42 pages • 1-hour read
The Saturdays
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Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “Saturday 3”
Rush excitedly tells the plumber, Willy, all about the German opera Siegfried he is going to go see. Willy is rather unimpressed, as he has seen one Italian opera and did not like it, but nothing dampens Rush’s enthusiasm. Rush excitedly walks to the Opera house and buys a ticket for a dollar and fifty cents. He sits in a high seat, excitedly taking in the grand surroundings, dressed-up audience and musicians. When the opera begins, Rush is immediately entranced with the otherworldly costumes, characters and music.
After the show, Rush is delighted to find that a blizzard has started, and takes the long way home to enjoy the snow and his time alone. Even though his feet are wet, Rush stops to watch a snow machine suck up snow and deposit it into a truck. While an older man says he hates machines and how the world is changing, Rush admits that he likes them and wants to design them someday. Feeling cold, Rush resumes walking home. On the way, he comes across a stray dog running through the streets. Worried about the dog, Rush chases him down an alley and corners him. He pets the dog for a bit and reassures it that he will take care of it.
When Rush gets home with the dog, he sneaks it into the house’s furnace room to bathe it; however, the scared dog escapes the bathtub and runs up the stairs. Cuffy is shocked, and scared that the dog is rabid, but Rush assures her and his father that it is a very friendly and smart dog. The two agree that if Rush takes care of the dog, and no one else claims him, they might be able to keep him. Rush is overjoyed at this news and thanks them both. That night Rush adoringly watches the dog sleep on an old quilt beside his bed. He tells Randy that he wants to name him Isaac after their club.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Saturday 4”
The next Saturday morning, Randy and Oliver plan to play “drugstore” in their bathroom while Rush practices his piano. Isaac the puppy has now settled into the house and is part of the family. The kids wonder what Mona will do with her day, but she is strangely quiet about her plans, since she has still not made up her mind. Even without a goal in mind, Mona is happy to walk out on her own with the kids’ allowance.
Mona catches a bus to Broadway and revels in the bustle of the beautiful street, watching people shop and visit cafes. She is entranced by a beautiful hair salon and nervously decides to pay for a dramatic haircut. Though she thinks her father would disapprove, she asks the hairdresser to cut off her long braids and give her a bob. Mona sits anxiously, watching her hair come off and chatting with the salon assistant, Miss Pearl.
Miss Pearl recalls how her first big haircut was done by her brother after they ran away from home to escape their cruel stepmother. Mona listens with interest to Miss Pearl’s dramatic story about how she and her brother sold their belongings to run away to New York City and begin new lives. Mona admires Miss Pearl’s bravery and admits that the most adventurous thing she has ever done was spontaneously go for a haircut. While Mr. Edward cuts her hair, Miss Pearl gives Mona a manicure until her hair is all ready. Mona is amazed at the beauty of her perfectly curled bob, and hopes her father isn’t angry about the big change. She pays the salon a dollar fifty, knowing she’ll have to walk home as she doesn’t have enough money for the bus.
When Mona gets home, her family doesn’t like her new hair, telling her she looks too grown-up. Her red nail polish is even more controversial, and her father scolds her for being “vain” and “silly” while Cuffy promises to remove it (97). Mona runs to her room crying. Cuffy visits her and tries to put her problem in perspective, saying it was a small mistake. Mona helps Cuffy get the red nail polish off, and her father tells her that he could get used to her hair. Feeling better, Mona lies in bed and recites some Shakespeare to herself before falling asleep.
Chapters 3-4 Analysis
In these passages the author uses a buoyant, joyful tone to capture the children’s excitement at experiencing city life on their own. When Rush enters the theater and finds his seat, he is thrilled by his surroundings. The author writes, “it was all just as he had hoped it would be: plenty of gold, and red plush, and chandeliers, and splendor” (54). Rush’s vivid imagination is captured in the author’s description of how he is immersed in the opera and its storytelling:
The world faded away and was replaced by a strange legendary land of gods and goddesses and heroic adventure. The curtains parted and revealed a huge cave where a small bearded dwarf was working at an anvil. He looked exactly right, all bent double with age, and full of sly wickedness (55).
Rush’s choices plunge him into the world of imagination, one populated by the same kinds of archetypal characters he has seen in storybooks. Mona, too, is excited by the novelty of having time and money all to herself. The author gives the reader a window into her inner world, writing, “Mona couldn’t remember when the air had ever seemed so delicious before. She felt like running, or soaring in great bounding leaps, or shouting noisily” (74). Mona’s joy at the simple pleasure of exploring the city on her own shows her longing for more independence and her readiness to be more grown up.
The children’s excitement to be out on their own highlights the story’s theme of The Benefits of Independence in Childhood. Because they choose and pay for their own activities, both Mona and Rush more fully appreciate their experiences. They also learn some lessons about how to take care of themselves. For instance, Rush regrets lingering in the snow with wet feet just to watch the snowplow. The author writes, “He began to wish he hadn’t lingered so long; his teeth were chattering in his head; but just as he was about to break into a run he saw something that made him stop” (61). The thing that makes him stop is the stray dog he then adopts, who later saves all the children’s lives, evidence that even irresponsible choices can lead to Finding the Unexpected in the Everyday. Rush’s curiosity exposes him to mild danger, testing his resourcefulness, but it also brings unexpected good fortune. Meanwhile, Mona learns the drawbacks of overspending, as she has a long walk home after spending all her money at the salon, leaving nothing for her bus fare. Both children test the limits of their freedom by doing things their father would disapprove of; Rush brings home a dirty, stray dog, and Mona gets a haircut and manicure. Rush is forgiven and allowed to keep his new dog, while Mona is harshly scolded for her “vain” makeover. The very different outcomes of their independent decision-making suggest the unequal treatment of boys and girls in this era.
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