37 pages • 1 hour read
Jacqueline WoodsonIf You Come Softly
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 24-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 24 Summary
It is a snowy winter, and Ellie is at Jeremiah’s funeral, following Nelia’s invitation. Surrounded by Black, brown, and golden faces, she notes that many of them look like Jeremiah. While Jeremiah’s dad speaks about his son, Ellie looks at the pictures of Jeremiah that surround her. She spots a small photo of the two of them, taken by another student at Percy as they sat on the steps outside the school. While Marion sits beside her and offers a tissue, Ellie lets the tears fall. When Nelia sings a song about a sparrow “watching over Miah,” Ellie sees that bird “for the quickest moment” coming softly toward her (176).
Chapter 25 Summary
This chapter consists of just two verses of Audre Lorde’s poem, “If You Come Softly”:
And if you come I will be silent
Nor speak harsh words to you.
I will not ask you why, now.
Or how, or what you do.
We shall sit here, softly
Beneath two different years
And the rich earth between us
Shall drink our tears (177).
Chapter 26 Summary
Time has gone on, and Ellie is now almost 18 years old. Her time at Percy is coming to an end; she’ll have graduation and prom, and college is on the horizon. Ellie thinks about the plaque in Percy that holds Jeremiah’s memory and the picture in her yearbook of the two of them. When she thinks about how she will see her family and then go out to California for the summer, she wonders if she and Anne will one day talk about that phone call between them years ago. Later today, she plans on going to see Nelia at her home, where they’ll read from Nelia’s latest book and remember Jeremiah together. Ellie thinks that this is how time moves past us as our memories fade. And yet, Ellie can still hold the memory of Jeremiah and that day going home to tell her parents about a boy she met.
Chapters 24-26 Analysis
These final chapters conclude the book by depicting how time moves on after Jeremiah’s death, while still maintaining his memory in the minds of those who loved him. Beginning with Jeremiah’s funeral, the story demonstrates how the loss of Jeremiah impacts not just Ellie and his family, but his entire community and the world beyond. Though the world continues to exist without Jeremiah, his death gathers these people to mourn and remember him, a boy who was tragically killed because of the way the world perceived the color of his skin. His memory finally brings together his world and Ellie’s world, as Nelia sings and Marion offers Ellie tissues from the seat next to her. The inclusion of these two additional verses of Audre Lorde’s poem underscores how love can gently and inexplicably bridge a divide.
When time jumps forward, the book illustrates how, though it passes and fades, Jeremiah’s memory continues on and brings people together beyond any boundaries of difference. Ellie imagines one day reconciling with Anne and explains how she and Nelia continue to come together to share their memories of Jeremiah. Ellie can simultaneously hold the memory of her love with Jeremiah and celebrate his life, while also understanding that time will move on whether or not she is ready for it to do so. The book’s conclusion shows the impact of relationships and love on difference and brings to life the power of memory over the passing of time.
Additionally, we see that Woodson’s decision to have both a white and a Black protagonist is meant to bridge a divide for the reader. Both white and Black people can empathize with the plights of either character, and Woodson offers the perspective of both a white and a Black character to encourage her readers to do so. She suggests that racist violence affects people of all colors, and people of all colors should address the issue.
Related Titles
By Jacqueline Woodson
