Lilly's Fulfilly: A Symbol Of Hope

In this novel there are multiple symbols, ranging from people, to locations, to objects. First of all, Lilly spends the majority of her time with a woman that lives and volunteers with, as well as sharing memories of somewhere they once knew, Ethiopia. Amina is a symbol of hope in Lilly’s life. While Lilly is living in London, she is going through a hard time remaining hopeful about not only the situation in Ethiopia, but what has possibly happen to the love of her life, Aziz. Every weekend while volunteering for Ethiopian refugees, Lilly hopes to see Aziz on a list of names, which proves to be difficult for Lilly. Despite what has happen to Amina however, she remains positive for not only her own situation but Lilly’s as well: “It is Amina’s hope that keeps me buoyed, keeps it bearable in those moments when the names slip like water through my fingers” (30-31). Lilly finds it difficult to not only watch the events occur in Ethiopia, but continue searching through lists of names hoping to see Aziz on a list somewhere. There are days when all the names slip blur in her mind and all hope is lost. However, with Amina she can remain buoyed, and return back to the surface to continue looking for Azizs’ escape from Ethiopia, instead of letting herself sink, and ultimately give up. …show more content…
While growing up with her legitimate parents, they never believed in staying in one spot for very long, and Lilly never felt that she had a real home. Not only does Lilly consider Ethiopia has her home because that was where she was forced to live after the death of parents, but also because it was where she grew into the person she is once moving to London. Similar to Lilly, Amina spent part of her life in the City of Harar, and her and Lilly share their love and memory of their past life