Stella by Starlight

“Well, I don’t like writing much, and I’m not so very good at it, so I practice when nobody is around.”

During the nighttime meeting of neighbors Papa calls, Tony Hawkins and Stella sit together outside. When he shares his secret about running the track at night at the white high school, Stella tells him she sits outside nights to write. Tony does not understand why someone would do something so much like schoolwork; here, Stella explains her reasons why. Stella’s choice of words depicts her as both driven and humble.

“And even after all this time, my daddy’s still not allowed to treat white patients […] And Dr. Packard, the white doctor—he won’t even lay a hand on a black patient, even if they’re dyin’!”

As the neighbors meet about the cross-burning, Tony Hawkins compares his father’s medical practice to that of the “white doctor,” Dr. Packard. His words foreshadow Dr. Packard’s refusal to treat Mama’s snakebite later in the story. They also serve as dramatic irony because the reader knows that Stella suspects Dr. Packard of being a Klansman, but Tony does not.

“Stella could not remember when she wasn’t surrounded by newsprint.”

After the neighbors’ nighttime meeting about the KKK, Stella tries to sleep, seeing news articles all around her. Mama uses newsprint to cover the inside walls of their house. The articles both interest and soothe her, and the element of truthfulness in the stories inspires Stella throughout the book.

“Stella pulled her jacket closer, buttoning up her resentment.”

After passing the white children’s school, Stella reflects on all the things Mountain View School has that her school, Riverside, does not: sports teams, academic notability, and a library. Stella walks on with her classmates, trying to keep bitterness in a place that will not affect her day.

“You are the expert on you.”

When Stella struggles to complete her assigned composition, Mrs. Grayson tells her she should write about herself, and topics with which she is knowledgeable. This writer advice comes with the condition that if Stella does not finish her composition, Mrs. Grayson will visit Mama.

“This here Depression is downright depressin’!”

The neighbors enjoy Soon Man’s stories and news from around the region. Here, Spoon Man good-naturedly refers to the current challenging times afflicting everyone when Mama reminds him that it will hard to buy much.

“I sure would like to cast my vote.”

Papa says this in front of Spoon Man and Dr. Hawkins, with Stella listening in. She is surprised to hear him take a strong stand, and notices that the men treat the topic with grim seriousness. Mr. Bates joins the conversation, and both Mr. Bates and Dr. Hawkins discourage Papa.

“‘No son,’ she said. ‘You have never been a chicken. And you have always been meant to fly.’”

Spoon Man tells the story of an eagle chick raised as a chicken who goes on to soar as the eagle he was meant to be. Stella feels inspired by the story and later composes a brief piece on flying. Papa and other neighbors hear the story too.

“There’s an unseen river of communication that forever flows—dark and powerful.”

After the gathering to celebrate Spoon Man’s visit to Bumblebee, Mama reminds Stella that strength and power result when a community comes together for shared communication. Stella compares the power of words in that river to Papa’s newspapers and to books in the library where she cannot visit.

“Telephones! Airplanes! Radios! Who knows what will be invented next? I, for one, am excited to be a part of whatever is comin’ around the corner. […] How many of us are registered to vote? How many are brave enough to try?”

Pastor Patton inspires the congregation with modern advances in science and engineering, then swiftly segues to the topic of voting. He suggests that fear should not stop Bumblebee residents from taking an active role in their future.

“Her thoughts skittered between eagles that learned to fly, and men who were scared to jump off the stump, and Moses who said, ‘Let my people go.’”

Stella’s brain after Pastor Patton broaches the idea of registering to vote is a jumble of ideas. She recalls here Spoon Man’s story about the eagle who finds the courage to pursue and embrace his real place in the world. The allusion to Moses, a prophet in the Bible, calls to mind freedom from the oppression of slavery.

“I need you to be my standing stone, to be my strength this day.”

Papa tells Stella that she must go with him to Spindale and see his act of registering to vote. Keeping Stella near and allowing her to see his actions will keep Papa resolute and brave despite his fear.

“The Grand Dragon is watching.”

After Papa and the others register to vote, the Klan retaliates by setting fire to the Spencer house. Three riding Klansmen harass Stella, and the leader threatens her before they ride off.

“Stella Mills, please stand up! I’m calling your name!”

Pastor Patton inspires the community on a difficult Sunday morning after many of them helped to contain the Spencer fire. He talks of the necessity of stepping up fearlessly when God calls you to service. He calls Stella’s name, and encourages her to stand as an example of fortitude.

“Every single one of them took to the sky and drifted away. And they never came back.”

Mrs. Grayson tells the classroom of schoolchildren the story of Zalika, a young slave girl who escapes the brutality of slavery by flying away. Other slaves were inspired to rise and fly away as well. The story encourages strong beliefs and hope and reminds the children of their shared history.

“Nearly the entire Negro population of Bumblebee stood in the street, quietly waiting while the three men voted.”

On the day that Papa, Mr. Spencer, and Pastor Patton vote, many neighbors abandon work and school to walk along with them to the voting office. The crowd plays a role in the men’s success, because the sheriff steps aside and allows the voting when he looks at the size of the crowd. The crowd waits until the three men vote, then escorts them back to their part of town.

“What kind of man thinks it’s fine and dandy to make a boy bleed?”

Stella reflects in a newspaper article about the incident in which Mr. Smitherman and Johnny Ray attack Tony Hawkins. Their violent treatment toward him was unprovoked and goes without consequences. Stella feels awful because she left Tony to run for help, but now she realizes that it is the men who committed the only offense. 

“Twenty-five dollars! Oh, how Papa could have used that money!”

Stella is envious that her essay was not one chosen for the contest; once she hears about the prize money, she feels even more disappointed. Stella quickly realizes, though, that the prize money would be better used by the Spencers after the fire. 

“Read my sign!”

Stella runs to Dr. Packard seeking his help for Mama’s snakebite. Dr. Packard refuses to leave his office or see Mama. Stella leaves in shock and must report to Papa that nothing worked to convince Dr. Packard to attend. Later, Mrs. Odom brings Dr. Hawkins to Mama and he saves her life.

“Your father is a member of the Ku Klux Klan! I saw him near this very pond, burning a cross.”

Emotions that Stella buttoned up pour out in her conversation with Paulette Packard. She cannot help but tell the truth to Paulette in the moments after Stella saves Paulette from the pond. Ironically, however, Paulette tells Stella that she already knows her father is a Klansman.

“Truth. I think that is the last basic element.”

In one of her articles for STELLA’S STAR SENTINEL, Stella writes that in addition to water, earth, air, and fire, truth is a basic element of the world. She upholds truth now above her bitterness and realizes that all of Bumblebee shares in the common truth that Dr. Packard is hatefully racist. Stella realizes that saying it or writing it will not change the truth.

“Just plain joy.”

After the scare of almost losing Mama to a snakebite, the Mills family enjoys a day of Christmas preparations. Stella bakes cookies, then she, JoJo, and Mama decorate the tree. Mama gratefully observes the scene and surroundings.

“There’s never enough laughter. So let’s thank our children for that.”

Pastor Patton gives closure to the chaotic Christmas pageant at Riverside School. Actors improvised lines and props fell, but the children provided a show that filled the audience members with happiness and appreciation. Pastor Patton’s words echo his sentiment in church the morning after the Spencer fire, when he encouraged his congregation to learn from the community’s children.