Geoffrey Guilcapi
Professor Young
English 1101
23 October 2016
Moving On
Describe the interaction between Cully and Lee. What Happened to Cully? In what ways does Lee help Cully?
Throughout the novel the conflict between the EPA, City Hall, and Lee has been prevalent throughout the novel. Lee has been using all of her resources to make sure that Banes Field is fixed or at the very least have no one living in the area. The EPA's first statement was that the field was safe for human health and has been trying to save their reputation ever since because they were wrong as many families were actually affected. City Hall keeps going with the results given to them from the EPA turning down Lee and her results. After receiving the results Avery Taft decided to build a building on the Field, giving Lee a reason to fight even more. Progressively people in the city as well have turned down Lee, therefore Lee was in the battle by herself. After years of fighting the civil way Lee took measures into her own hands to stop the construction of the new construction building on top of Banes Field.
She went onto the site to blow it up, however Lee was not careful and accidentally hurt Cully with the explosion. The obvious way that Lee helped Cully was physically bringing him to the hospital to help with his injuries. Looking closer at the situation, Cully was not the same person after he took part of the rape of Willa and having Lee apologize to him was a catalyst for him to do the same. Surviving the explosion Cully felt he got the punishment he deserved for what he had done giving him closure and the push he needed to step up and apologize to Willa. This gives the reader an insight into Cully's character as he turns into a dynamic character as he does see his actions as his own fault and not as anyone else's fault. Cully changes over the course of the novel, the change he goes through tells the readers that he would not grow up to be his father as he takes positive responsibly for his actions. Even though the book does not go into the future of each character one could assume that Cully will have a happier life than his father who blames everyone and everything else other than himself. Lee provided Cully with the closure he needed to get over his internal conflict and provide him with a starting point to take positive accountably and stop him from becoming his father.
Works Cited
Steinke, Rene. Friendswood. New York: Riverhead, 2014. Print.
