When completing open-ended responses, remember to use
RATE.
Prompt:
Lily has gone on this journey to learn more about the
mystery of her mother. T. Ray painted an ugly picture of Deborah and it is
Lily’s hope that T. Ray is lying.
Response Requirement:
• What does
Lily learn about her mother from August?
• Lily
thinks, “Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of
lies for a pack of truth.” How is she coping with this knowledge?
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ReplyDeleteLearning about your family is something that is very important. It is good to know where you come from and who your family is and what they’re like. When Lily learns about her family, her mom specifically, she doesn’t really hear what she wants to. Lily learns from August that her mother did, in fact, leave her with T-Ray. Lily always thought that her mom was an amazing person and T-Ray lied about her mother, but she learns otherwise from August. This is supported when she says, "I'd spent my life imagining all the ways she'd loved me, what a perfect specimen of a mother she was. And all of it was lies." August told her that she was expecting Lily to come with her mom, but Deborah Fontanel showed up alone. Lily was upset because she thought she and her mother were like two peas in a pod, that they were inseparable and her mom was with her always. August went on to tell her that her mom was depressed, and, unlike she used to be, had dark circles under her eyes and was extremely thin. As August told Lily all of this, Lily was as still as a photograph and very mad. When August had finished talking to Lily, her greatest fear was confirmed: Her mother had left her and T-Ray Owens had not just made up some cruel punishment, but had given Lily the truth. I can relate very well to this. I had once believed that something was true, and I would not change my mind. My parents went along with it, but they decided one day to tell me the truth and that I was wrong. Just like Lily, I didn’t believe them. Then, my sister told me the truth too, and I knew that my parents were right. This is just like Lily’s situation!
ReplyDeleteDo you like knowing things? Do you prefer to know the truth even if it hurts, or to not hurt and know a lie? Well, according to Lily, “Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth.” The truth that Lily learned was that her mother had really left her and that T-Ray was correct. Lily copes with this knowledge by, at first, getting very angry and throwing a fit. She threw honey jars everywhere and caused a huge mess. Then, she decides to spend a lot of time alone. She sat by the river very often and sometimes began to skip meals, as if they were unimportant. She tried to talk herself out of her anger but, according to Lily, “you can’t talk yourself out of anger. Either you are angry or your not.” So, eventually, she just moved on and started to go back into everyday life. She eventually forgave herself for killing her mom and her mom for abandoning her. She accepted the fact that she was as alone as a survivor on a deserted island when it came to having a biological mother, but she had, in her opinion, eight mothers. “And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me.” She accepted the fact that she had no real mother, moved on, and considered the Daughters of Mary her new moms. This reminds me of when kids get adopted. They have no real mom, but someone they consider to be one, like Lily. That is how she copes with the truth.
-7eleven17
Lily learned a lot about her mother from August. She learns a lot about her interests like how she loved peanut butter and playing with dolls but, she hated schoolwork. August had taken care of Deborah when she was little so she knows a lot about her. August would pack her lunches and iron her clothes. Another thing August mentioned was that when Deborah came to her, she had given the wooden picture of Black Mary soon before she died. The most important thing revealed by August was that she had actually left Lily behind to go to Tiburon. “I hate her,” said Lily once she found out this big secret. I would have felt the same way if I had learned my mother had left me.
