34 pages • 1 hour read
Doris Buchanan SmithA Taste of Blackberries
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1973A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaChapters 7-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary
The community has stepped up to help take care of Jamie’s family, and cars are lined up outside the house. The narrator’s mother is helping with the kids while Jamie’s parents prepare for the funeral. When Martha is over, she tells the narrator that Jamie is dead, “[l]ike that baby bird you and Jamie found and tried to feed but he died anyway” (65). She says that Jamie is in heaven now, with the angels. When it’s time for Martha to go home, the narrator declines his mother’s offer to go back with her. He doesn’t know what to say to Jamie’s parents and doesn’t want to be around all the crying visitors.
On the way to the funeral, the narrator thinks back to what Martha said about Jamie being in heaven. He thinks, “It didn’t seem possible for heaven to be so wonderful that you weren’t even lonesome for the people and things you knew before” (69). He starts to numb himself to everything, willing himself not to cry. He wants to be strong for his friends like Heather, who might need his comfort. He distracts himself by focusing on the beautiful flowers in the funeral parlor chapel. Finally, when the pastor starts to read from the Bible, the narrator tunes out his words. He doesn’t want to think about God when he doesn’t understand why Jamie had to die.
Chapter 8 Summary
Once the funeral is over, the narrator feels free to eat again. He thinks, “If a miracle could have brought Jamie back, it would have been done already” (76). He tries to eat slowly, but everything tastes so delicious, and he’s so hungry that he eats ravenously. His parents are relieved to see their son eating again, and they hope this is the beginning of the healing process. That night, the narrator goes to sleep easily, finally full, and more at peace.
The next morning, the narrator has an idea: The blackberries he went to pick the other day are probably ripe by now. He grabs two baskets, one for himself and one for Jamie’s mom, and leaves for the blackberry patch. When his baskets are both full, he returns to Jamie’s house. Martha answers and calls her mom to come to the door. He can tell she has been crying, but she says she’s glad to see him.
The narrator has so many things he wants to say to her, but all that comes out is “Jamie and I were going to pick blackberries” (84). Jamie’s mom is touched and tells him to “be sure to come slam the door for [her] every now and then” (84). With those simple words, the narrator knows that Jamie’s mom understands all that has gone unsaid between them. He promises to come every day. He leaves Jamie’s house relieved that the pain of Jamie’s death is slowly but surely starting to heal.
Chapters 7-8 Analysis
The final two chapters of A Taste of Blackberries end on a more positive note for young readers. Chapter 7 is perhaps the peak of the grief surrounding Jamie’s death. However, even at the height of this sadness, the importance of community and relationships shines through. The narrator remarks, “Ever since it happened, there had been cars parked all up and down the front of Jamie’s house” (65). His mom is constantly bringing food over and helping take care of Jamie’s little sister and baby brother. When the narrator gets to the funeral, he wants to be strong for his and Jamie’s friend, Heather. Finally, the narrator longs to tell Jamie’s mom, “I could be her substitute son. I would help take care of Martha and run errands for her like Jamie did” (66). Eventually, he finds his own way to say this by delivering a basket of blackberries to her. All of this supports the overarching theme of The Impact of a Death on a Community and shows how the community’s response is to come together to help during a tragedy.
Throughout the book, both mothers scold the boys for always slamming the doors behind them. This is a point of contention between the kids and the parents that eventually becomes symbolic of what has been lost. When Jamie’s mom tells him to come slam the door every now and then, it’s her way of saying she misses the days when the boys would play together and that the narrator is still welcome to be a part of the family’s lives, even if Jamie isn’t part of it. While the narrator first feared that his presence might make Jamie’s mom sad, he knows now that it’s actually a way to keep Jamie’s memory alive.
At the funeral, the narrator tries various methods to numb himself against the pain he’s feeling. Throughout the book, he tries to shove away his parents and any affection, not realizing that he needs it. Earlier in the book, he does this when he pretends to be asleep even though he actually craves his mother’s comfort. On the way to the cemetery, he regrets sitting in the back of the car instead of between his parents in the front. In an attempt to make some sort of connection, he climbs over the seat and lands in the front. Typically, he’d be scolded for this behavior, but his parents don’t say a word. Instead, his “mother put[s] her arm around [him] from one side and [his] father from the other. It [feels] good” (74). These instances are important in illustrating for young readers that it’s okay to ask for comfort from their parents in times of grief.
The symbol of blackberries comes to fruition in these last two chapters. After starting to reach the stage of acceptance in processing his grief over Jamie’s death, the narrator gets a hunch that the blackberries will be ripe by now. Sure enough, “[o]nly a few [are] still all red, and none [are] green. [He’ll] have to come back every day, now, to catch them as they [ripen]” (79-80). This is symbolic of the grieving process and how every day, he’ll be a little closer to enjoying certain things in life again. It won’t happen all at once, but over time, he’ll start to live life to the fullest again, with Jamie always close in his heart.
