Raymie Nightingale

The theme of coping with loss runs throughout the book and colors every misadventure the three protagonists find themselves in. It is only through confronting the deepest losses, finding the ability to trust again, and accepting that some tragedies cannot be undone that the main characters are able to move on and find new hope in life.

All three girls have suffered significant losses: Raymie and Beverly’s fathers have both abandoned their families, and Louisiana is an orphan. Within the remaining family units, there are more subtle losses each girl suffers. Raymie’s mother is so devastated by her husband leaving that she is emotionally unavailable, leaving Raymie without her support. Beverly’s mother abuses her, so not only has Beverly lost a father whom she idolizes, but she has lost the one place where should be safe, at home with her mother. The death of Louisiana’s parents has also resulted in her losing her family home. Her granny, whom Louisiana lives with, is a wonderful lady, but they live in poverty, always keeping one step ahead of authorities whom Granny is convinced are trying to put Louisiana in an orphanage. For Granny, who has already lost her husband and one of her children, loosing Louisiana would be too much to bear.

The characters display many different ways of coping with these losses. Initially Raymie copes with the loss of her father by her determination to fix the situation:

The thought […] that she, Raymie Clarke, was without a father, made a small, sharp pain shoot through Raymie’s heart every time she considered it. Sometimes the pain in her heart made her feel too terrified to go on. Sometimes it made her want to drop to her knees. But then she would remember that she had a plan (4).

When Mrs. Borkowski dies, a second devastating tragedy for Raymie, there is no fix or “plan,” so Raymie struggles to deal with her death. It is only through her friendship with Louisiana that Raymie achieves a measure of comfort.

Louisiana deals with her immense loss by escaping into an optimistic part-fantasy world, fueled by her vivid and hopeful imagination. Despite all the signs pointing to Archie being dead, Louisiana steadfastly refuses to believe it. She creates books in her head loosely based on reality but full of optimism and with happy endings. Louisiana tells Raymie and Beverly stories about the Flying Elefantes, her trapeze artist parents, and their exotic travels, but she doesn’t initially share that her parents are dead. When she does, she is smiling, looking angelic, and explains in a matter-of-fact way: “My parents. They died. They aren’t the Flying Elefantes anymore. They’re not anything anymore. They’re at the bottom of the ocean. They were on a ship that sank. Maybe you heard about it?” (93). Louisiana clearly understands the depth of her losses, and she is always balanced on the edge of sadness.

Beverly deals with her loss by hiding all her emotion behind a tough shell. She gives the impression of being afraid of nothing and that nothing, not even being hit by Ida Nee, can hurt her. She has been through so much pain at the hands of adults, both her father and her mother and then Ida Nee, that she has developed a jaded, pessimistic view of life. Everyone she trusted has betrayed her, so she finds it easier to trust no one and rely only on herself. All three girls have lost their childhood innocence and security, but perhaps Beverly the most. It is only when she begins to trust her new friends that Beverly lets her guard down and realizes that there are still people out there who love her and who will support her.

The girl’s newfound friendships open up new avenues to deal with their losses in a healthier way and to begin to move forward. Louisiana’s fantasy world is grounded by her friendship with factual Beverly and the knowledge that both Raymie and Beverly are unconditionally going to help her when she needs them. Through her relationships with Beverly and Louisiana, Raymie realizes that losing her father is not the end of the world and that her friend Louisiana, who has lost so much, needs to win the contest far more than she does.