When August gives Lily the things that used to belong to her mother, Lily is happy to have tangible things to teach her about what this woman was like. She gets a silver mirror, a book of poetry, and a picture in a silver frame of her mother feeding her when she was a baby. One other thing that is in the box of her mother’s belongings is the “gold pin shaped like a whale with a tiny black eye and a spout of rhinestone water coming from its blowhole” (274). The whale pin is there to show Lily that her mother wanted to take care of her, even when she left; she just couldn’t fight the depression that overcame her from being in a loveless marriage. The whale represents her mother’s love and desire to raise her, because whales usually take care of and nurse their calves for over a year, unlike some animals that abandon or even eat their young. A whale-shaped pin seems like a random thing to be in the box of belongings until you know that about whales. Whale mothers are good mothers, just like Deborah wanted to be to Lily; she just couldn’t be that mother.
I think that is really interesting Kristen! I would have never surmised that. I think it's interesting to see how something so simple, Lily could feel like it connected her to her mother. As Christians, the Bible tells us that, "we do not mourn like those who have no hope." I would imagine it's hard for a young girl (growing up in a world that is not centered on Christ) to know what to cling to. That's why Lily (and many people in the secular world) cling to material things after a person is gone...they don't have the hope of seeing their loved ones again. I think Lily's case is different, though, because her mother left her such a heritage. She now had many mothers, was being able to live her own life, and was free from T.Ray. I think that's why this pin is so special to her...it's proof that her mother wanted so much more for her than she had living with T.Ray. and now Lily can begin to live her life.
That is a great way to look at it. I think the pin just gives her a sense of power, becusae not only was she free from T. Ray when she wore it but she was also strong enough to leave him and cope with the fact that she had just left her own child behind as well. All of her mother's items are precious to her, adn she practically makes a memorial of them in her room. I think it's precioius that she sees the simple items as true tresures which link her to her mother.
When August gives Lily the things that used to belong to her mother, Lily is happy to have tangible things to teach her about what this woman was like. She gets a silver mirror, a book of poetry, and a picture in a silver frame of her mother feeding her when she was a baby. One other thing that is in the box of her mother’s belongings is the “gold pin shaped like a whale with a tiny black eye and a spout of rhinestone water coming from its blowhole” (274). The whale pin is there to show Lily that her mother wanted to take care of her, even when she left; she just couldn’t fight the depression that overcame her from being in a loveless marriage. The whale represents her mother’s love and desire to raise her, because whales usually take care of and nurse their calves for over a year, unlike some animals that abandon or even eat their young. A whale-shaped pin seems like a random thing to be in the box of belongings until you know that about whales. Whale mothers are good mothers, just like Deborah wanted to be to Lily; she just couldn’t be that mother.
ReplyDeleteI think that is really interesting Kristen! I would have never surmised that. I think it's interesting to see how something so simple, Lily could feel like it connected her to her mother.
ReplyDeleteAs Christians, the Bible tells us that, "we do not mourn like those who have no hope." I would imagine it's hard for a young girl (growing up in a world that is not centered on Christ) to know what to cling to. That's why Lily (and many people in the secular world) cling to material things after a person is gone...they don't have the hope of seeing their loved ones again.
I think Lily's case is different, though, because her mother left her such a heritage. She now had many mothers, was being able to live her own life, and was free from T.Ray. I think that's why this pin is so special to her...it's proof that her mother wanted so much more for her than she had living with T.Ray. and now Lily can begin to live her life.
That is a great way to look at it. I think the pin just gives her a sense of power, becusae not only was she free from T. Ray when she wore it but she was also strong enough to leave him and cope with the fact that she had just left her own child behind as well. All of her mother's items are precious to her, adn she practically makes a memorial of them in her room. I think it's precioius that she sees the simple items as true tresures which link her to her mother.
ReplyDelete