# Not Without Laughter — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes.

- [Storm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/i-storm.md): A cyclone strikes Stanton, terrifying Aunt Hager and Sandy. They take shelter in their home as the storm tears off their porch. Sandy worries about his mother Annjee, who is late returning from work. After the storm, the
- [Conversation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/ii-conversation.md): Sandy wakes up and plays with Buster and Willie-Mae. A letter arrives from Jimboy, causing excitement. Aunt Hager and Sister Whiteside share a meal and discuss family matters, including Harriett's future and Tempy's soci
- [Jimboy's Letter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/iii-jimboy-s-letter.md): Annjee receives a letter from Jimboy, who is returning home after injuring his back working on a railroad section gang. She reflects on their marriage, his restless nature, and her own desire to travel. Aunt Hager disapp
- [Thursday Afternoon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/iv-thursday-afternoon.md): Aunt Hager does the Reinharts' washing while Sandy and Jimmy Lane fetch the laundry. Harriett returns home from the country club, leading to a heated argument with Hager about her behavior, her defiance of church and res
- [Guitar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/v-guitar.md): In this chapter, Jimboy returns to Stanton and spends the evening playing guitar and singing with Harriett in the yard, while Annjee, his wife, feels neglected and jealous. The family and neighbors gather to listen to a 
- [Work](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/vi-work.md): Sandy is torn between his desire to go fishing with his father Jimboy and his duty to help his mother Annjee with her work at Mrs. Rice's house. After a morning of fishing, Sandy joins Annjee at her job, where he witness
- [VII: White Folks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/vii-white-folks.md): The chapter centers on a porch-side conversation among Aunt Hager, Jimboy, Annjee, Harriett, and Sister Johnson, exploring racial tensions and differing views on white people, religion, and survival. Harriett recounts pa
- [Dance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/viii-dance.md): While Annjee and Jimboy are away visiting Cousin Jessie, Aunt Hager is left to care for Sandy and Harriett. After a tense evening where Harriett is forbidden to go out due to a previous transgression, Aunt Hager is calle
- [Carnival](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/ix-carnival.md): In Stanton, a revival and a carnival run simultaneously, dividing the community along generational and moral lines. Aunt Hager, Annjee, and Sandy attend the revival, while Jimboy, Harriett, and Maudel go to the carnival.
- [X: Punishment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/x-punishment.md): Sandy's childhood summer is marked by a series of small adventures and a significant moral lesson. After lying about spending his Sunday School nickel on candy, he faces the stern disappointment of his father Jimboy, who
- [XI: School](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xi-school.md): Sandy starts the new school term in the fifth grade, where he is one of only three Black children in a white classroom. The teacher segregates them to the back seats, which deeply hurts Sandy. He excels in a spelling bee
- [XII: Hard Winter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xii-hard-winter.md): As winter sets in, Annjee anxiously awaits word from Jimboy while Harriett remains silent. Annjee falls ill with grippe, and Aunt Hager takes on extra washing to support the household. Sandy hopes for a Golden Flyer sled
- [XIII: Christmas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xiii-christmas.md): Sandy experiences a sparse Christmas due to poverty and illness. Annjee is recovering from the grippe, and the family struggles to afford basic necessities. Despite the lack of money, Annjee secretly arranges for a homem
- [Return](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xiv-return.md): After Christmas, Sandy and his family endure a cold winter. Annjee returns to work at Mrs. Rice's, while Sandy advances to the fifth A at school. Harriett unexpectedly returns home, having left her job in Memphis, but sh
- [One by One](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xv-one-by-one.md): Annjee decides to leave Sandy with Aunt Hager and move to Detroit to join Jimboy, prompting Hager to reflect on her children leaving her one by one. Sandy grapples with questions about race, identity, and the future whil
