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Lydia and Nath are very smart. Lydia is able to partly read at the age of 5.

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Lydia and Nath are very smart. Lydia is able to partly read at the age of 5.

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“At five, she could already read some—though not nearly enough as well as Nath—and she sounded out the recipes.” (Ng 136)

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“While her father locked himself in his office and Nath bent his head over the encyclopedia, she would go into the kitchen and take it down from the counter.” (Ng 135-136)

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Lydia is the problem because she doesn’t know how to swim.

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Lydia is the problem because she doesn’t know how to swim.

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“You know Lydia doesn’t know how, he said I’m not ready to play lifeguard today” (Ng 128)

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Lydia makes a promise to herself to do what her mother says if she comes back

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Lydia makes a promise to herself to do what her mother says if she comes back

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“If her mother ever came home and told her to finish her milk, she though, the page wavering to a blur, she would finish her milk.” (Ng 137)

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Lydia refuses to go to swimming class at age three

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Lydia refuses to go to swimming class at age three

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“Lydia refused, refused, to take swim classes at the Y.” (Ng 24)

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“But Lydia, defying genetics, somehow has her mother’s blue eyes, and they know this is one more reason she is their mothers favorite. And their father’s too.” (Ng 3)

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Conclusion after investigating by officer fiske, Lydia doesn’t have friends.

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Conclusion after investigating by officer fiske, Lydia doesn’t have friends.

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“We’ve talked to a number of Lydia’s classmates and teachers as well. From what we can tell, she didn’t have many friends.” (Ng 110)

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Lydia hid a lot of her life from her parents

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Lydia hid a lot of her life from her parents

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“Marilyn works her hand inside and pulls out an open package of Marlboros. And beneath that, she finds something else: an open box of condoms.” (Ng 119)

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WHY the character is important to the novel as a whole.

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WHY the character is important to the novel as a whole.

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If Lydia didn’t die there would be no conflict and there would be no reason to find out why and how she died. If Lydia didn’t die, then things like James cheating and the conflict between Nath and Jack wouldn’t have happened.

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WHY it is so important to understand the character’s past in order to understand his or her present.

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WHY it is so important to understand the character’s past in order to understand his or her present.

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Backstories help the reader understand character motivation and key plot points. Without this readers won't develop an emotional connection to them. It’s also important because we need to know why she would have drowned herself or if she had people that would want to kill her.