The next morning, the rest of the family resumed their usual breakfast routine of biscuits and gravy. The boy, who is still recovering from what happened yesterday, looks for Sounder but does not see him anywhere. The boy's mother leaves to sell the walnut kernels and she tells him that he will not find Sounder that day. The boy watches her leave and then tends to the other children, stokes the fire, then goes upstairs to retrieve Sounder's ear. He puts it in his pocket and goes out to try his luck finding his beloved. He exerts extra effort and looks in all of Sounder's favorite spots, but there is no sign of the dog. He begins to wonder if Sounder is alive, off healing himself somewhere. The boy begins to cry.
Chapter 3 speaks about the loneliness that the boy felt from consecutive experiences of pain, the loss of his dog and his father. His mother felt the same way, but she refrained and chose not to say anything as she still have work to do. She must support the family, especially now that she's alone. In the end, the family's hopes continued to deplete: Sounder hadn't returned and no good came of his mother returning the stolen goods. The boy had never felt so lost and lonely.
Chapter 4 then talks about the cruelty and injustice of the family's situation.