ReplyDeleteLily had to cope with these new feelings toward her mother very quickly. She was feeling pretty upset about everything, especially the fact that her mother had left her to go to Tiburon. In this case, knowing was a curse to her. It would've been best if Lily kept the idea of her mother in her head, instead of knowing the truth. Although, she knew she would have to find out eventually. "I knew we'd come to the place in the story I feared the most." This is how Lily knew she was about to be told something she would regret being told. She knew she would hear the answer that was not wanted to be heard. Lily’s views towards her mother change greatly after she knew the truth; from a loving, caring mother that would never let go of her child, to a heartless mother that didn't care about her child. This knew knowledge led her into a frenzy where she had thrown the honey all of the walls. Lily had to deal with a lot after the information was told and I don’t blame her for what she did. Lily has to cope with the same thing as my friend has to cope with. When he was younger his father left him and his mother. Luckily for him, he didn't have the disturbing memory of killing his father
Lily learns quite a few things about her mother from August. Lily learned that her mother was depressed most of her life as an adult because she had an “unwanted child.” Lily thought for all this time Deborah was forced to marry T. Ray but she really had loved him in the beginning and T. Ray “had worshiped Deborah at first.” Then soon, Deborah realized she wasn’t happy and became depressed. Everything that Lily didn’t know about was in the hands of August and what August didn’t know was hidden deep in Lily’s burning heart. It was almost as if they completed each other. Another key factor that Lily learned about Deborah was that she believed in the same religion as the Boatwright sisters do. What I found most interesting about Deborah is how she had an imaginary friend. August says, “And your mother had an imaginary friend. She called hers Tica Tee. She would talk to her out loud like she was standing right in front of us.”
ReplyDeleteLily said, “Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth.” I think Lily had said this because she was too disappointed. She took what August said and looked at it differently when the obvious answer was there in plain text. Lily kept on claiming that Deborah had left her and ran away to the Boatwright sisters, but in reality she was really depressed and overall she loved Lily so much. As mentioned before, Deborah believed in the same religion as the Calendar Sisters. This is a major way that Lily had learned to cope with the overwhelming truth. Lily had helped with almost all the events regarding Mary (the Black Madonna). It amazed me how she was able to feel such a strong connection to a new religion she was just introduced to last summer. She had felt a religious revival personally, which is a rare event in most books.
In chapter 12 all the answers about Lily's mother gush out of August's mouth like a waterfall. Lily learns that August used to be Deborah's babysitter. Also that Deborah was forced to marry T.Ray because she was pregnant with Lily and T.Ray was the father. But the thing that shocked Lily the most was that Deborah left her and T.Ray. She came to live with August but soon came back to get Lily. On page 249, Lily discovers that she was a mistaken baby. It states, "Unwanted. I thought. I was an unwanted baby." I think that Lily received a lot of information that day and it was too much to take in. This reminds me of when my best friend found out that her mom was pregnant with her before she got married to her dad. She was confused like Lily and was overwhelmed with the information.
ReplyDeleteLily started lying to the Boatwright sisters before she even stepped foot in their house. She soon learns to tell the truth and receives the truth about her mother in return. The knowledge she receives overwhelms her and she reacts with not eating, not talking, and throwing a tantrum in the honey house. After a few days, she discovers that she can't stay like that and she has to snap out of it. She begins to live with the truth and surround herself with love from everyone and starts to write in her journal again. She copes with the knowledge by learning to forgive her mother for leaving them. I think Lily realizes to move on when it states, "It is the peculiar nature of the world to go spinning no matter what sort of heartbreak is happening." She discovers that everyone’s life isn't going to stop because hers has. She begins to except and move on. I believe that Lily had a natural reaction when she found out about her mother but also seemed to heal fast and forgive. She is a strong, young girl who went through a lot but finally found what she was looking for. Love.
Lily learns from August something she did not want to hear. She learns that her mother left her for about 3 months to escape T. Ray and the day she comes back for her is the day the gun accident happens. she learns T. Ray wasn't lying, "My mother left me." she said. I can connect to this because sometimes i really want to know something when i know the answer may disappoint me.
ReplyDeleteLily copes with this knowledge in very harsh ways. She barely eats and takes trip after trip to the river by herself to sulk. She didn't realize how the truth might affect her because she was 100% sure her mother did not leave her. I can connect to this because once when i was younger my mom said my hamster had ran away, when i didn't believe her and asked for the truth she said it had died. This upset me far more than the thought of him running away. "Some mother." Lily was quite mad.