- [Nothing but Love](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xvi-nothing-but-love.md): Aunt Hager reflects on the past year, noting the storm that destroyed her porch and the departure of Harriett and Annjee. She shares stories of slavery, the Civil War, and her deep bond with Miss Jeanne, emphasizing a ph
- [Barbershop](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xvii-barbershop.md): Sandy starts working at Pete Scott's barbershop on Saturdays, where he is exposed to a man's world of loud talk, jokes, and debates on race, politics, and women. He learns to navigate teasing about his sandy hair and beg
- [Children's Day](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xviii-children-s-day.md): Sandy saves money from his barbershop job to buy a suit and cap for Easter, and he continues to live with Aunt Hager, attending school and Sunday School. A new amusement park opens in Stanton and announces a free Childre
- [XIX: Ten Dollars and Costs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xix-ten-dollars-and-costs.md): Sandy takes a job at the Drummer's Hotel, leaving Pete Scott's barbershop, despite Aunt Hager's reservations about hotel work. Later, he discovers that his aunt Harriett has been arrested for streetwalking, which devasta
- [XX: Hey, Boy!](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xx-hey-boy.md): Sandy works evenings at the Drummer's Hotel, cleaning spittoons and shining shoes. He encounters a drunken white Southerner who demands he dance, leading to a tense confrontation. Sandy refuses, is grabbed, but breaks fr
- [Note to Harriett](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxi-note-to-harriett.md): Sandy delivers a note to Harriett in the Bottoms, a morally ambiguous neighborhood, and later learns that Aunt Hager is gravely ill. He sends a telegram to his mother Annjee and feels increasingly alone as Hager's condit
- [Beyond the Jordan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxii-beyond-the-jordan.md): Aunt Hager dies peacefully at home, surrounded by family. Her funeral is a large community event with lodge members, flowers, and hymns. After the burial, Tempy receives a long-delayed letter from Annjee, who has moved t
- [Tempy's House](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxiii-tempy-s-house.md): After Aunt Hager's death, Sandy moves in with his aunt Tempy and her husband Mr. Siles. Tempy is deeply concerned with respectability and social status, distancing herself from her family's humble roots and the 'Bottoms'
- [A Shelf of Books](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxiv-a-shelf-of-books.md): Sandy, now living with Tempy, is quarantined with mumps and begins reading from Tempy's book collection, including works by Du Bois and Washington. He gets a job at Mr. Prentiss's shop, where his reading expands under th
- [Pool Hall](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxv-pool-hall.md): Sandy finds refuge from Tempy's strict plans at Cudge Windsor's pool hall, the only evening gathering place for Black youths in Stanton. The chapter depicts the vibrant, laughter-filled atmosphere of the pool hall, where
- [XXVI: The Doors of Life](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxvi-the-doors-of-life.md): During Sandy's second year of high school, Tempy is deeply involved in war efforts, believing that the war will improve race relations. A letter from Annjee in Chicago reveals Jimboy has been sent to France and she is wo
- [XXVII: Beware of Women](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxvii-beware-of-women.md): Sandy grapples with his feelings for Pansetta Young after his aunt Tempy advises him to stop seeing her. He stops walking her home, and she begins spending time with other boys, including Jimmy Lane. Sandy regrets his de
- [Chicago](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxviii-chicago.md): Sandy leaves Stanton and travels to Chicago to reunite with his mother Annjee after five years. He arrives with high expectations but finds the city's industrial landscape disappointing. Annjee has arranged a job for him
- [Elevator](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxix-elevator.md): Sandy begins working as an elevator boy in a Chicago hotel, enduring the oppressive summer heat and the monotony of his job. He struggles with the desire to return to school versus the pressure to support his mother, Ann
- [Princess of the Blues](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/not_without_laughter_se/chapters/xxx-princess-of-the-blues.md): Sandy and Annjee attend Harriett's vaudeville performance at the Monogram Theatre in Chicago, where she performs as 'The Princess of the Blues.' After the show, they reunite backstage and later share a meal at a Chinese 

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