The Lottery Rose

Content Warning: The source material contains descriptions of child neglect, abuse, trauma, and child death.

The beauty and fragrance of roses are often associated with love and its transformative power. However, roses also contain thorns that emblemize that life and love involve pain. Before Georgie even wins the rosebush, the promise of owning something gives him hope, and he clings to the lottery ticket, reciting its numbers like a prayer or chant. To the bystander, the scraggly rosebush doesn’t look like much of a prize, but to Georgie, it represents the tender shoot of hope still inside him. For Georgie, winning the rosebush is the first good thing that has ever happened to him: “Of all good things on earth, a rosebush. The whole world set up singing as Georgie clutched the prize against his chest” (27). He whisks the shrub away, desperate to protect it and secure fertile ground where it can thrive. Like Georgie, however, there is no safe place for the delicate plant, and he is forced to carry it home. Winning the rosebush quickly becomes a curse as it dooms Georgie to receive a beating from Steve so severe that it sends him to the hospital. The landlord tosses the rosebush in the trash, and Georgie, too, feels he’s been disposed of and left to wither away alone: “Unmindful of the thorns, he buried his face against it in a spasm of love and relief” (41). As Georgie clings to the rosebush during his recovery, it becomes a metaphor for his journey of healing and growth.

The rosebush also symbolizes Georgie’s need for a nurturing environment. Georgie’s life begins again at the Catholic boys’ school, but taking root requires time, like any transplanted living thing. Georgie identifies Mrs. Harper’s garden as the perfect place to plant the rosebush. Still, she rejects his request, and after he secretly plants it and she tosses it away, Georgie feels it as an attack on himself: “He hurt at the thought of his bush feeling neglected and unloved” (69). He languishes under the pain, refuses to eat, and his healing stalls. It is only when the rosebush is planted in Mrs. Harper’s garden, despite her initial resistance, that Georgie and the plant begin to thrive. Despite being neglected and mistreated, the rosebush thrives under Georgie’s care, mirroring Georgie’s transformation as Sister Mary Angela and others tenderly manage his uprooting and resettling. In his darkest moments of pain and frustration, Georgie speaks to the rosebush, imagining it hears and responds to him. Through his relationship with the rosebush, Georgie learns about love, patience, and the importance of nurturing and caring for something beautiful.

Georgie’s care and tenderness for the rosebush are also mirrored in his relationship with Robin. His companionship with the young boy teaches him about patience and compassion, and he learns to accept and love Robin as he is. In the same way that the adults in his life are patient with his healing process, Georgie must be patient and accommodating to Robin’s behavior. Though he sometimes feels like he isn’t making any measurable progress, Robin begins speaking words, and his perspective reveals that he’s developed a love for Georgie that mirrors his love for his brother Paul. After Robin’s tragic death, Georgie knows he must replant the rosebush near Robin’s grave. His willingness to move the rosebush to honor his friend symbolizes Georgie’s emotional development as he can let go of his obsession with the shrub at last. The rosebush’s deep roots represent both its and Georgie’s healing and the transformative power of love to overcome adversity. Symbolically, Mrs. Harper helps Georgie replant the shrub, a sign of their shared grief and a new beginning in their relationship.