Buckeye Chapter Five Summary

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

In October 1918, a nine-month-old red-haired girl is left in a basket at the Open Arms Orphanage in Doyle, Ohio. Administrator Lydia Verts names her Margaret Anderson. Lydia raises Margaret through four failed foster placements, including a traumatic year with the abusive Selby family. After each return to Open Arms, Margaret grows closer to Lydia, who nicknames her "Firefly." By 1936, seventeen-year-old Margaret dreams of moving to Columbus after a birthday trip there. Despite Lydia's fear of losing her, Margaret insists on leaving. Lydia secures a room and a job lead, then tearfully sends her off with Wendell, her suitor. Margaret promises to call and write, beginning her journey into the wider world.

Key Events

Margaret (eight to nine months old) is discovered in a basket outside Open Arms in the middle of the night.
Lydia Verts guesses her birthday as April 9 and records her as Margaret Anderson.
Margaret cycles through three foster homes before age seven, returning each time.
She is placed with the Selbys at age nine, where she meets the cynical foster child Thelma.
Thelma warns Margaret that the Selbys' kindness is temporary; Mr. Selby gives Thelma "homework" behind closed doors.
Mrs. Selby slaps Margaret for spilling milk; Thelma defends her, then later runs away and is collected by state authorities.
Margaret is removed from the Selbys after a "contentious arrangement" and returns to Open Arms.
At age twelve, Margaret asks Lydia about her birth mother's note; Lydia softens the truth, claiming the note said the mother loved her.
Margaret helps care for younger girls, takes charge of laundry duty, and runs errands in town.
At age seventeen, Lydia and Wendell take Margaret to Columbus for her birthday; she sees tall buildings, rides a streetcar, and eats an éclair.
Margaret decides to move to Columbus at eighteen; after three discussions, Lydia reluctantly helps her secure a room and a job lead.
On the day of departure, Lydia gives Margaret money, a handkerchief, and tearful warnings; Wendell drives them and comforts Lydia on the way back.

Character Development

Margaret: Grows from a guarded infant into a resilient, self-reliant teenager. Her repeated foster failures instill wariness of adults but also a strong will to control her own future. She learns to protect younger girls and ultimately chooses independence over safety.
Lydia Verts: Develops from an overworked administrator into a conflicted mother figure. She defies orphanage policy by nicknaming Margaret ("Firefly"), shows favoritism, and struggles with her own desire to keep Margaret close versus letting her go. Her past with her abusive husband Bo explains her empathy for vulnerable children.
Thelma: A hardened foster teen who teaches Margaret survival cynicism ("It's the only way to survive") but also shows protective loyalty when she defends Margaret from Mrs. Selby's slap. Her disappearance underscores the system's failure to protect children.
Wendell: Lydia's gentle suitor, a former boxer with a misshapen ear. He provides stability for Lydia and treats Margaret kindly, driving her to Columbus and comforting Lydia afterward.
The Selbys: Represent the hidden cruelty of the foster system. Mrs. Selby is abusive (slapping Margaret, threatening with a wooden spoon); Mr. Selby isolates Margaret to spend time alone with Thelma under the guise of homework.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Basket and the Bell: The "just-in-case basket" and its attached handbell symbolize the precariousness of orphaned life—a place for offerings that are often false alarms. Margaret's arrival in the basket redefines its purpose.
Nicknames and Identity: Lydia's nickname "Firefly" for Margaret represents a rare attachment that violates orphanage policy. The name suggests light, fragility, and the brief glow of belonging before Margaret must leave.
Films as Escapism: Margaret's Saturday movie habit—watching dance musicals and crime pictures—shapes her idealized vision of Columbus as a place of sophistication ("museums… restaurants… nice things"). The films become a contrast to Doyle's limitations.
The Mother Note: The handwritten note found on Margaret ("Please take care of this baby as I cannot") drives Margaret's lifelong search for belonging. Lydia later softens its meaning, but Margaret recognizes the contradiction between love and abandonment.
Columbus as a Symbol of Freedom: The city represents the opposite of Open Arms: tall buildings, streetcars, printed menus, and anonymity. It becomes Margaret's goal to "become someone other than the girl no one wanted."

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter Five is the emotional and narrative foundation of Margaret's character arc. It explains her trauma, her resilience, and her drive for independence—all of which fuel the choices she will make in Bonhomie. The chapter also humanizes Lydia Verts, showing the cost of loving a child she cannot keep. Themes of foster system failure, maternal absence, and the tension between safety and freedom are introduced and will echo throughout the novel. The final departure scene—Lydia crying in the rumble seat, Wendell's silent comfort—establishes the bittersweet pattern of loss that defines Margaret's life.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Lydia estimate Margaret's birthday as April 9, even though she assumes the baby was born in March? Lydia dislikes March as a "dreary, dead-cold month," so she changes the date to April 9, matching her own birthday. This shows how Lydia projects her own preferences onto Margaret and creates a fictional, warmer origin story for a child with no known history.

2. What does Thelma mean when she tells Margaret, "It's the only way to survive"? Thelma is referring to her cynical, tough-minded attitude toward their status as orphans. She believes that if they pretend to be "dirty, stinkin' orphans," they will be prepared for the cruelty they expect from foster parents—a survival mechanism that protects them from disappointment.

3. Why does Lydia resist Margaret's plan to move to Columbus, even though she later helps her prepare? Lydia fears losing the only girl she has ever loved as a daughter. She warns that Columbus won't live up to Margaret's movie-inspired fantasy ("no benefactors… no guardian angels… no tap-dancing") because the real city is dangerous and imperfect. Ultimately, she helps because she cannot bear to hold Margaret back, though she sobs alone afterward.