Themes
By: Becky Brancato
There are many important themes seen throughout the book, including...
To overcome guilt, one must confront their problems.
Throughout the book Lily is trying to overcome the guilt of killing her mother and wants to know whether she truly killed her or not. In the beginning she is constantly wondering about her mother and apologizing to her in her dreams. By the end, August has finally told Lily who her mother was, and T-Ray tells Lily that she really did kill her mom. Lily has a very difficult time accepting this and is at first very angry at her mother for leaving her and not being the caring mother she had always imagined, but eventually she is able to move on and accept who her mother was and that she accidentally killed her.
Lily also feels guilty about keeping secrets from and lying to the Boatwright sisters about her family, and feels like she can never truly connect with them because of this. Lily is also afraid of telling them the truth because she is hiding from the police, and she is afraid that they'll hate her for lying to them. But near the end of the story, Lily finally talks to August and tells her the truth that she is Deborah's daughter. It turns out that August already knew this, but Lily goes on to tell her how she ran away and how Rosaleen was beat up for trying to vote. She sobs and feels horrible, but August tells her that she loves her anyway. "I forced my mind back to that moment in her bedroom when I'd confessed the worst of human things. Upon hearing it, she'd said, I love you. Just like I loved your mother." (pg 245) Lily is very relieved to finally get everything off her chest and to know that she is loved even by the people she lied to.
Throughout the book Lily is trying to overcome the guilt of killing her mother and wants to know whether she truly killed her or not. In the beginning she is constantly wondering about her mother and apologizing to her in her dreams. By the end, August has finally told Lily who her mother was, and T-Ray tells Lily that she really did kill her mom. Lily has a very difficult time accepting this and is at first very angry at her mother for leaving her and not being the caring mother she had always imagined, but eventually she is able to move on and accept who her mother was and that she accidentally killed her.
Lily also feels guilty about keeping secrets from and lying to the Boatwright sisters about her family, and feels like she can never truly connect with them because of this. Lily is also afraid of telling them the truth because she is hiding from the police, and she is afraid that they'll hate her for lying to them. But near the end of the story, Lily finally talks to August and tells her the truth that she is Deborah's daughter. It turns out that August already knew this, but Lily goes on to tell her how she ran away and how Rosaleen was beat up for trying to vote. She sobs and feels horrible, but August tells her that she loves her anyway. "I forced my mind back to that moment in her bedroom when I'd confessed the worst of human things. Upon hearing it, she'd said, I love you. Just like I loved your mother." (pg 245) Lily is very relieved to finally get everything off her chest and to know that she is loved even by the people she lied to.
The mother is the most important member of the family; without her, the family will fall apart.
In the very beginning of the book, we learn that Lily accidentally shot her mother when she was little, and immediately we see how that has affected their family life. She is constantly thinking about her mother and feeling guilty about killing her. She also hates her father, T-Ray, because he is constantly pushing Lily around, telling her what she can and cannot wear, and not even bothering to celebrate her birthday. Lily doesn't even call him Daddy, she only calls him T-Ray because "he's not the Daddy type."(pg 238).
It is revealed in the end of the book how although T-Ray loved Deborah at first, she abandoned him and Lily at home. This caused him to resent Deborah and, later, Lily because she reminds him of her. When T-Ray finally finds Lily at the Boatwright sisters' house, he grabs Lily's hair and calls her Deborah, making Lily realize why he has always been so abusive towards her. "...Seeing him now, I knew he'd loved Deborah Fontanel, and when she'd left him, he'd sunk into bitterness." (pg 295). Once Deborah left him, T-Ray became an angry and abusive person and instigated fight with her, lead to her death. Once she dies, Lily feels extremely guilty and hates her father for being so abusive, and hates her mother for a while after she finds out that she abandoned her. Deborah leaving the family had a tremendous impact and causes the family to deteriorate.
In the very beginning of the book, we learn that Lily accidentally shot her mother when she was little, and immediately we see how that has affected their family life. She is constantly thinking about her mother and feeling guilty about killing her. She also hates her father, T-Ray, because he is constantly pushing Lily around, telling her what she can and cannot wear, and not even bothering to celebrate her birthday. Lily doesn't even call him Daddy, she only calls him T-Ray because "he's not the Daddy type."(pg 238).
It is revealed in the end of the book how although T-Ray loved Deborah at first, she abandoned him and Lily at home. This caused him to resent Deborah and, later, Lily because she reminds him of her. When T-Ray finally finds Lily at the Boatwright sisters' house, he grabs Lily's hair and calls her Deborah, making Lily realize why he has always been so abusive towards her. "...Seeing him now, I knew he'd loved Deborah Fontanel, and when she'd left him, he'd sunk into bitterness." (pg 295). Once Deborah left him, T-Ray became an angry and abusive person and instigated fight with her, lead to her death. Once she dies, Lily feels extremely guilty and hates her father for being so abusive, and hates her mother for a while after she finds out that she abandoned her. Deborah leaving the family had a tremendous impact and causes the family to deteriorate.
Running away will not solve all of your problems and eventually you have to learn how to cope with reality.
This is a very prevalent theme in the book. May and Lily both have very difficult hardships in life; we see Lily upset because of her abusive father and dead mother, and May struggles to cope with the death of her sister and Zach being put in jail. Both characters deal with their hardships in very different ways.
Although she runs away at first, at the end of the story Lily finally confronts T-Ray and is able to find out what happened to her mother. After her confrontation she is able to live in the Pink house with August where she is treated very well and gets to go to school with Zach. May, on the other hand, is never able to cope with July's death and constantly feels other people's pain as if it were her own. She tries to distract herself from all the pain she feels by humming songs. "Usually May didn't watch, but one night she joined us, and midway through she started to hum 'Oh! Susanna.' She was upset over a Negro man named Mr. Raines, who was killed by a shotgun from a passing car in Georgia." (pg 89) She also writes down all her worries on paper and puts them in her wailing wall, where she doesn't have to look at them again. After she hears that Zach is being held in jail, May finally can't handle the misery anymore and commits suicide.
