Chapter 13
“A worker bee is just over a centimeter long and weighs only about sixty milligrams; nevertheless, she
can fly with a load heavier than herself.” How does this apply to Lily? Support you answer with
examples from the book.
2. Is Lily correct? Is it true that you can’t talk yourself out of anger? “ Either you are angry or you’re
not.” Does Lily’s anger justify her smashing August’s honey? What else could Lily have done to get
her anger out?
3. Describe the ritual of Mary Day (268-269). How does the ritual help Lily overcome her anger?
4. How do the events in this chapter move Lily toward peace with her mother?
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Discuss the quote at the beginning of the chapter as it might relate to Lily.
When Lily learns the truth about her mother, she 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? What is she
feeling now?
August tells Lily, “There is nothing perfect, there is only life” (256). Discuss your own examples of
life’s imperfections.
“I wish that she had been smart enough, or loving enough, to realize that everybody has burdens that
crush them, only they don’t give up their children.” (p 278) “In a weird way I must have loved my little
collection of hurts and wounds. They provided me with some real nice sympathy, with the feeling that
I was exceptional.” (p 278) “Regrets don’t help anything, you know that.” (p 280)
Compare these statements. Can grieving or self-pity help a person heal? At what point does it become
destructive?
Rosaleen is going to finish what she started. She is going to register to vote. How has Rosaleen
changed from the beginning of the story? Do you think that life for African Americans in the South
will change dramatically after this summer (The summer of Freedom)?
The story about Our Lady of Chains would suggest that she has magical powers. What is a more
accurate description of Our Lady?
August gives Lily some things she had kept that belonged to Lily’s mother. Among them is a mirror, a
hairbrush, and a volume of William Blake’s poems. Lily finds a poem that her mother had underlined.
How does seeing something that belonged to her help her know her mother? How does seeing the
photograph of her mother holding her make Lily feel? (275) How is this a sign to Lily?
“He seemed happy to carve up the rocking chair like he was all of eleven years old, putting his initials
in a tree.” Why did T.Ray do this?
Did Deborah leave T.Ray because he was mean, or did T.Ray become mean because Deborah left him?
Lily sometimes imagines that T.Ray shows his love for her by remembering her at Christmastime. Do
you think that this is wishful thinking? What are the positive and negative aspects of her imagining
T.Ray shows his love for her?
Lily began the story with Rosaleen as a mother figure for her. How has living in the pink house
changed that?
What does August mean when she tells Lily she has to “find a mother inside yourself ” (288). What are
the characteristics August tells Lily she needs?
Who shot Deborah? Use details from the book to support your answer.
What does Lily mean when she says she believes in the “goodness of imagination”? (300).