The Three of Us post 6

In this final post about the novel The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn, the main theme is reconciliation. Julia has learned to come to terms with who her parents are and who they always were and will be. In the process of doing this, she begins to better understand herself. "We chose our parents and through the process of choosing them, we become ourselves" (285). Thomas' therapist had explained this to Thomas and for thomas it was a way that he could process and overcome that information. With this, he was able to forgive his parents for his horrific upbringing.

Julia's upbringing was by any standard dysfunctional. Her father was a philanderer and an alcoholic and her mother's worst qualities were her sexual addictions and her emotional abuse of her daughter. Julia's parents did not nurture her in a way that would be expected by society as a whole. Her diary says, "Because we chose em, we must forgive them if we are to forgive ourselves and be free of tension" (285). This quote supports the theme of reconciliation because Thomas learns to forgive his parents.

The Three of Us post 5

In this portion of The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn,the most common and recurring theme is loss. When Geoffrey, one of Julia's oldest friends dies, Julia is not the only person to feel the loss of her friend. His second family does too. Her diary reads, "'Why didn't you do something Julia? You could have saved our daddy!'" (249). When a reader reads these words, a deep sense of sadness comes over the reader because not only did Geoffrey's wife lose a husband, but his children lost a father and Julia a friend. The children blame Geoffrey's death on Julia's friendship with him.

When Julia is at Geoffrey's funeral, she bends and "kissed the cold face and held the still warm hand in my own" (250). By the connotation in these words, the reader feels morose because Geoffrey must have died recently and the shock must still present over his death. She obviously loved this man alot because one feels that she is going to continue to hold this hand till it turns cold. It's as if she's savoring his presence.

The Three of Us post 4

"Stop all love, all feeling for Mummy, allow a complete death or I shall go mad" (200). At this point, Julia has realized the damaging effects of her relationship with her mother. This passage is in Julia's notebook under a to do list. Based on the connotation of the words, Julia still loves her mother. If she says she has to stop loving her mother, she obviously still does love her.

Later, Julia finds that she can't live without her mother. She says " I just feel so lost... I must come back" (200). She couldn't overcome the feelings she has for her mother. Even though her mother has never had any conventional love for Julia, Julia still feels mother- daughter bonds.