Where the Crawdads Sing: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

After her encounter with Tate, Kya thinks about how it would be nice and useful to have a friend. She hardly has any contact with the outside world, except when she goes into town to buy necessities. Still, she talks to the seagulls more than any actual person, so she fantasizes about borrowing Pa’s boat to see Tate from time to time, though she knows that Pa would never let her use the boat because it’s his only form of transportation. However, she remembers that he used to let Jodie fish in it, and though Kya doesn’t know how to fish, she wonders if she can perhaps think of something else she could do for her father to convince him to let her use the boat. Thinking this way, she cleans the entire shack, shines the boat, gets more gas from a nearby filling station, and buys groceries.

When Pa finally comes home after four days, Kya runs into the kitchen and presents him with a delectable meal. Surveying her work, he notes with amusement that she has suddenly grown up and learned to cook. She can tell that he’s tired but sober, so she sits down to eat with him, explaining that she tried to make cornbread but that it didn’t quite work out. Nonetheless, Pa slurps down the food and asks for seconds. He also suggests that Kya put the failed cornbread right into the stew, saying that he bets it’s still quite good. After a moment, Kya asks Pa if he’ll take her fishing, and though he hesitates at first, he says that he could perhaps take her at some point. The very next morning, they go fishing together, and Pa is visibly pleased when Kya catches a large bream.

The next day, Kya and Pa go fishing again. Kya finds a rare feather from a horned owl floating in the water, so she plucks it from the surface and keeps it, along with a hummingbird nest she finds on an overhanging branch. That night, Pa makes fish for dinner and gives her his army-issued backpack, saying that she can use it to store her feathers and various other collections. By the time she remembers to thank him, he’s already out on the porch, and she realizes that this is the first time he’s ever given her anything.

Throughout the winter, Kya and Pa go fishing and Kya thinks about Tate, wishing they could be friends. One day, she sees him in the marsh, and when he waves at Kya, Pa tells her to be careful because most people in this area are “white trash.” On another occasion, Pa unexpectedly tells Kya about his family, saying that they weren’t always poor. In fact, they used to own land, where they planted tobacco and cotton. However, they lost all of their wealth during the Depression. Thinking about this, Kya wonders about her mother’s family history but knows better than to bring this up, since talking about Ma makes Pa furious. Forgetting the conversation, Pa reels in a large fish and says, “Looky here, hon, Ah got us a big un, big as Alabamee!” Later that night, Kya realizes with a start that Pa called her “hon.”