The Great Gilly Hopkins | Themes

The Great Gilly Hopkins Themes

Coming of Age

The Great Gilly Hopkins is a story about a pre-teen girl using her difficult life circumstances to learn and mature. Gilly makes enormous strides from being a defiantly gummy-haired kid in the backseat of Miss Ellis's car, to a dressed-up, neatly combed young woman at the airport. She learns that her actions have consequences, like when the postcard to her mother asking for help actually leads to her moving to Virginia. She comes to understand the pattern she has created, of her bad behavior leading to her being moved to a new foster home. She takes responsibility for this, and for her personal and academic success.

It is said that once your comfort zone is stretched, it never shrinks back to its original size. This can be said of Gilly's experience in Thompson Park. She confronts her own racial prejudices. She changes her expectations of her academic performance. In addition,...
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