Like it or not, everyone struggles with pride. Not surprisingly, it runs rampant in Lily's story in One Whole and Perfect Day, from her bossy nature to Stan's refusal to apologize to Lonnie to Clara's belief that she knows how to solve her mom's marital problems. Pride prevents them from showing kindness and forgiveness to each other, letting people make their own decisions, and accepting family members as they are. These characters may think they're doing just fine on their own, but their belief that they know best actually makes a huge mess of things. Oops.
Questions About Pride
- What do these characters have to be so prideful about? Why do they consider their interests so important?
- Think about the major family conflicts in the story—Lonnie and Pop, Clara and her father, and Lily and her mother. Who is responsible in each of these situations? If they both bear responsibility, what has each done to contribute to the situation?
- How does each generation respond to pride differently?
- Who is the most prideful character in the book? Whose pride creates the biggest mess?
Chew on This
Stan's anger toward Lonnie is largely due to the generational differences between them and the idea that kids Lonnie's age have less work ethic and responsibility.
Pride doesn't care how old someone is, and this book is as much about the younger characters dealing with pride as it is the older characters.