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 wakes up and immediately notices the horses on the wall again. He also realizes that his shirt is off and that he is under the sheets with his pants off. Bud is sure he undressed himself, which explains why he was “sleeping so hard.” He realizes that rich people must sleep with two sheets because it puts them out like a baby.
Bud wakes up and takes in his surroundings in case anything has changed while he slept. In a moment that harkens back to Bud waking up without his “knickers” after being tucked in at Mrs. Sleet’s house, Bud realizes his clothes are off and is too embarrassed to accept that someone may have undressed him and tucked him in, so he convinces himself that it was his own doing. Bud is accustomed to being in control and manipulating the adults around him, so to be treated as a young child—being helped out of his day clothes and tucked into bed—makes Bud feel vulnerable and embarrassed.
Themes
Bud sees clothes folded, and it reminds him of his mother. He eyes get “stingey” when he thinks of her and the notes she would leave with his folded clothes, but he blinks the tears away. Eventually Bud realizes it was Miss Thomas who did everything, including the undressing.
Bud’s mother is the last thing he thinks about when he goes to sleep and one of the first things he thinks about when he wakes up, suggesting that something about this place makes him feel particularly close to her. Meanwhile, Miss Thomas is taking on an increasingly motherly role for Bud, undressing him for bed and tucking him in under the sheets as if he were her own child.
Themes
Bud is on his way to the kitchen when he hears Miss Thomas and Herman arguing about him. Miss Thomas accuses Herman of having “no sympathy” and insists that they are going to stick to their original plan for “that boy.” Herman vows to get Bud’s real story from Flint, while Miss Thomas insists Bud is telling the truth.
Miss Thomas continues to advocate for Bud even behind closed doors, which suggests that she truly is an ally he can count on to take care of him.
Themes
Bud rushes back upstairs after he hears Steady Eddie’s voice hinting at a present for him. He loudly closes the door to alert every one of his presence before using the bathroom, closing that door loudly, and walking downstairs.
Bud always wants to be in control, so he only lets the band know he is awake—loudly—when he is ready for them to know.
Themes
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Bud enters the kitchen and says good morning to everyone. They all respond back, except Herman, who leaves the room shortly after to check on his car, Loudean. Miss Thomas tells Bud he’s slept until noon, and Bud is surprised because he’s never slept for so long before.
Everyone welcomes Bud once he comes into the room—except Herman, who continues to make his distaste of the boy as obvious as possible. Nevertheless, Bud continues to feel comfortable in the home among the other bandmates.
Themes
Miss Thomas tells Bud that lunch will be ready soon, and Steady Eddie invites him to sit down. Miss Thomas eventually jokingly asks him if his ears were burning last night. Bud is confused, but she explains that “they should’ve been burning because [he was] the subject of a very long conversation last night.”
Miss Thomas, comfortable in her new role as Bud’s caretaker, gives Bud information about his next meal. Steady Eddie also makes Bud feel comfortable by creating space for him at the table.
Themes
Miss Thomas tells Bud that she has a proposition for him. She tells him that although they still need to talk to some people in Flint, they would like Bud to stay with them at Grand Calloway Station “for a while,” if Bud agrees. Bud grins back and Miss Thomas takes that as a yes.
Miss Thomas tells Bud that they want Bud to stay with them for an indefinite amount of time, which is music to Bud’s ears. All he’s ever wanted was for a family to want him, and now he has just that, even though the band family is nontraditional. He also seems to be comfortable with having the family be the other band members rather than Herman, suggesting that he’s no longer pinning all his hopes on having a relationship with his “father.”
Themes
Miss Thomas warns Bud, however, that he’s going to have to pull his weight, and that they’re all going to have to be patient with each other. She adds that he’ll especially have to be patient with Herman.
Miss Thomas tells him that in September they’ll have to figure out Bud’s schedule for school. Until then, she tells him that he will accompany them on their travels. She adds at the end that he’s a “godsend” to them. She comes closer to him in a way that reminds him of Momma and emphasizes that he shouldn’t forget what she’s telling him.
Miss Thomas also talks to Bud about the future and school, which shows that she intends for Bud to be in their life for the foreseeable future. She also shows her gratitude for Bud in their lives by calling him a “godsend.” This intimate moment between them reminds Bud of his mother, though in a way that doesn’t make him sad or want to cry. It feels as if he has finally found someone to make the hurt of her absence more bearable.
Themes
Steady Eddie then asks Bud about his suitcase and if he’s attached to the suitcase itself or just the things inside. Bud thinks for a minute and responds that it’s the things “from [his] mother [that] are the most important.”
While Bud has been fiercely protective of his suitcase up until this point, he now decides that it’s not the suitcase itself that matters to him—all that matters is the memory of his mother.
Themes
Steady Eddie then gifts Bud with a new case, similar to the ones the other members carry around. Eddie reveals it’s his old saxophone case for Bud to carry his things in like the other members of the band. Bud is thrilled. The rest of the band comes into the kitchen for coffee, and Bud shows them his new “suitcase” that he’ll be taking around with them.
The saxophone case is not meant to replace the sentimentality of the suitcase, but to mark a new beginning. The sax case will still hold all of Bud’s prized possessions from his past, but it will also symbolize his new place with the band. That way, he will be able to take his old life with him as he settles into his new life, home, and family.
Themes
Steady Eddie tells Bud that to be in the band, he’ll have to practice for “two hours a day,” and he reaches out and gifts Bud a wooden flute. Eddie tells him it’s his until he’s ready to move on to something more “complicated.”
Steady Eddie also gives Bud a new flute, cementing his new place within the band and within the family. With the flute, it truly becomes official: Bud is where he belongs.
Themes
The Thug steps in and says it’s time to give Bud a name. Miss Thomas excuses herself from the naming ceremony. On her way out, she hopes the “naming” process is better for Bud than it was for the rest of the band. Bud hands Steady Eddie his recorder and stands up. Steady Eddie then asks Jimmy to proceed with the naming, and Jimmy opens the floor to the band members to name Bud.
The naming ceremony is an opportunity for everyone to participate in Bud’s induction into the band and the family. This way everyone feels like they have a stake in Bud’s membership in their group. It also is a special moment for Bud who has never had this much fanfare from this many people.
Themes
Steady Eddie suggests “Sleepy,” but it doesn’t quite fit, so Doo-Doo Bug suggests “Bone.” Eventually The Thug adds “La” to “Bone” to make it sound classier. Steady Eddie eventually finds a compromise by naming Bud “Sleepy LaBone,” which according to Bud is the best name he’s “ever heard in [his] life.”
Throughout his life, Bud has been protective of his name—“Bud, not Buddy”—and has considered it central to his identity and even bound up in his memories of his mother. But with a new life and family comes a new name, and Bud is thrilled to have this as a sign of a new beginning.
Themes
Jimmy tries the name out and the other band members are in favor of it. Jimmy then asks Bud to get down on one knee, taps him on the head three times with his recorder, and christens him with his new name. Bud is excited and can’t wait to “live up to” the name.
The other members of the band are equally thrilled about the name, an even bigger sign for Bud that he truly has found his people. He takes his new place within the home seriously and is thus anxious to prove that he is worthy of his new name and place within the band family.
Themes
