Chapters 3-5: Uptown, Walking on the Wild Side, Oh, For the Life of a Girl Singer Summary and Analysis

Chapter three finds Anita back in school, still a poor student, living only for Friday afternoon talent shows. Finally, at age sixteen, she climbs out of her bedroom window and heads for the tavern section of Chicago, where she begins as a dancer, working her way up to singing, at Planet Mars. Her idol is Martha Raye, a singer who uses body movements to help convey each song's message and emotion. Her best friends are two fellow singers, Betty Hall (also known as "Trilby") and Lea Roberts, and, with this new older crowd, Anita begins her regular use of pot and alcohol. Free from most restrictions on girls her age, Anita...