Blog 8

Blog 8: Lily's Mothers ----- Lily has many mother figures throughout the story. There is her biological mother, who died when Lily was a toddler. Lily holds onto the memories of her mother, even when T. Ray tells her that her mother wanted nothing to do with her. When Lily finds out that her mother actually left her and came to August's house, she is extremely upset and doesn't think she will ever be able to experience forgiveness towards her mom. But then she realizes that her mom was just trying to get away from T. Ray and that she was ultimately coming back for her, even though she died trying to reach her. Lily's next "mom" is Rosaleen, the black woman who raised her on the peach farm. Lily makes the comment, "I used to have daydreams in which she was white and married T. Ray, and became my real mother. Other times I was a Negro orphan she found in a cornfield and adopted. Once in a while I had us living in a foreign country like New York, where she could adopt me and we could both stay our natural color" (12). Lily dreamed about having Rosaleen be her real mom because she was missing something inside of her. While she lived with the Boatwright's, each of the sisters became a mother to her in different ways. May was someone she could trust and talk to, even about her crush on Zach. June taught her about strength and how to stand up for what you want. August was probably the one closest to Lily and taught her about her real biological mother as well as life itself. August took care of Lily and was a comforter when she needed one. At the end of the book Lily says, "This is the autumn of wonders, yet every day, every single day, I go back to that burned afternoon in August when T. Ray left. I go back to that one moment when I stood in the driveway with small rocks and clumps of dirt around my feet and looked back at the porch. 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" (302).