English106-01-03 Introductory Composition

When Terry says, “With mother I buried my innocence. With Mimi I will bury my haven,” (273), it reveals a lot of things to us. One thing that it reveals to us is that with her grandma, she felt as is she could confide in her and share all her secrets. With her mom, she kept her innocence. So it is as if she wanted her mother to know only the good things about her, and her grandmother knew everything, the good and the bad about her. She tells us, “Mimi and I shared a clandestine vision of things” (273). This tells us that she was very similar to her grandmother and they shared the same vision on things that she couldn’t share with her mother. She was close with both of them, but each of them in a different way. She wanted her mother to know and see her as a daughter that never did anything wrong and that always abide by her rules, but her grandmother knew her in and out, and she was more like her best friend than a grandmother.
She goes on to find a refuge for her and Brook when canoeing, and she says, “There is no place I would rather be,” (279), she goes on to say, “Together we sprinkle marigold petals into Great Salt Lake,” (280). This shows us that she has finally taken time out for herself and is enjoying life. She has found her refuge and starts to enjoy it. This reveals to us that she has accepted death, because she knew that in order to find another refuge besides her mother, she had to first accept her death. Her mother was someone she thought of as her refuge and the denial of her death caused Terry not to have a refuge and only when she accepted the death could she find another refuge, which means that she is no longer in denial of her mother’s and grandmother’s death.
Finding this refuge allows Terry to start over in her life and be her own person. I think that when her mother and grandmother were alive, she lived in their shadow, but now she has a chance to be herself and enjoy life with her husband. It can be seen as her starting her life over and not depending on anyone else but herself. So the new refuge is a new beginning for her.