Lily's comment about "poor news reporting" shows in a
humorous way that in her childlike view of the world, the things that are happening to
her personally are the most important; she still has the egocentric outlook that
everything centers around herself. Her comment is ironic in that the reader knows that
the events covered in the newspaper are important to the world at large, while her
action is relatively insignificant when all is said and done, but Lily thinks it is the
most important thing.
Lily has broken Rosaleen out of
prison, and is trying to escape with her to safety. In her imagination, she fears that
there are "wanted posters (in the post office) of (her) and Rosaleen," and that the
newspapers are filled with details of her deed. When she gets a copy of the paper and
spreads it out on the ground in an alley, she is surprised to find that it
is
"full of
Malcolm X, Saigon, the Beatles, tennis at Wimbledon, and a motel in Jackson,
Mississippi, that closed down rather than accept Negro guests, but nothing about (her)
and Rosaleen."
Not
understanding that, in the greater scheme of things, her actions are insignificant, Lily
blames the oversight on "poor news reporting. She
says,
"Sometimes you want to fall on your knees
and thank God in heaven for all the poor news reporting that goes on in the world"
(Chapter 3).
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