Themes
Unwilling to be Unhappy
The community members, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, refuse to acknowledge that the girls committed suicide. They refuse to admit this because they refuse to give into the idea that they are not living in a perfect society, where happiness goes to live. When the high school held the day of grieving, they never said anything about suicide. The people in the community, including Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, don't want to accept that they are flawed. When Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon go to the church where they held their daughters funerals to make their death records, they say that they all died in accidents. They refuse to admit that they weren't the perfect parents they thought they were.
Isolationism and Lonliness
At the beginning of this book, the main goal of the narrators was to find out why the girls killed themselves. They never say, because as the book progressed, it became more about their connection with the sisters when they were alive, rather than talking about them when they're dead. Like I said, I don't think you need to know why someone killed his/herself, but I believe that the girls ended their lives because they were so isolated and lonely. After Cecilia's first suicide attempt, Dr. Hornicker tell Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon that they should relax a little and allow their daughters to be normal teenagers. There are only two times when I see this, which is when they allow their girls to throw a party and when they could go to homecoming. But after homecoming, Mrs. Lisbon withdrew her daughters from school, and they were rarely seen outside after that. Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon didn't allow their daughters to do normal teenage things, like go out on dates, put on makeup, or even hang out with friends outside of school when they wanted to. Once the girls were confined to their house, the became incredibly isolated and lonely and sad, which I believe was a major contributor to their deaths. `
The community members, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, refuse to acknowledge that the girls committed suicide. They refuse to admit this because they refuse to give into the idea that they are not living in a perfect society, where happiness goes to live. When the high school held the day of grieving, they never said anything about suicide. The people in the community, including Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, don't want to accept that they are flawed. When Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon go to the church where they held their daughters funerals to make their death records, they say that they all died in accidents. They refuse to admit that they weren't the perfect parents they thought they were.
Isolationism and Lonliness
At the beginning of this book, the main goal of the narrators was to find out why the girls killed themselves. They never say, because as the book progressed, it became more about their connection with the sisters when they were alive, rather than talking about them when they're dead. Like I said, I don't think you need to know why someone killed his/herself, but I believe that the girls ended their lives because they were so isolated and lonely. After Cecilia's first suicide attempt, Dr. Hornicker tell Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon that they should relax a little and allow their daughters to be normal teenagers. There are only two times when I see this, which is when they allow their girls to throw a party and when they could go to homecoming. But after homecoming, Mrs. Lisbon withdrew her daughters from school, and they were rarely seen outside after that. Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon didn't allow their daughters to do normal teenage things, like go out on dates, put on makeup, or even hang out with friends outside of school when they wanted to. Once the girls were confined to their house, the became incredibly isolated and lonely and sad, which I believe was a major contributor to their deaths. `
Symbols
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/7/5/24750194/700060663.jpg?1387377323)
Luggage
As the narrators mentioned, luggage became an important symbol in the Lisbon sisters deaths. The night of Cecilia's death, she was seen carrying a suitcase to the backyard and then back into the house. Towards the end of Chapter Four, when the boys go to the Lisbon house to take them anywhere they wanted to go, Lux said that her sisters were still packing and told them that they should wait in the living room while she waited in the car. Luggage was a part of all five of the girls' deaths. It represents the girls readiness and willingness to part with their lives. When a person packs luggage, it's to go on a vacation. So when the girls packed their luggage, it symbolized their trip where they would never return from.
As the narrators mentioned, luggage became an important symbol in the Lisbon sisters deaths. The night of Cecilia's death, she was seen carrying a suitcase to the backyard and then back into the house. Towards the end of Chapter Four, when the boys go to the Lisbon house to take them anywhere they wanted to go, Lux said that her sisters were still packing and told them that they should wait in the living room while she waited in the car. Luggage was a part of all five of the girls' deaths. It represents the girls readiness and willingness to part with their lives. When a person packs luggage, it's to go on a vacation. So when the girls packed their luggage, it symbolized their trip where they would never return from.
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/7/5/24750194/220250776.jpg?1387378147)
The Laminated Pictures of The Virgin Mary
When the paramedics save Cecilia from her first suicide attempt in chapter one, a picture of the Virgin Mary fell out of her hands. In chapter four, when the girls start sending the boys messages, many of them were pictures of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary symbolizes how the sisters, like Mary in the Bible, were going to be part of a tragic fate, which they were. The Virgin Mary was also how the boys knew it was the sisters sending them the messages, because they could link Cecilia holding the Virgin Mary when she tried to kill herself to the Lisbons.
When the paramedics save Cecilia from her first suicide attempt in chapter one, a picture of the Virgin Mary fell out of her hands. In chapter four, when the girls start sending the boys messages, many of them were pictures of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary symbolizes how the sisters, like Mary in the Bible, were going to be part of a tragic fate, which they were. The Virgin Mary was also how the boys knew it was the sisters sending them the messages, because they could link Cecilia holding the Virgin Mary when she tried to kill herself to the Lisbons.