English106-01-03 Introductory Composition

I think by now, towards the end of the story, Terry has learned to accept death and seek refuge. She has lived through the death of her mother and both of her grandmothers. Terry, in a sense, can see her own life in her mother's. Just like the rest of the women in her family, she more than likely will face the same fate of breast cancer. Terry already has a small tumor in her chest that is potentially cancerous. In another 15 to 20 years, Terry will be her mother. She will face the same death as the other women in her family. But Terry has accepted this fact. She understands now that death is part of life. As she mourned the death of her loved ones, Great Salt Lake rose as if it were mourning with her, filling the desert with its tears. As the years pass, Terry learns to deal with the deaths of her mother and her grandmothers. After she stops her mourning, Great Salt Lake stops too, and the floods recede. I believe that Terry has found her refuge in death. She searches throughout the book for her refuge, but as she comes to terms with death, I think she realizes ones only refuge from this world is after you leave it. She is ok with death now, because she knows her death will be her refuge.