setback can land one back on the streets. Faced with this latest trial, Momma breaks down, and she and Raspberry are forced to reckon with all that has gone unsaid in their relationship. Raspberry unleashes her resentment and accuses Momma of being unable to take care of her. She says she would rather go into foster care than on the streets and that: “I’m not gonna be like you when I grow up. I’m gonna have money. I’m gonna take care of my children. I’m gonna keep them safe” (140). Though Raspberry knows that some of her accusations are untrue and undoubtedly hurtful, there is validity in her questioning Momma’s immediate reaction to take them back to the streets rather than ask for help.
Despite Raspberry’s rant, Momma doesn’t retaliate and instead helps Raspberry clean up, repeating that “everything is going to be okay” (140). She innovates and provides what she can, even if doing so does put them in a precarious position, such as when she breaks into the house in Pecan Landings so they can stay the night.
Raspberry’s accusations belie her resentment at Momma’s constant pursuit of opportunities to improve their lives, which ultimately only serve to diminish the time they spend together. Though Momma has not made perfect decisions, she has done everything in her control to make a better life for them. Raspberry’s frustration comes down to her desire for a life that does not depend so much on anxiety about money, as shown by her reoccurring dream at the end of Chapter 23. In the dream she is back on the streets again, forced to “push the cart. All night long, I push the cart” (141). The monotony and repetition of pushing the cart full of money represent Raspberry’s weariness at having to constantly worry about money. As much as she claims to love money, this scene and this repetitive dream suggest that she seeks a life in which money is no longer the driving concern.
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