The Year of Billy Miller is chock-full of hard workers. Yep, we've got a book where our characters can persevere through their rough patches. So when Billy hits a roadblock when he's writing his poem, he pushes right on through, and when Papa can't find inspiration for his art, he just keeps on chugging. Even Sal works hard at reading, plus we've got some hard-working role models in Mama and Ms. Silver, to boot. In fact, we have a tough time finding any characters that don't persevere through their struggles in this tale.
But that doesn't mean the struggles are easy to get through. And it sure doesn't mean that the characters always reach their goals exactly like they'd predicted. But them's the breaks when it comes to perseverance.
Questions About Perseverance
- What motivates the characters in The Year of Billy Miller to persevere? Is there anything that makes them feel like giving up?
- Which characters work the hardest? Are there any slackers in this book? What's the difference between the characters who persevere and the ones who don't?
- Does trying hard always pay off in this book? When do you think perseverance helps the characters meet their goals? And when is working hard just not enough?
Chew on This
Working hard won't get you anywhere. Billy works hard but never truly meets his goals so it's not really worth it.
Working hard is tough but totally valuable. Billy faces tons of rough patches, but he perseveres through each and always emerges a bit better for having done so.