Family is not always about blood sometimes it’s about who is there to hold your hand and support you, when you need them! - Unknown. Throughout the book in Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, the main characters Jolly and LaVaughn face how family support affects their identities. As LaVaughn, a fourteen year old lives with her supportive mom, Jolly, a seventeen year old teenage mom is living in dangerous apartment with her two children alone. Frequently throughout the book, the amount of support Jolly and LaVaughn get from their families affects their education, living conditions, and happiness.
One way the amount of support LaVaughn and Jolly get affects their education. The amount of support they get from their families really affect …show more content…
For example, when LaVaughn was on her way home in the bus feeling mad. She felt like “there were bright hot lights inside [her]” LaVaughn knew that something had to get done and Jolly wasn’t going to do it. As she kicked a candy wrapper in front of her she listened to her “teeth scraping each other,” and feels as if “there’s [a] microphone against [her] brain and [she doesn’t] know what to say into it.” (Wolff 99) To add, when LaVaughn puts so much time and effort into helping Jolly and when she doesn’t follow through and takes ten steps back it affects the amount of happiness in LaVaughn's life. LaVaughn wants to do the right thing and make others happy, but when they don’t follow through and waste her time, LaVaughn’s happiness lessens. With LaVaughn’s mother arguing with LaVaughn for babysitting Jolly’s kids and helping Jolly out while she gets back on her feet affects the way LaVaughn feels. A similar example that shows how family support affects their happiness is, as LaVaughn was explaining to her mother and says,“Jolly she’s gonna get on her feet. She’s had bad luck.” As LaVaughn continues to explain how Jolly’s life going is compared to a bowling ball going sideways, then her mother steps in and says “The gutter is what you call it, LaVaughn.” (Wolff 75)LaVaughn then leaves the house not saying a word to her mother for what she said. In other ways, this example shows that LaVaughn’s mother is not supportive of her babysitting Jolly’s kids. Even if LaVaughn’s mother does not like that LaVaughn is babysitting Jolly’s kids, she can still support LaVaughn and not knock her down for doing a good deed. With LaVaughn’s mother knocking her down and telling her that it will be very hard or almost impossible for Jolly to get back on her feet, this makes LaVaughn want to make decisions against LaVaughn’s mother's request. With LaVaughn helping Jolly
One way the amount of support LaVaughn and Jolly get affects their education. The amount of support they get from their families really affect …show more content…
For example, when LaVaughn was on her way home in the bus feeling mad. She felt like “there were bright hot lights inside [her]” LaVaughn knew that something had to get done and Jolly wasn’t going to do it. As she kicked a candy wrapper in front of her she listened to her “teeth scraping each other,” and feels as if “there’s [a] microphone against [her] brain and [she doesn’t] know what to say into it.” (Wolff 99) To add, when LaVaughn puts so much time and effort into helping Jolly and when she doesn’t follow through and takes ten steps back it affects the amount of happiness in LaVaughn's life. LaVaughn wants to do the right thing and make others happy, but when they don’t follow through and waste her time, LaVaughn’s happiness lessens. With LaVaughn’s mother arguing with LaVaughn for babysitting Jolly’s kids and helping Jolly out while she gets back on her feet affects the way LaVaughn feels. A similar example that shows how family support affects their happiness is, as LaVaughn was explaining to her mother and says,“Jolly she’s gonna get on her feet. She’s had bad luck.” As LaVaughn continues to explain how Jolly’s life going is compared to a bowling ball going sideways, then her mother steps in and says “The gutter is what you call it, LaVaughn.” (Wolff 75)LaVaughn then leaves the house not saying a word to her mother for what she said. In other ways, this example shows that LaVaughn’s mother is not supportive of her babysitting Jolly’s kids. Even if LaVaughn’s mother does not like that LaVaughn is babysitting Jolly’s kids, she can still support LaVaughn and not knock her down for doing a good deed. With LaVaughn’s mother knocking her down and telling her that it will be very hard or almost impossible for Jolly to get back on her feet, this makes LaVaughn want to make decisions against LaVaughn’s mother's request. With LaVaughn helping Jolly