Comparing Book 'A Lovely Bones' By Chapters, Questions And Answers

When Lily finally decides to run away from T.Ray to Tiburon with Rosaleen, the housemaid, in the movie this act is shown more as her wanting to get away from him and not so much as her being curious about what really is in Tiburon, South Carolina. Also, while at the Boatwrights house Lily did not act in a curious manner, but was mostly doing what she could to blend in so she was accepted, and not kicked out. When T.Ray tells Lily that her mother left her as a child, Lily refuses to believe so. She knows that it was just another punishment he uses to torment her, and only seeks to find the real truth at the very end of the movie. When he tries to take her away from the Boatwrights, she asks him before he leaves, “Did you lie about my mother leaving me.” The quality of Lily’s curiosity is lost in the movie. Lily’s life is represented more as a drama than her being curious and seeking answers about her mother, and the black Madonna. Because the movie lacks the value of curiosity it takes away from what the true story

DocViewer Page of 3 Zoom Pages In the beginning of the book Lily’s relationship with her parents was not really good , she really did not know her mother all she knew was the horrifying confusing accident that happened when she was only four years old. All Lily remembered about her mother was when her mother was fighting with T. Ray and she was packing all of her clothes , going in and out of the closest and seeing T.Ray yelling at her mom. Lily also remembered that she saw a gun on the floor and Lily grabbed it and shot her mother on accident.

August tells Lily about how her mother lived with the Boatwrights but did not bring Lily with her. Lily got really angry with her mother (Deborah Fontanel) thinking, “ How dare she? How dare she leave me? I was her child.” ( Kidd 259). The next day August came with a box full of Deborah's things. One of those things was a picture of Lily and her mother. The picture clearly showed that Deborah had loved Lily very much. Lily knew then she was loved: “...my mother about the sign I wanted. The one that would let me know I was loved.” (Kidd 276). This shows a juxtaposition because Deborah left Lily; however, she had loved Lily. In summary, when Lily finds out her mother left her is an example of the juxtapositions throughout The Secret Life of

Kidd writes, “Now how come you want to keep that a secret?’... I wanted to say... I just wanted to be normal for a little while... I want time to win over August, so she won’t send me back when she finds out what I’ve done” (79). After Lily runs away, she wants to live a care-free life in the boatwright house, but she can't do that with the sisters knowing she ran away from home.

Because of this, Lily needs someone to guide her as she is growing up. The only person Lily could talk to about her life, especially personal things, was her Black caregiver, Rosaleen. This was Lily’s first motherly figure besides her own mother. After Lily ventured out to Tiburon, SC, she established strong relationships with August, May, and June Boatwright. These women took Lily in and provide many things for her, but August Boatwright has supported Lily the most since they first met. She helps to guide Lily as another motherly figure in her life. As well as supplying for Lily, the Boatwright sisters introduced The Black Madonna to Lily. After days of learning the importance of The Black Madonna to the sisters, Lily initiates that the Madonna is a mother to her and a mother to

In the book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, themes of the journey one takes in life are thoughtfully depicted. A journey consists of time and events, but also the exterior and interior struggles that life brings. In Lily’s life, the struggle for love, in all its forms, proves to be one of the biggest and most important journeys in her life. In the very beginning of the book, when Lily is in her “Sitting Quietly” days, she says, “I have a whole life to tell; I have nothing left to lose and few to offend” (See 3). Her tone of assurance and fearlessness differs greatly with the young Lily we meet in her “Milk Years,” and the young woman we watch her become. In just those first years, we are introduced to a person who has a great ability to understand

Lily starts off stuck living in an unloving, abusive household and decides to free herself from the negative atmosphere that she had been living in her whole life. Lily is perpetually abused by her father. He forces her to kneel on Martha White's, gets exasperated every time she speaks, and yells at her for no reason. Lily is not the only one noticing the terrible treatment, Rosaleen does too. Once after Lily had to kneel on the Martha White's Rosaleen said to her, “Look at you, child. Look what he’s done to you” (Kidd 25). Noticing the unloving treatment Lily gets, Rosaleen knew that their household was demoralizing place for Lily to be in, which is why she didn’t question when Lily when she later runs away. Lily one day realizes she needs to do something about her horrible life at home. While sitting in her room she hears a voice in her

“I took everything out, and, stretching out among the fallen peaches, I rested them across my abdomen.” Lily takes all of her mother belongings and brings them close to her to make it seem like she is in her heart or with her. She misses her and wants her forgiveness for killing her by shooting her. She only wanted to help her. “I hate her.

