Prompt:
There are bound to be some serious questions going on after reading
Lily's fragmented flashback and reminisce of her time in T.Ray's house.
What's on your mind?
Response Requirement:
* Write down a question (or two). Don't just ask the question. Supply reasons why you are confused.
* What is the line/quote you are reflecting on?
>> Why did Lily's mother want to leave? In what Lily could remember, her mother was always happy. Maybe she was happy only around Lily, trying to save her little girl. Was Lily's mother planning on taking Lilly with her? She seemed to love Lily so much, and was in pain for her daughter when T Ray slammed her fragile body against the wall.
ReplyDelete>> '"Get in your goddamned room!" he shouted, and shove me. I landed against the wall, then fell forward onto my hands and knees. Lifting my head, looking past him, I saw her running across the room. Running at him, yelling. "Leave. Her. Alone."'
Why does T ray make lily kneel on Martha white grits as her punishment? I don't get that because lily doesn't do anything wrong and T ray just makes her kneel on it, and did he make her do that when she was younger??
ReplyDeleteFirst i did not really get why Tray keeled on Martha white grits, but then i found out why it punishment. Confusing part is in the last pages of chapter. And why Tray does not want to answer question about her mother
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the flashback in which Lily reveals what happened with her mom, I became a little confused, especially when she kept referring back to it. In those couple of paragraphs when Lily was explaining the incident, she said there was a gun involved. From what I read, it seemed that T. Ray took the gun first, then dropped it, and then Lily got a hold of it? If so, was she the one to actually shoot her own mother? The description wasn't quite clear to me and seemed a bit blurry, only being able to get bits and pieces of what occurred. "She was all I wanted. And I took her away." From page eight, this quote makes me wonder if Lily was the one to shoot her mother, but I am not one hundred percent sure.
ReplyDeleteI also would like to know why T. Ray kept Lily through the years and didn't just give her away? Maybe he thought she would be able to help out with the peach stands? I hope this question will be answered because I don't know why in the world T. Ray would keep Lily if he has so much to complain about her. What did he think he was going to get out of it? Clearly he can't raise her by himself, and that's what Rosaleen is for (to help), but why would he want to carry all that extra stress on himself. Does he really love Lily and we, as the readers, just cant identify it yet? I can only hope that i will learn the answers to these questions as i continue to read.
Why was T.Ray so mean to both Lily and Deborah on the day she died? Why is he still mean to Lily today? Could it be because he isn't happy with their family? Maybe he is just mean in general and doesn't have any feelings for anyone else. I am confused with this because it is his family. Everyone loves their family. If T.Ray was going to be so mean then why would he marry Deborah and a child in the first place?
ReplyDelete"Get in your goddamned room!"
T.Ray was clearly a very angry person. I don't get why though. It could possible be about his past.
Did Lily shoot the gun, or did it go off by itself? Lily could only remember picking up the gun, and hearing it go off. She doesn't remember pulling the trigger, and even her father claims it as a freak accident and nobody is sure what exactly happened. I highly doubt that Lily pulled the trigger however, since she was just a child at the time, and I doubt she had enough strength to pull the trigger. The gun must have been defected, which is very sad, since Lily would be left with the guilt of her touching the gun last. Also, I wonder why Lily's father is so abusive. Was he abused as a child? Or back then, was it common to find parents abusing their children.
ReplyDeleteWhat had made T-Ray so mad at Lily’s mother? It seemed that she was packing up and leaving. Due to the yelling that followed, I think that she really wanted to leave him, and he won’t let her. But did she plan to take Lily with her or leave her with T-Ray? The motives for this departure are unclear on both sides. “I don’t remember what they said, only the fury of their words, how the air turned raw and full of welts”. I really wonder what transpired between T-Ray and Lily’s mom.
ReplyDeleteHow does Lily’s mother die? I read the chapter and it says that Lily went for the gun and then it just went off. Is the reason why the gun went off because of being dropped by her mom or did Lily accidental pull the trigger when she grabbed it. I find that it just said the gun went off and did not explain why.
ReplyDelete>>Why exactly did Lily's mother leave? T. Ray said, " You listen to me," his voice deadly calm, " The truth is, your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she'd come back to get her things, thats all. You can hate me all you want, but shes the one who left you." When T. Ray says this, it makes me not believe him, because of his nasty personality. I can almost know she left because of something else, not because of Lily. A mother wouldn't be so upset with their child, that they would leave the house because of them. Besides, what mother would leave their child with a man like that!? It was deffinately something else...just what??
