96 pages • 3 hours read
Sherri L. SmithFlygirl
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapter 25-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 25 Summary
After Ida says goodbye to Lily, she goes to a bar to get “enough warm bodies around [her]to not feel quite so alone” (254). At the bar, she runs into Audrey Hill and Randy, two women from her original training base in Texas. The women are celebrating; they’ve just heard that the Allies stormed Normandy and are hopeful that the war will be over soon. Ida tells them that she is going to officers’ training in Florida, but Audrey and Randy tell her that that’s just for show, the government has no intention of having WASP militarized. Besides, when the war is over, there will be no more need for WASP. Audrey and Randy ask Ida why she became a WASP in the first place, and Ida says that her country needed her. Audrey asks her: “Really? Did the army ask for you? Did President Roosevelt send you a letter requesting your help?” (258). Finally, Ida admits the truth:“It beat sitting at home collecting silk stockings while my big brother was getting shot to bits in the Philippines” (258). Audrey and Randy joke that they all became WASP for men in one way or another; Randy joined because her father always wished she was a son, and Audrey joined because her ex-fiancé didn’t believe she could do it. Ida leaves the bar, and the next morning, boards the plane to Florida.
Chapter 26 Summary
On her first day in Florida, Ida runs into Instructor Walt Jenkins. He explains that the army is still desperate for men, and he was given a choice between officers’ school or the infantry. The officers’ school is co-ed and Walt and Ida are in the same class. One day after class,Walt and Ida go for a walk. Walt tells her that he used to fly charter planes and plans to start his own business after the war. He asks Ida if she would come work for him, but she reminds him that not everyone is as accepting of women pilots. In her head, Ida wonders what Walt would think if he knew she was black as well.
The WASP bill is put to a vote in Washington,D.C.,and loses. This means that the WASP program won’t become an official part of the military and will disband once the war is over. Ida’s training is cut short,and she is ordered back to Delaware to ferry planes. Before she leaves, Walt kisses Ida on the cheek and asks her to think about his offer. He Instructs her to write to him with her decision.
On her last day in Florida, Ida visits Patsy’s grave. She thinks about all of the conversations she’s had with her family and with Audrey and Randy about why she became a WASP to begin with. At Patsy’s grave, she remembers: “I came to fly” (268). Ida unties all of the knots from her handkerchief. She decides she will continue her WASP duties until the war is over, and then return home to her family. Once she’s home, she will write a letter to Walt telling him the truth, and “he’ll have to decide what to make of it for himself” (268).
Epilogue Summary
In August 1945, the atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, which brings about the end of World War II. The plane used to drop the bomb is the B-29 bomber, the same plane Ida and Lily flew in Alabama. The end of the war leads to the disbanding of the WASP program. Ida drops a letter in the mail to Walt and returns home.
Chapter 25-Epilogue Analysis
Throughout the novel, Ida struggles with justifying why she chose to pass as white and become a WASP, and what she will do when the war is over. The novel effectively answers these questions by bringing Ida back into contact with people she met during training at Avenger Field. First, Ida meets Audrey and Randy, who force Ida to think about why she chose to become a WASP to begin with. Although Ida often responds that she did it to serve her country, Audrey and Randy point out that no one specifically asked Ida to serve her country in this way. When Ida runs into Walt at officer’s training, she is given the opportunity to continue passing as white after the war and potentially pursue a romantic relationship with Walt. This opportunity allows Ida to realize that she does not want to continue lying about her identity, especially since she doesn’t know if Walt would still accept her if he knew she was black. Finally, Ida visits Patsy’s grave. Patsy is especially important to Ida because she was Ida’s closest friend during training, and Ida has often speculated that Patsy might have been the one person to still accept her if she knew Ida was black.
It is while visiting Patsy’s grave that Ida is able to realize that the biggest reason she became a WASP is simply because she loves to fly. This moment allows Ida to feel confident in her decision to return home after the war. By having Ida come back into contact with people who were close to her at the beginning of her journey, the novel comes full circle and provides a sense of closure. This also allows Ida to address many of the questions and themes brought up throughout the novel, including identity and civic duty.