Luckily for Lily, she comes upon the Boatwright sisters once she reaches Tiburon. Because of the fact Lily does not have anyone to share her love with, she is compelled to stay and live with the Boatwrights. At one point in the novel, Lily and August are having a conversation when August asks Lily “What else do you love Lily?”(Kidd 39). Lily then thinks to herself, “No one had ever asked me that before. What did I love? Right off the bat I wanted to say that I loved the picture of my mother…but I had to swallow that back”(39). Lily does not feel comfortable enough yet that she says, “ I love writing poems, just give me something to write, and I’ll love it” despite the fact that Lily really loves August (39). She loves August so much that she would rather stay in Tiburon with the Boatwrights than be with her own father T. Ray. The loss of Deborah results in Lily going to obtain love somewhere other than her own home. This is also why Lily takes Rosaleen with her. Rosaleen is a black nanny who used to work on T. Ray’s farm. She has been there for Lily in the past but she cannot always be there one hundred percent because of her race. Due to Deborah’s death, Lily does not have a mother figure, however, he journey to Tiburon with Rosaleen proves to be a success as she finds the Boatwrights and strengthens her relationship with her nanny, Rosaleen.

In life in general, every single human being needs a mother, even if they do not share the same skin color, circumstance, or even any biological connection. All an individual needs is an maternal touch from another. Even though Rosaleen acts as a mother when caring and raising Lily, Rosaleen’s rambunctious and somewhat crass personality prevents the motherly bond between Rosaleen and Lily. However, August Boatwright, a beekeeper from South Carolina grants Lily with the “mother’s love” that she had never received before that day. August gave Lily firm guidance when wandering through the darkness of her past, complete understanding and encouragement when faced with challenges, and criticized when needed. Early in the novel, Lily states “You can tell which girls lack mothers by the look of their hair...” (3). Yet, August presents Lily with wisdom rather than brushing Lily’s hair, teaching her about boys and dating, and so forth. “You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside” (306). For August, the typical motherly love that she exhibits is the one supplied by the Virgin Mary, the mother of God. August shows Lily the undying love that can exist everywhere but can only be made and seen by the Virgin Mary. “This is the autumn of

August: I believe that Lily learned that sometimes you have to forgive things in life to get past hard times. She couldn’t forgive herself enough for killing her mother, and that is why she ran away. She needed to know the truth. Once she forgave herself, her whole life had changed.

Lily once was walking with Rosaleen. Three men made comments to Lily about her race. One of the men asked “Where are you going?” and Rosaleen responded “I’m going to register my name so I could vote.” (Kidd 31). Her wit was of much help to Lily in a situation such as that. Lily urged to just keep walking while Rosaleen was determined to put the men in their places. Rosaleen also watched the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and exclaimed with excitement for civil rights. Not only did Rosaleen support Lily, but in addition, she supported all of Lily’s community as well. Rosaleen is not related to Lily by blood, but typifies a caring and loving attitude towards another individual.

Like always, he slapped Lily, knocking on the ground along with a few kicks as he continued to yell at her, instead this time calling her Deborah. As he doesn’t realize it was Lily until she shouted “Daddy” and apologized for leaving him, he had a knife pulled out as he shouted constantly at her. However, when he sees that Lily was in fact not Deborah, a look of embarrassment and pain hit him as it was easily observed to Lily. All along, this was the reason why she was treated so poorly, and it was finally clear to her. He insisted that she go home with him, but August and herself want nothing more than to stay there with him, demanding she doesn’t leave. Soon enough, he gave in as he barged out, started his truck, and slowly drove away. Lily still hoped that he would send her gifts at Christmas time, as she still wanted to have him in her life, seeing that he wasn’t perfect, just like everyone else isn’t. As she has gone through a lot with her father, Lily is excited to start her new life with the Boatwrights-the people she loved so so much and she

Instead of relying on another power that is above her, she takes her fate into her own hands and tries to save her own home. This self reliance develops early, and can also be seen much later in her life. When she is twenty-seven, Lily learns that her husband has a secret second family. She leaves him immediately and manages to annul the marriage. Although he had taken all of her money from their joint bank account, she does not go back to her parents in Arizona or try to find another husband to take care of her. Instead, she begins preparing for her future alone. “Since I obviously couldn't count on a man to take care of me, what I needed more than ever was a profession. I needed to get my college education and become a teacher . . . the time flew by, and when both the dispensation and the acceptance letter arrived, I had enough money for a year of college” (p. 90). Instead of wondering what to do and moping about her ex-husband, Lily is practical and knows what she wants to do next. She also mentions that she cannot depend on a husband to take care of her. If she did not have to fend for

In the beginning of the story, Lily was a runaway who firmly believed that she was unlovable, but after many precarious events led her and Rosaleen to the Boatwright Sisters, she was taken by August Boatwright without hesitation. August fed the girl, washed her, kept a roof atop her head, and most importantly, treated the Lily as if she was the elderly woman’s own. And when Lily eventually wanted to know about her mother, August obliged and revealed everything. Following the revelation, Lily broke down and “[August] was like a sponge, absorbing what [Lily] couldn’t hold anymore” (238). Up to this point in the story, Lily has been physically and mentally abused by T. Ray. Also, she felt unlovable, maybe even unfit for love. But with August’s presence and comfort, she was able to learn that she was able to be loved. In that regard, August was being what a mother should be: loving and supportive