42 pages • 1 hour read
Katherine PatersonThe Great Gilly Hopkins
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1978A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
“Intimations of Immortality”
William Wordsworth’s famous poem “Intimations of Immortality” becomes a symbol of Gilly’s search for a place she can call home. Gilly often thinks of her favorite lines from the poem at pivotal moments in the story. When Gilly reads the line “trailing clouds of glory do I come” (38), she feels the words “burst across […] like waves upon a beach” (38). This metaphor shows the emotional connection Gilly feels when she reads the poem. The poem contemplates the idea of belonging, which is something that Gilly struggles with throughout the narrative.
The symbolism of the poem becomes richer for Gilly when she learns that one’s home is the place where one is loved and unconditionally accepted.
The Photograph of Courtney Hopkins
The photograph of Courtney that Gilly has hidden in her luggage symbolizes how much Gilly wishes for a deeper connection with her biological mother and the impossibility of her achieving this wish. Gilly prizes the photo and frequently looks at it, which shows how much Gilly loves Courtney and wishes she was a part of her life.
However, Gilly does not know very much about Courtney at all. When Gilly looks at the photo, she compares Courtney to the “star of some TV show” (9). This comparison of Courtney to a TV star shows Gilly’s emotional distance from her mother: Courtney is a stranger to her. For this reason, Gilly creates fantastical stories in her mind about Courtney as “a goddess queen sweeping in to reclaim the long-lost princess” (114). Gilly idealizes her biological mother because of the pain she feels at this loss. The photo symbolizes this core pain that Gilly tries to hide from the world.
When Gilly meets Courtney at the airport for the first time in eight years, Courtney’s changed appearance symbolizes that Courtney is not who Gilly imagined she was; she notes with guilt that Courtney looks like “a flower child gone to seed” (145). Once Gilly begins to view her biological mother more realistically and understand that she is not going to rescue her, she is able to separate herself from Courtney and begin to treasure the people who are present in her life and love her.
Southern Dialect and Idioms
The author employs the Southern dialect, metaphors, and idioms for poetic and humorous effects. The use of this type of speech by certain characters adds to the novel’s realism because it reflects the novel’s setting in 20th-century Maryland.
Maime Trotter often uses humorous Southern idioms to create moments of levity. When Gilly rudely points out how dusty Maime Trotter’s home is, Maime Trotter says, “we been needing somebody to rearrange the dust around here. Ain’t we, William Ernest, honey?” (5). The regional dialect features contractions such as “y’all” and “ain’t,” that characters use frequently, which lends additional realism to the dialogues that the characters have with each other.
When Mr. Randolph compliments her cooking, Maime Trotter says he could “flatter the stripe off a polecat” (14). Later when Gilly teases William Ernest, Maime Trotter is unhappy and says kids can “tease the buttons off a teddy bear” (32). In a more serious moment, Maime Trotter uses a Southern expression to explain to Miss Ellis why she wants to keep Gilly in her home. Miss Ellis tries to argue that Gilly’s problems could affect William Ernest, and Maime Trotter says, “sometimes you gotta walk on your heel and favor your toe [...] Somebody’s got to favor Gilly for a little while. She’s long overdue” (94). Gilly harshly judges people she meets in Thompson Park for their grammar, but she begins to realize that the different dialects that people use should be appreciated. She stops equating the Southern dialect with ignorance when she realizes that Maime Trotter has wisdom that she can learn from.
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By Katherine Paterson
