Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Bud, Not Buddy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Economic Insecurity and Community
Children vs. Adults
Resourcefulness
Family and Home
Race and Racism
Summary
Analysis
Bud sees that the inside of the restaurant resembles a living room with “ten card tables and some folding chairs.” He and the group skip the line to the restaurant and Bud notices that the inside smells like “heaven.”
Bud takes in his surroundings, trying to take all the sights and smells of Sweet Pea in so that he knows what to expect.
Themes
Bud sees Herman and Jimmy sitting at a table with a woman. He sees there’s one more table reserved for “NBC,” which Steady Eddie says stands for “Nobody But Calloway” because it’s too hard to keep up with the band’s frequent name changes.
The phrase “Nobody But Calloway” is fitting because it also speaks to Herman’s character as a whole. His interactions with Bud so far have shown that Herman is used to being in control and calling the shots.
Themes
Jimmy calls Bud over and introduces him to Miss Thomas, the band’s “vocal stylist.” She explains that this means she’s the singer. She sticks her hand out and Bud notices her diamond rings. Then she peers closer and asks Bud about the bites on his cheek, concerned. Bud tells her about the hornet stings from the Amoses locking him up in a shed, and she is horrified.
When Bud meets Miss Thomas, he is taken aback by her glamor, but also by her seemingly genuine concern for him. She is one of those few adults that make Bud feel comfortable from the beginning and get him to open up honestly and openly.
Themes
Next, Bud shows her the bite from the fish heads on his hand and Miss Thomas chastises the men at the table for not noticing the cut is infected. Herman tells Miss Thomas to “talk to James” (Jimmy), because “he’s the one who looked at the kid.”
Miss Thomas continues to show concern for Bud, even noticing what everyone else has failed to.
Themes
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Next, Bud explains the cut under his eye and describes Todd shoving a pencil all the way up his nose. He explains they fought afterwards. He hopes Herman is listening to him as he explains that he “fell down,” during the fight because the “Lord [gave him] the good sense to know when enough is enough.” Bud then tells them more about the Amoses and the shed.
Bud continues telling Miss Thomas about his struggles at the hands of the Amoses because he trusts her with this information, but also because he wants Herman to see that they share some characteristics that prove that they are related. Like his “father,” Bud is a fighter, so he wants Herman to see that.
Themes
Miss Thomas eventually asks about Bud’s “momma,” and Bud tells her Momma died four years ago. When she asks about his daddy, Bud points to Herman. Though Miss Thomas wants to smile, she tells Bud it’s rude to point. So, Bud apologizes to her and then to Herman.
Bud again insists that Herman is his father, even though no one seems to believe him. Despite this and Herman’s obvious rejections, Bud is still fully convinced that the man is his father.
Themes
Herman gets up and goes to the other table to ask if one of the other band members will switch seats with him. Steady Eddie eventually beats the others and volunteers to sit with Bud because “he’s got the look of a future sax man about him.”
Herman meanwhile finds Bud increasingly intolerable. He changes his seat without another word to Bud or Miss Thomas, desperate to get away from Bud. Steady Eddie, however, does not mind taking his boss’s seat as he genuinely seems to want to get to know Bud more, as a person and perhaps as a future musician.
Themes
Meanwhile, Miss Thomas asks Bud if she can order supper for him. Tyla, the woman who comes to attend to them, jokes that the Herman’s band mates are getting “younger” every day. Eventually she apologizes for “mistaking Bud for a musician.”
Tyla’s joke that Bud is the newest member of the band suggests that Bud fits in well with the group, despite Herman’s attempts to make him feel unwanted.
Themes
Miss Thomas orders meat loaf, okra, mashed potatoes, and apple cider for Bud and orders the same thing for herself. Bud is amazed to see Jimmy and Steady Eddie order different things and thinks about “rich folks” that “[go] to restaurants once a week.”
Bud is exposed to luxuries he didn’t know could exist, watching the band order whatever they want for supper instead of standing in line for hours at the mission for a bowl of oatmeal and a piece of bread like Bud has had to do.
Themes
Miss Thomas tells Bud that Herman can’t be his father and suggests that because Herman is famous, Bud may have misunderstood if his mother said something about Herman reminding her of his true father. Bud disagrees. However, it is hard for him to explain why he thinks Herman is his father out loud, though “Herman E. Calloway being [his] father […] made real good sense” to Bud.
Though Miss Thomas takes a liking to Bud, she tries to convince Bud that he is mistaken about the identity of his father. Bud, however, denies that his mother only suggested that his father was Herman—though, of course, Bud’s mother never told Bud as much either.
Themes
Luckily, Tyla returns to their table with a tray of food, so Miss Thomas reassures Bud that they’ll talk tomorrow. Bud is happy because “tomorrow” means that they won’t “send [him] back to Flint right away.”
Bud is happy that at least he won’t have to return to Flint and the Home immediately, though his future with the band is still tenuous.
Themes
After Bud eats, he believes the meal is the best meal he’s ever had. Afterwards, Tyla brings him dessert that he mistakenly thinks she calls “On the House,” when in reality it’s sweet potato pie.
As an orphan living in the midst of the Great Depression, Bud hasn’t had many, if any, opportunities to eat so indulgently.
Themes
When Bud is done eating, he looks up and thinks that Miss Thomas is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Moreover, her humming reminds Bud of the sensation of feeling a “train coming right through the bottoms of your feet.” Bud begins to understand why the word singer is not enough for Miss Thomas.
Bud finds Miss Thomas incredibly beautiful and captivating, a feeling that is no doubt heightened by the joy he feels from sharing a meal with his new friends.
Themes
At the table, Bud also notices how funny Jimmy is and how his stories of his travels with Herman make everyone at their table and outside their table laugh. He notices it is only Herman’s table that is quiet.
Bud begins to notice how much Jimmy’s humor adds to the ambience of the room and the meal and he feels grateful to have Jimmy by his side.
Themes
Bud also notices how Steady Eddie looks when Tyla comes around, and how he always has a toothpick in his mouth. Steady Eddie even shows him how to play a pretend saxophone.
Bud is studying everyone so much that he even notices how Steady Eddie looks at Tyla, in a way that suggests romantic history. He also notices Eddie’s cool mannerisms and how intent he is that Bud gets familiar with the saxophone. It makes Bud feel like he belongs.
Themes
All at once, Bud makes a discovery about himself. He realizes that out of all the places he’s been, he is finally where he belongs. Bud refuses to let Herman “scare [him] out of this,” and before he knows it, he starts to cry.
All these feelings make Bud feel overwhelmingly grateful for the comradery he has been able to find with the band within such a short time. He knows beyond a doubt that this is where he belongs, even if it’s not the traditional family he’s been dreaming about. It seems like Bud no longer feels like he has to look out for himself as an adult because he trusts that these people can do that for him now. So, he lets himself be a child and cry like a child for the first time in a long time.
Themes
Bud is embarrassed as he notices everyone is looking at him. He feels as if he’s blown his opportunity to make a good first impression. Bud puts his face in his arms and the napkin over his head to hide his tears and shame. Miss Thomas takes him and puts him on her knees, bouncing him there. Bud tries to keep the napkin over his face as she does. She soothes him and starts humming to him. He feels either her lips or her hands whisper to him to “Go ahead and cry,” because “[he’s] home.”
Bud worries about what the band will think of him now that he’s crying. After all, he can no longer pretend to be such a tough, mature, wise boy. However, Miss Thomas puts him on her knees, a gesture that lets him know that it is okay for him to be a child and let his feelings out. She gives him the sense that he belongs with them now, and that they are his new home.
Themes
