ESSAY

LU LIN

ENG 70

OCT 16 2012

Final Draft

The Road to Happiness

            A chrysalis will becomes a beautiful butterfly after it experiences a hard time, like people will find their happiness after they experience many things. There has a little girl named Lily, who killed her mother when she only was 4 years old. Even everyone told her that it was an accident, there still has a weigh on her mind. She is missing her mom everyday, and she could not open her mind to anyone, even her father T-Ray, who does not care about her, does not like her to think about her mom. Fortunately, she found a paper bag, which has a photograph of her mom, a pair of white gloves, and a small wooden picture of a black Mary. Those things become her big secret, and she always wonders about an address, which she found from the black Marry, because she thinks that may be there has someone, who knows her mom, living in this place.  One day, her babysitter makes a big mistake, and Lily saves her life, but they cannot go back home, so they go to the address, which Lily found from the black Mary. They find this place, and meet August Boatwright and her two sisters. Finally, August lets them to stay at her house. Since then, Lily’s life changes. More specifically, her living environment, appearance, and psychology are change.

            The first, Lily’s living environment is change. Before Lily goes to August’ house, she lived with her father T-Ray in outside Sylvan, South Carolina. Everyday she stays with her babysitter Rosaleen, and she does not has any friends, so her spare time is very boring, according to the book ,” I spent the afternoon in the peach stand out on the highway, selling T-Ray’s peaches. It was the loneliest summer job a girl could have, stuck in a roadside hut with three walls and a flat tin roof.” If she does something wrong, T-Ray has a especial way to punish her, according to the book, “I’d been kneeling on grits since I was six, but sill I never got used to that powdered-glass feeling beneath my skin. I walked toward them with those tiny feather steps you expect of a girl in Japan, and lowered myself to the floor, determined not to cry, but the sting was already gathering in my eyes.” However, after Lily comes to August’ house, her world is change. She studies about how to raise bees and get honey, from August, and August also teaches her some philosophy of life, according to the book, “I hadn’t been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called ’bee yard etiquette’. She reminded me that the world was really one big bee yard, and the same rules worked fine in both places: Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, do not be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants. Do not swat. Do not even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee’s temper. Act like you know what you are doing, even if you do not. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved. “ Moreover, She has many friends like August, June, May, and Zach, and they always have a lot of fun when they stay together.

            The second, Lily’s appearance is change. When she live with T-Ray, she does not think about herself like a normal girl, according to the book “I kept thinking I’d grow one the same time my breasts came in, but it didn’t work out that way. I had nice eyes, though, what you would call Sophia Loren eyes, but sill, even the boys who wore their hair in ducktails dripping with Vitalis and carried combs in their shirt pockets didn’t seem attracted to me, and they were considered hard up.” She has a scraggly hair, because nobody helps her or teach her to make her hair looks nice. She even does not have a feat cloth, according to the book, ”My father did not care that I wore clothes I made for myself in home economics class, cotton print shirtwaists with crooked zippers and skirts hanging below my knees, outfits only the Pentecostal girls wore. I might as well have worn a sign on my back: I am not popular and never will be.” However, after she lives with August and her two sisters, she feels that she is becoming like a girl and she is growing up, according to the book ”I was the last person to deserve a halo, but I studied the effect, cupping my hands under my breasts, studied my pinky-brown nipples, the thin curves of my waist, every soft and glowing turn. It was the first time I’d felt like more than a scraggly girl.” When Zach told Lily “ I like you better than any girl I’ve know, ” Lily must know about that she is becoming attraction.

            Finally, Lily’s psychology is change. Before Lily’s live with August and her sisters, her live was full with depressive and guilt, according to the book, “Time folded in on itself then. What is left lies in clear yet disjointed pieces in my head. The gun shining like a toy in her hand, how he snatched it away and waved it around. The gun on the floor. Bending to pick it up. The noise that exploded around us. This is what I know about myself. She was all I wanted. And I took her away.”  She lost her mom when she was so young, even thought she dose not feel any father’s love, according to the book  “I thought if I spelled out the meaning of Daddy to you, it would help you along,” but her father let her down. On the other hand, when Lily lives with August, she becomes cheerful, confident, and happy. The reason is they treat her like their family, and they take care about each other. In addition, Lily experiences her first love with Zach, and they are so happy to stay together, according to the book ,“ It seemed like I was now thinking of Zach forty minutes out of every hour”. Lily starts to writ down something by using the notebook, which is Zach gives to her. Everyday, Lily is so happy, and she enjoys her new live.

            In conclusion, Lily’s living environment, appearance, and psychology are change, and I believe that she will continue her happiness. I think this book not only wants to show us a girl’s sad destiny but also wants us to focus on her strong mind, and how she fight with her sad destiny. Furthermore, this book teaches us that when you live with painful or hopeless, you should keep going and never give up, because something you are on the road to happiness, but you just do not know that you will reach it on the next step.