Make Lemonade Character Analysis

Virginia Euwer Wolff presents the struggles faced by a teenage mother, Jolly, who is raising two children on her own in the novel, Make Lemonade. The story follows the life of a fourteen-year-old high school student, LaVaughn, who is looking for a job. LaVaughn finds a flyer for “babysitter needed bad,” inquires, and lands the job. The author portrays LaVaughn as ambitious, but gentle. LaVaughn plays a pivotal role in the lives of Jolly and her two children, Jeremy and Jilly, as she fulfills the job of babysitter.

Throughout the novel, LaVaughn shows ambition by her willingness to work evenings while attending high school. And, taking on the care of two young children is no easy task especially when they are in much need of love and attention. Although Jolly tries to meet their basic needs, she oftentimes falls short. When LaVaughn takes on the task of helping Jolly, she becomes a major contributor in the lives of the children.

In the beginning of the novel, LaVaughn has a flashback to a conversation with her mother she had when she was a child asking, “Can I go to college when I’m big?” Her mom stopped in her tracks and responded: “Nobody in this building... ever went to college, nobody in my family.” Although this response could have dampened Lavaghn’s desire, instead it put her on the path of wanting to prove her mother wrong. If LaVaughn did not have determination and desire to better herself, her mother’s comment could have set LaVaughn on a path of complacency of not wanting to rise above the challenges that her family had of living in poverty. LaVaughn is a determined and bright young girl who wants to rise above life’s