The Serpent King

After Lydia comes back home, she finds her dad watching TV, and he tells her he likes her friends. He tries to explain to Lydia that growing up in Forrestville was not as bad as she feels, and that many of her ideas were born because she grew up there. He also warns her, “You’re being very haughty and unkind about their lives. People live quiet lives and that’s okay.” (117). He tells her Travis’s dad is abusive. 

Lydia receives a handwritten note from Vivian Winter, confirming she will write her a recommendation letter. 

Travis, Dill, and Lydia are at Riverbank Books, a bookstore owned by Mr. Burson, buying a birthday present for Dill’s mom. Mr. Burson is especially fond of Travis because they like the same books. They choose a book with a Christian theme, as that is all Dill’s mom will read. 

After making their purchase, they go to Bertram Park to watch the trains. As the train passes by, Dill remembers a moment when he was 13 and playing guitar in front of his father’s church, in the praise band. The congregation is “caught up in the Holy Spirit” (129), speaking in tongues and drinking strychnine.