Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary

Lame Bull gives the narrator a ride to Dodson so he can catch a bus to Malta. The narrator stops to check for mail, receiving a letter for his mother from a priest in Harlem. The narrator then goes to meet Lame Bull for a drink before purchasing a toothbrush and going off to wait for his bus.

Part 1, Chapter 13 Analysis

The narrator retrieves a letter for his mother, leaving the reader with the impression that the narrator will have to decide whether or not to give the letter to Teresa. The narrator then has a drink with his new stepfather, suggesting some friendly relations between the two men. Finally, he buys a toothbrush, suggesting his own hygiene is suddenly important for unknown reasons, and foreshadowing a time later in the plot development when the narrator misses this toothbrush.