I thought this was a good story. I always like a good “coming into your own as a woman” story, and this was a nice change of pace from how they normally go. Coming from a background working with abused and neglected kids, I was happy to see that the story didn’t assume that a child wanted to stay with a parent simply because he was a parent. Oftentimes, that’s the case, and many people don’t realize that, but from time to time, children exist that don’t want to stay with their abusive parent.
I’m not always the deepest thinker about books, since I read to escape the stresses of work and school, so I thought today I’d surprise you guys by answering a few of the “discussion questions” included in the book. Feel free to let me know what your answers would be in a comment!
Here goes!
Who is the queen bee in this story?
At first glance, I would have said August. But after some thought, I think the queen bee is Lily’s mother. She’s the thread that pulls the story and everyone in it together, and her memory is what gave Lily the motivation to strike out in search of August. Without Lily’s mother, her father wouldn’t have fallen apart, Lily’s life would be fairly normal, Rosaleen would be working in the peach fields, and Lily would not have connected with the sisters.
What does it take for a person to stand up with conviction to brutalizing injustice?
In my opinion, before a person can stand up to any type of injustice, they have to know who they are, what morals and values are important to them, and how those morals and values fit into the world around them. At that point, a person will be able to evaluate injustices (brutalizing or not), and decide for themselves if that injustice is one that they feel strongly enough about where they will stand up against it.
Generally, would people rather die than forgive?
Personally, I feel this question depends on specific circumstances. And my views on this are apparently quite different from many people’s views. I’m the type of person that forgives first offenses quite easily. I generally don’t dwell on past events, especially with those I don’t know well–I make a mental note of what that other person said/did/didn’t do, and move on. That’s not to say I don’t forget, but I do forgive and move on. If someone truly offends me, is hateful toward me, or hurts me deeply, and does it knowing that it will come across as offensive/hateful/hurtful, and does it a second time, I generally cut them out of my life.
In my opinion, there is no reason to keep toxic people in my life. I have great friends, a wonderful family, the world’s best husband, and really enjoy my life. I don’t see any reason to pollute it with offensive/hurtful/hateful people.
Now, this thought deserves a little more connection to my religion, because in the Jewish faith, forgiveness is essential. The holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, is the Day of Atonement. On this day, Jews ask G-d for forgiveness for all sins that they have/may have committed in the last year, and they ask that in addition to granting them forgiveness, he write them in the book of life so that they can live another year. The catch is that before you ask G-d for forgiveness, you have to be forgiven by those who you have offended/hurt/hated, and you also have to forgive those who ask for your forgiveness. So I do this. But it doesn’t mean I have to include those people in my life.
Here’s my question for you: Do you think that forgiveness means inclusion? What does your religion/faith/belief system say about forgiveness?
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