ReplyDelete>>If T. Ray doesn't care about how Lily looks, and how she dresses, and punnishes her for stupid things, and pretty much doesn't respect her as a person, then why does he go out and try to find Lily after left the house the first time? Why does he care that she was sitting in jail? Why did he care if she did meet a boy in the orchard, even though she really didn't? It might be the slightest hint of love or caring about her, or it might just be taking care of a dirty dish rag,just because he has to. People aren't born hating, or being mean to peolple. Something happpened in his life to change him. Something drastic..i wonder what? It might have something to do with his wife as well.
>>Why exactly did Lily's mother leave? T. Ray said, " You listen to me," his voice deadly calm, " The truth is, your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she'd come back to get her things, thats all. You can hate me all you want, but shes the one who left you." When T. Ray says this, it makes me not believe him, because of his nasty personality. I can almost know she left because of something else, not because of Lily. A mother wouldn't be so upset with their child, that they would leave the house because of them. Besides, what mother would leave their child with a man like that!? It was deffinately something else...just what??
ReplyDelete>>If T. Ray doesn't care about how Lily looks, and how she dresses, and punnishes her for stupid things, and pretty much doesn't respect her as a person, then why does he go out and try to find Lily after left the house the first time? Why does he care that she was sitting in jail? Why did he care if she did meet a boy in the orchard, even though she really didn't? It might be the slightest hint of love or caring about her, or it might just be taking care of a dirty dish rag,just because he has to. People aren't born hating, or being mean to peolple. Something happpened in his life to change him. Something drastic..i wonder what? It might have something to do with his wife as well.
I keep wondering if Lily's mother really was leaving. Was T.Ray abusive? (Since he did make Lily kneel on the grits) She was packing her bags so she must've been. Is Lily trying to keep this terrible event in the back of her mind? Lily's mother must have loved her, since she kept saying "Hurry." to Lily.
ReplyDeleteWas Lily's mother really "cleaning out the closet" the day she left, or was she leaving? Why would she want to leave though? I understand that T. Ray might have been part of it, but why would she choose to leave Lily? Maybe she was planning to take Lily with her. But T. Ray would never allow that. He would be even more furious.
ReplyDelete"You listen to me," he said, his voice deadly calm. "The truth is, your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she'd come back to get her things, that all. You can hate me all you want, but she's the one who left you."
Why did Lily's mom want to leave Lily and T-Ray? i am confused about that because she loved Lily a lot and that is why she wanted to protect her from T-Ray. Also, i was wondering was she planing on taking Lily with her? Because she seemed to love Lily a lot, and was in pain for her daughter when T-Ray slammed her fragile body against the wall.
ReplyDelete"Get in your goddamned room!" he shouted, and shove me. I landed against the wall, then fell forward onto my hands and knees. Lifting my head, looking past him, I saw her running across the room. Running at him, yelling. "Leave. Her. Alone."'
Why did Lily let T ray treat her like that for so long? I would never let him treat my like that for years and not say anything. What he's doing to Lily is not okay.
ReplyDeleteWhat if what t tray said about Deborah was true? If what t Ray said was true Lily would be so hurt. And if it is true why didn't he tall her the truth first?
==Why didn't lily runaway earlier? Her dad is such a hater. He says "your mother left you, she hated you like I hate you". He also abused Lily with those grates. He doesn't want Lily to read and get smarter. He only cares about himself.
ReplyDelete===Why didn't Rosaleen say something to T-ray about abusing Lily earlier? If I was Rosaleen I would have yelled at T -ray saying" that girl aint do noting wrong now if you get those grates out im going to have to whoop you."
I was wondering how the gun was fired. Did Lily accidentally pull the trigger when she picked it up? I'm confused about this because Lily was very young and she definitely did not know how to shoot a gun, so did it go off on its own or did she do it? Also i was wondering why T. Ray made Lily kneel on the Martha Whites when she didn't even do anything wrong in the first place. He just decided to randomly punish her and hurt her? Back then did parents often abuse their children? I think that maybe T. Ray was abused as a child and cruelly punishing Lily is the only way he knows how to get his point across.
ReplyDelete