Lily and May have two entirely different ways of trying to cope with the hardships they come across. Sadly May was never able to handle the pain she felt and committed suicide, while Lily was finally able to face her fears and live happily.
This is a very prevalent theme in the book. May and Lily both have very difficult hardships in life; we see Lily upset because of her abusive father and dead mother, and May struggles to cope with the death of her sister and Zach being put in jail. Both characters deal with their hardships in very different ways.
Although she runs away at first, at the end of the story Lily finally confronts T-Ray and is able to find out what happened to her mother. After her confrontation she is able to live in the Pink house with August where she is treated very well and gets to go to school with Zach. May, on the other hand, is never able to cope with July's death and constantly feels other people's pain as if it were her own. She tries to distract herself from all the pain she feels by humming songs. "Usually May didn't watch, but one night she joined us, and midway through she started to hum 'Oh! Susanna.' She was upset over a Negro man named Mr. Raines, who was killed by a shotgun from a passing car in Georgia." (pg 89) She also writes down all her worries on paper and puts them in her wailing wall, where she doesn't have to look at them again. After she hears that Zach is being held in jail, May finally can't handle the misery anymore and commits suicide.
Lily and May have two entirely different ways of trying to cope with the hardships they come across. Sadly May was never able to handle the pain she felt and committed suicide, while Lily was finally able to face her fears and live happily.
Live your life to the fullest.
This is an important message which was found in May's suicide note. This is what finally convinces June to go ahead and marry Neil. After reading the note, August tells her, "'Ever since Melvin Edwards backed out of your wedding all those years back, you've been afraid of love, refusing to take a chance. Like May said, it's your time to live. Don't mess it up." (pg 211) Throughout the story June is struggling to get over her breakup with her former fiance, Melvin Edwards. Because of this, she is too afraid to marry Neil even though they love each other. However, May's suicide note finally motivates June to realize that she had to get past her heartbreak and marry Neil, which made everyone happy.
This is an important message which was found in May's suicide note. This is what finally convinces June to go ahead and marry Neil. After reading the note, August tells her, "'Ever since Melvin Edwards backed out of your wedding all those years back, you've been afraid of love, refusing to take a chance. Like May said, it's your time to live. Don't mess it up." (pg 211) Throughout the story June is struggling to get over her breakup with her former fiance, Melvin Edwards. Because of this, she is too afraid to marry Neil even though they love each other. However, May's suicide note finally motivates June to realize that she had to get past her heartbreak and marry Neil, which made everyone happy.
It is important to stand up for what you believe in if you want to bring about change.
Although the Civil Rights Act had passed at this time, nobody followed it, which meant that although the laws had changed, societal views had not yet done so. Examples of this are Rosaleen trying to vote, and Zach trying to get into a white school. Despite the serious troubles they first face when attempting to achieve their goals for racial equality, they both continue to persevere and stand up for themselves, and are able to achieve their goals by the end of the story.
In the very beginning of the story, we see Rosaleen leaving home for a day to go vote despite Lily's protests against it, because she's afraid Rosaleen will get hurt by racists. Lily's fears come true, and when Rosaleen is walking by, a group of white men start taunting her because of her skin color and for trying to vote. Instead of backing down and leaving, Rosaleen "lifted her snuff jug, which was filled with black spit, and calmly poured it across the tops of the men's shoes"(pg 32). She is subsequently beat up and put in jail, but even this does not stop her. Lily gets her out of the hospital, and eventually Rosaleen actually registers to vote at the end of the story, wearing a nice dress. This shows how she never gives up despite the difficulties she faces, and is finally able to vote because of it.
Another example is Zach wanting to go to a white school and become a lawyer. He faces many difficulties and is even thrown in jail after getting into a fight with some white men while traveling to the honey house. Although we never know whether he becomes a lawyer or not, by the end of the story we see that he has made considerable progress and attends a white school. Even then he faces difficulties, as other students throw wads of paper at him, but Lily and Becca still hang out with him and give him all of their support.
Although the Civil Rights Act had passed at this time, nobody followed it, which meant that although the laws had changed, societal views had not yet done so. Examples of this are Rosaleen trying to vote, and Zach trying to get into a white school. Despite the serious troubles they first face when attempting to achieve their goals for racial equality, they both continue to persevere and stand up for themselves, and are able to achieve their goals by the end of the story.
In the very beginning of the story, we see Rosaleen leaving home for a day to go vote despite Lily's protests against it, because she's afraid Rosaleen will get hurt by racists. Lily's fears come true, and when Rosaleen is walking by, a group of white men start taunting her because of her skin color and for trying to vote. Instead of backing down and leaving, Rosaleen "lifted her snuff jug, which was filled with black spit, and calmly poured it across the tops of the men's shoes"(pg 32). She is subsequently beat up and put in jail, but even this does not stop her. Lily gets her out of the hospital, and eventually Rosaleen actually registers to vote at the end of the story, wearing a nice dress. This shows how she never gives up despite the difficulties she faces, and is finally able to vote because of it.
Another example is Zach wanting to go to a white school and become a lawyer. He faces many difficulties and is even thrown in jail after getting into a fight with some white men while traveling to the honey house. Although we never know whether he becomes a lawyer or not, by the end of the story we see that he has made considerable progress and attends a white school. Even then he faces difficulties, as other students throw wads of paper at him, but Lily and Becca still hang out with him and give him all of their support.