Some people experience what it's like to be a teen mom, and others experience what it is like to survive on little. These conflicts, including many more, are included in Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, but they are solved by education. When LaVaughn needs a job to start saving for college, she turns to Jolly, a teenage mom of two. Jolly asks LaVaughn to babysit her kids in return for money. In Make Lemonade, readers notice that different forms of education shape identity by making them a better person. This is shown through the characters of LaVaughn, Jolly, and Jeremy through different experiences.
One of the main characters was LaVaughn. She learned that it doesn't really matter what is on the outside, what matters is what is in …show more content…
When LaVaughn first came into Jolly’s life, her house was a mess. “This Jolly’s apartment is disorderly and it smells. / But I can see right away that there is a lot causing it.” (6) Jolly had a lot going on in the beginning of the book and didn't know how to properly raise her kids, along with cleaning the house. As she decided to go to school and learn more about taking care of her kids, LaVaughn started noticing how her house was beginning to look cleaner. “The dishes are stacked neat and orderly, / the counter doesn't have yuck in the cracks, / no cereal is all over the high-chair edges. / The floors are still terrible, though” (143). This is showing how Jolly is learning to care for herself and her surroundings more, which makes her a better parent -- she created a safer environment for her children. Even though “the floors are still terrible”, it shows that she is making progress. Another thing that helps Jolly become a better parent is when she starts thinking more about her kids, rather than money. After the teacher noticed that Jeremy’s vision wasn’t very good, they ask Jolly to take him into the doctor, but she was worried about the cost. “So Jolly takes a few days to go Jeremy-how-could-you? / and then she gets around / to keeping the appointment they made” (140). Eventually she took Jeremy to the doctor, and put aside the thought …show more content…
(185)
This shows that everything that LaVaughn thought Jeremy paid off, saving Jilly’s life.
As you can see, almost every character in Make Lemonade learned something throughout the book. Jolly learned how to become a better parent, LaVaughn learned to not judge what’s on the outside, and even little Jeremy saved Jilly’s life. This book teaches readers that education can play a big role in people's lives, and to never take that for
One of the main characters was LaVaughn. She learned that it doesn't really matter what is on the outside, what matters is what is in …show more content…
When LaVaughn first came into Jolly’s life, her house was a mess. “This Jolly’s apartment is disorderly and it smells. / But I can see right away that there is a lot causing it.” (6) Jolly had a lot going on in the beginning of the book and didn't know how to properly raise her kids, along with cleaning the house. As she decided to go to school and learn more about taking care of her kids, LaVaughn started noticing how her house was beginning to look cleaner. “The dishes are stacked neat and orderly, / the counter doesn't have yuck in the cracks, / no cereal is all over the high-chair edges. / The floors are still terrible, though” (143). This is showing how Jolly is learning to care for herself and her surroundings more, which makes her a better parent -- she created a safer environment for her children. Even though “the floors are still terrible”, it shows that she is making progress. Another thing that helps Jolly become a better parent is when she starts thinking more about her kids, rather than money. After the teacher noticed that Jeremy’s vision wasn’t very good, they ask Jolly to take him into the doctor, but she was worried about the cost. “So Jolly takes a few days to go Jeremy-how-could-you? / and then she gets around / to keeping the appointment they made” (140). Eventually she took Jeremy to the doctor, and put aside the thought …show more content…
(185)
This shows that everything that LaVaughn thought Jeremy paid off, saving Jilly’s life.
As you can see, almost every character in Make Lemonade learned something throughout the book. Jolly learned how to become a better parent, LaVaughn learned to not judge what’s on the outside, and even little Jeremy saved Jilly’s life. This book teaches readers that education can play a big role in people's lives, and to never take that for