Lily and Dunkin

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-11

Chapters 12-33

Chapters 34-57

Chapters 58-73

Chapters 74-94

Chapters 95-118

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Bob, the Banyan Tree

Lily loves Bob because of the time that she spent under its branches having picnics with her family and reading with her Grandpop Bob. Naming the tree Bob, Lily makes a clear connection between that place and her grandfather. Her grandfather was loving and accepted Lily for who she was, telling her that she was beautiful and perfect when she “twirl[ed] in Sarah’s old dress” (50). Lily’s relationship with the tree outside the library symbolizes the relationship she had with her Grandpop; one in which she could be herself and feel safe.

When Lily decides to fight the city regarding Bob’s removal, the tree takes on another symbolic meaning as a silent victim who needs defending. Lily explains that she functions as the Lorax did, speaking for the trees, because trees are defenseless and “someone needs to be brave for them” (250). Lily knows how it feels to have someone trying to destroy her and feel helpless to their cruelty. Though Lily doesn’t believe she can stop her bullies, she believes she can help Bob. Perhaps part of her strength in later shrugging off Vasquez’s influence comes from her experiences standing up for Bob.

Nail Polish

Nail polish serves a variety of symbolic purposes. When Lily first puts the sparkly blue on her nails, the polish symbolizes the step she is taking to be her true self in public. Just seeing the polish on her nails makes Lily “feel so good” (188).

However, the nail polish takes on another meaning when it draws Vasquez’s ire, spurring him to spit on Lily and harass her in gym class. During Vasquez’s cruelty, other students join in, mocking Lily’s nail polish. In this instance, the nail polish is a physical representation of Lily’s identity, and though others react negatively to it, she continues to wear it. When Vasquez mocks Lily’s yellow smiley face nail polish in the locker room before pulling down her pants and underpants in a horrible act of cruelty, the nail polish takes on a different meaning to Lily. Due to the shame and ugliness she feels after that incident, Lily looks at the nail polish as a reminder of the Vasquez’s hate and intolerance and the embarrassment and shame she felt. The negative associations of that experience push Lily to remove the nail polish to remove some of the pain she’s feeling.

When Lily dons bright red nail polish on the night of the eighth-grade dance, it has returned to its initial symbolic meaning, serving as a triumphant step in being her true self in the public eye.

Flamingos

Flamingos serve as a bit of comic relief in Lily’s otherwise fraught life. Silly costumes, such as “a flamingo wearing a flamingo hat” strike her as “hilarious” (47) and distract her from the distance between her and her father and the cruelty of Vasquez and the Neanderthals. The flamingos provide something “unexpected” in the cookie-cutter and “sterile Beckford Palms” (315).

The neighborhood men pull them from the yards to maintain uniformity and because they do not fit established norms. Lily works through most of the novel to be her true self, even if that identity does not conform to the traditional “boy/girl color code [that] is determined right from birth” (73), so the flamingos feel representative of her in some ways. As someone who has had to fight to be her true self, with her family and with her peers, the idea that something pleasant would be removed to maintain uniformity is disconcerting and upsetting to Lily.