Study Guide

hush Chapter 14

By Jacqueline Woodson

Chapter 14

It is Toswiah/Evie's fourteenth birthday, but her coconut cake is from a store and there's nothing written on it.
Mama's new religion doesn't allow them to celebrate birthdays, and Toswiah/Evie misses the birthdays she shared with Lulu.
Daddy comes into her room to wish her happy birthday that morning, and for a moment Toswiah/Evie dreams that nothing has changed.
Then she realizes Daddy smells unwashed and he's losing weight and has stopped going to his therapist. All bad signs.
Toswiah/Evie feels like she and Cameron/Anna are alone in a world that comes apart a little more every day.
Mama tells Daddy he needs to get out of the apartment and get a job, and they get in a fight about it.
In the argument, Daddy reveals that his testimony sent Officers Randall and Dennis to jail. He's devastated by this, but Cameron/Anna and Toswiah/Evie are happy—at least their sacrifice is worth something.
Mama is completely wrapped up in her new religion, but she says she hopes to be able to return to teaching soon.
Cameron/Anna leaves the room and Mama goes out to evangelize passersby, leaving Toswiah/Evie and Daddy alone.
They share a rare moment of connection, but Toswiah/Evie is still worried about Daddy.
Toswiah/Evie remembers a day when she was just Toswiah and her mother was Mrs. Green and she visited her mother's classroom. She remembers what a good teacher her mother was and wants her to have that again.