We think August would concur with the Beatles in their assertion, "Love is all you need." To be sure, it's all Lily wants at the beginning of the novel, as she's not getting a whole lot. She eventually finds love far from her original home, among women who aren't her blood relatives but nonetheless become mother figures to her. Also, she ultimately comes to believe that her parents did love her, which gives her a lot of peace.
Questions About Love
- The novel portrays love as a pretty powerful force—August even seems to think that it can fend off agitated bees. Does love allow the characters to combat some of the novel's larger ills—for example, violence and racism?
- What different kinds of love are represented in the novel?
- T. Ray's love for Deborah ultimately turned into bitterness/animosity when she left him, leaving him incapable of showing any kind of affection for his own kid. How is his love for Deborah different from other kinds that are represented in the novel? Why does the distinction matter?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The novel suggests that the most powerful kind of love is self-acceptance, which allows you to withstand and combat a great deal.
Love is all well and good—but when people like Lily and Zach feel that loving each other will actually create danger for them, how powerful can it be?