Previous
Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Great Gilly Hopkins, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Home
Fantasy, Lies, and Growing Up
Bigotry, Insecurity, and Shared Humanity
The Foster Care System
Summary
Analysis
Trotter cooks a delicious feast that night, but nobody wants to eat it. William Ernest cries silently. Gilly wonders how much Miss Ellis told Trotter, specifically about the letter. Had Gilly said something cruel about William Ernest in it, and if so, does Trotter know? Hopefully not—Gilly didn’t mean to cause harm, she just wanted a permanent home. Now, she realizes that Trotter had been trying to give her exactly that. More than that, though, Gilly wants to be more than a “foster child.” She wants to be “real,” and to “belong.”
Finally, Gilly acknowledges outright that her lies are, in fact, lies intended to improve her situation and sometimes hurt others. As she’s grown, she’s come to see how poorly the lies work—and again, that they have consequences. Additionally, she can no longer ignore that her new chosen family has shown her more support than her biological family has at this point. On paper, Gilly would still be a foster child in Trotter’s home, but as Trotter’s behavior has already shown, she had every intention of showing Gilly real love and care. Being a foster parent, in other words, doesn’t make Trotter’s love any less real.
Themes
Finally, Trotter tells everyone to eat, or she’ll jump on the table. She notes that this was supposed to be a party and shares that Gilly’s family is from Loudoun County in Virginia. Mr. Randolph says there are lots of horses there, and William Ernest ask to see Gilly’s if she has horses. Gilly agrees, but Trotter warns William Ernest that it’s best to give people time to settle in when they leave. Angry, Gilly wishes Trotter would just say they can’t see each other again. She promises to write to William Ernest. After dinner, Gilly does her homework and wonders what will happen to Agnes. She decides not to call and say goodbye.
Trotter finds herself in an uncomfortable position here. She wants what’s best for Gilly and for William Ernest, but she’s also the one who’s going to have to help William Ernest through the painful transition as Gilly moves on. Thus, his wellbeing seems to be her priority here—she’s already beginning to pull away from Gilly as her time as Gilly’s legal guardian comes to an end.
Themes
William Ernest returns from walking Mr. Randolph home with the Oxford Book of English Verse, a gift for Gilly. Trotter insists this is a big deal—it’s like Mr. Randolph gave Gilly some of himself. Once she’s alone, Gilly looks up the Wordsworth poem she read for Mr. Randolph. She still doesn’t understand it, but she loves how it sounds and what it looks like in her mind.
Mr. Randolph’s gift makes it clear how much the old man influenced Gilly in a positive way. Where she once approached him with racism and with fear, she now accepts him as an intellectual equal, if not a superior. The book also becomes an important memento of her time here, one she can return to any time to remember what she learned.
Themes
In the middle of the night, Gilly wakes up from a bad dream in which Courtney came for her and then rejected her. Gilly sobs, and Trotter appears, sitting on the bed to comfort Gilly. Wiping Gilly’s tears, Trotter acknowledges that she has “no blood claim” on Gilly, but it’s breaking her heart to see Gilly go. Gilly insists she won’t leave, throwing her arms around Trotter, but Trotter says Gilly must. Rubbing Gilly’s back, Trotter says Gilly shouldn’t—and can’t—come back. She has to commit to her new life. Gilly feels warm, comforted, and safe as Trotter strokes her back. Trotter finally tucks Gilly in, telling Gilly to “make [her] proud.”
It's extremely significant that Gilly’s dream is about being rejected by Courtney, her biological mother. Whereas Courtney has, in fact, abandoned Gilly and can’t give Gilly what she wants, Trotter has been there for Gilly in all the most important ways since Gilly came into her care. In this tender moment, Gilly finally allows herself to accept Trotter’s love. For her part, Trotter reiterates that being a foster mother doesn’t mean she cares any less about Gilly than she would if they had genetic or legal ties to each other. The rules governing the foster care system end up hurting her, even as they also allow her to help many children.
Themes
Get the entire The Great Gilly Hopkins LitChart as a printable PDF.
