A Visit from the Goon Squad

by

Jennifer Egan

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Lulu Character Analysis

Dolly’s daughter, Lulu is a sociable young girl who often seems ashamed of and unable to relate to her mother. She travels with Dolly to an unnamed location to do PR work for the General. As an adult, Lulu works with Alex as a social media marketer, and prefers to communicate through text messaging. Lulu is intelligent and sensitive; traits she uses to help Alex promote a history-making concert.

Lulu Quotes in A Visit from the Goon Squad

The A Visit from the Goon Squad quotes below are all either spoken by Lulu or refer to Lulu. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Time and Memory Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

Entering Lulu's bedroom, Dolly felt like Dorothy waking up in Oz: everything was in color. A pink shade encircled the overhead lamp. Pink gauzy fabric hung from the ceiling. Pink winged princesses were stenciled onto the walls: Dolly had learned how to make the stencils in a jailhouse art class and had spent days decorating the room while Lulu was at school. Long strings of pink beads hung from the ceiling. When she was home, Lulu emerged from her room only to eat.

Related Characters: Dolly Peale (La Doll) (speaker), Lulu
Page Number: 145-146
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lulu Character Timeline in A Visit from the Goon Squad

The timeline below shows where the character Lulu appears in A Visit from the Goon Squad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Safari
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
...named will go to college at Colombia, study robotic technology, and marry an American named Lulu. His technology will be used for crowd security in New York City. (full context)
Chapter 8: Selling the General
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...doing English lessons online with students in Tokyo. She was attempting to keep her daughter, Lulu, in a private school. When Arc called to ask if she could recover The General’s... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...a bow, and to show some of The General’s hair in front. As she speaks, Lulu comes into the room, and Dolly feels an inner collapse at the fact that Lulu... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Dolly enters Lulu’s bedroom and is struck by the colors. Her eyes linger on images of winged princesses... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Dolly tells Lulu that she has to take a business trip. She figures Lulu will want to stay... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Dolly and Lulu meet Kitty at the airport, and Dolly is immediately struck with regret. Kitty looks disheveled,... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...through twenty checkpoints before reaching The General’s compound. Dolly looks for signs of trauma on Lulu, but is surprised to find Lulu staring down the men with guns at the checkpoints.... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
...agrees to go wherever The General wants them to go, and says, “right, kiddo?” to Lulu. It takes Lulu a moment to realize that Kitty is talking to her, and when... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
...offers to take them out for a tour. Kitty decides to stay and drink, but Lulu and Dolly go. Before leaving, Dolly tells Kitty not to overdo the alcohol, and to... (full context)
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Arc takes Dolly and Lulu to an outdoor market in the city. Lulu picks out a star fruit. Arc takes... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...plastic pans buckling and dumping burning oil on the guests. She feels at ease because Lulu is sleeping next to her. Dolly had Lulu in her middle age after getting pregnant... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...the city limits. Kitty begins to smoke, and Dolly wants to scold her for subjecting Lulu to it. (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Kitty asks Lulu what she wants to do with her life. Lulu, who is only nine, doesn’t know.... (full context)
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Dolly, Lulu, Kitty, and Arc arrive in a jungle, and camouflaged men come from the trees. They... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...the job is done. She feels proud that she had arranged the event, and that Lulu had seen it. Kitty scans the crowd, and then asks The General if this place... (full context)
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
The soldiers whisk Dolly and Lulu back to the cars. Lulu rests her head on Dolly’s lap and cries as they... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
A short while later, Lulu emerges from her room in her school uniform. Dolly is surprised that she wants to... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
...General comes to New York to speak about his country’s transition to democracy. Dolly and Lulu have moved out of the city, but they drive back one night to meet with... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...movie, in which Kitty plays a jockey and rides on horseback. Dolly had gone with Lulu to see the movie in the town where they now live, in Upstate New York.... (full context)
Chapter 13: Pure Language
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Alex meets with Lulu, who is Bennie’s assistant. They are working together on the social media marketing campaign for... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Alex learns that Lulu has known Bennie since she was a child because her mother, Dolly, was a friend... (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Cara-Ann wakes up, and asks who Lulu is. Lulu asks if she can just “T” Alex, meaning can she send him a... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...catch her. Alex, left alone for a moment, checks his phone, finding some texts from Lulu reporting people who have agreed to join their marketing campaign. When Cara-Ann returns, she cries... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
...though he can’t remember if they had sex. Just then, Alex gets a text from Lulu, asking if he has heard that Bennie moved Scotty’s concert outdoors. This means that Alex... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Alex leaves Rebecca and Cara-Ann in the crowd after receiving a text message from Lulu that Bennie needs help. Alex goes to Scotty’s trailer, and finds Bennie and an old... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
...the groin. He throws the door open and begins to leave, but is stopped by Lulu. (full context)
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon
Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon
Ruin and Redemption Theme Icon
Lulu stands before Scotty, the sun reflecting in her hair. Scotty hesitates, and Alex realizes that... (full context)
Time and Memory Theme Icon
Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon
...Bennie says Alex grew up, just like everyone else. Alex thinks in the text idiom Lulu uses: th blu nyt, th stRs u cant c, th hum tht nevr gOs awy,... (full context)