What is the significance of Deborah's letters to Lily's search for identity?

• A. They confuse Lily
• B. They reveal Lily's rebellious side
• C. They connect Lily to her mother and broaden her understanding of Deborah's life
• D. They predict Lily's future

Answer: (C)

Reading Deborah’s letters gives Lily a direct link to her mother, letting her see Deborah as a real person with hopes, fears, and experiences, not just a memory. The letters reveal Deborah’s life in fuller detail—the choices she made, the love she carried, and the world she inhabited—so Lily can understand where she comes from and why she may think or feel the way she does. This deeper view helps Lily place herself within a family story, bridging the gap between the daughter she imagines and the mother she never fully knew. In short, the letters connect Lily to Deborah in a meaningful, human way and broaden her sense of who Deborah was, which in turn broadens Lily’s own understanding of her identity. They don’t confuse Lily or predict her future; they illuminate who Deborah was and how that history relates to who Lily is becoming.