In Chapter 7, Lily meets Zach, and Sue Monk Kidd develops themes regarding racism/racial tension through the interactions between Lily and Zach. This causes Lily to re-think her own perceptions of race and racism and how she feels about certain issues. To begin with, when Lily first sees Zach she is shocked on how good looking he was because she always thought that African American people couldn't be attractive. On page 116 it says "But his face I couldn't help staring at. If he was shocked over me being white, I was shocked about him being handsome." This suggests that Lily is in a society where she has learned that if you were African American, you couldn't be attractive and she had actually believed that until she met Zach. Lily never thought that she was a racist, but when she thinks deeply about it, she realizes that ideas of racism have been planted …show more content…
Additionally, Lily talks about how kids in her school were very racist and how they made fun of African Americans. On page 116 it states "At my school they made fun of colored people's lips and noses. I myself laughed at these jokes, hoping to fit in." This indicates that Lily was surrounded by lots of people who did not like black people, and it was a time era where racism was a common thing in the south. Adding on, when Lily and Zach are talking about their futures, Lily tells Zach that he could be a professional football player when he grows up and this does not go down well with Zach. "On page 120 it states " 'Why is it sports it the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football,' he said. 'I wanna be a lawyer.' " This suggests that white people think that blacks can only be athletes and good at sports, and they wouldn't be smart enough to do other jobs. Lily does not realize that she is offending Zach when she says this, but it actually is a hurtful comment to