Freeman's Got Style

       I have to admit that out of all the readings we did this week on Freeman that "Old Woman Magoun" was my favorite. She puts death and love together in a way that suggests they have always meant to be mixed together. This story was particularly enticing to me because of her ability to put different characters together in a way that not only helps the story function with ease, but makes it so that the built up excitement really POPS! when it is finally concluded.
        The character of Lily embodies every aspect of innocence (or innocence embodies every aspect of Lily), from how innocence presents itself to how innocence survives, which in most cases, including this one, it doesn't. Grandma's character was also very well portrayed as the preserver of innocence in the over-protective, controlling mother figure. Also, the Willises and the Barrys played an interesting role as the conspirers who sought to take the innocence from the young girl. Though Lily was nearly at an acceptable age to be married, her childish habits and her grandmother suggested otherwise. Upon finding out that Lily's father intended to take the young girl, Grandma saw it so unfit that she would rather see Lily's last day come before she be taken by her father who's been nothing but drunk and willfully ignorant of Lily's existence.
     The strongest point in the story for me was when Grandma and Lily were walking to Greenham and Lily stopped to admire some berries. She remarked on how lovely they looked and the Grandma says, "You can't have any now." The hidden agenda behind the words didn't ring until I read a little farther and found out what their business in Greenham was. Once their business had turned out to be a wasted three mile walk, I flipped back a page and read the sentence again. That's when I figured out that no way was Lily going to be taken by her father if she was never to get out of bed again.