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The Bullies
A very wealthy woman, Shay's mom berates her daughter when Shay loses the election for class president. Her rant implies that she believed that the outlandish promises Shay made during her speech—which she helped write—would make Shay the clear choice for the election. She blames Shay for the failure and makes Shay shrink.
Shay's Mom Quotes in Fish in a Tree
The Fish in a Tree quotes below are all either spoken by Shay's Mom or refer to Shay's Mom. 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:
).
Chapter 37 Quotes
Shay sounds like someone completely different. The Shay I know, always so quick to pick a fight, now has a voice that sounds like a kindergartener.
“Sorry, Mama.” She brushes a tear from her cheek.
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Explanation and Analysis:
The afternoon after Shay loses the election for class president, Ally and Keisha hear Shay's mom berating her daughter for her failure. Seeing this allows Ally to understand that Shay isn't a bully just because she wants to be one; she's likely just behaving as her parents have taught her to by prioritizing winning, money, and prestige above all else. This suggests that bullies like Shay don't exist in a vacuum, which in turn humanizes Shay and makes it possible to empathize with her. It leaves open the possibility that Shay feels just as lonely and insecure as Ally does; Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eli
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Shay's Mom Character Timeline in Fish in a Tree
The timeline below shows where the character Shay's Mom appears in Fish in a Tree. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 21: Butterfly Wishes
...and then quickly moves on. Later, Shay loudly whispers to Jessica that she's mad that Shay's mom is making her invite everyone, and she hopes some people don't show up.
(full context)
...Ally tries to explain about the wish givers, but Shay calls Ally a freak show. Shay's mom explains that Ally is part of the party, but not her daughter, and Ally wishes...
(full context)
Chapter 40: Tears of Different Kinds
...President all day. Ally is happy until the end of the day, when she hears Shay's mom berating Shay for losing. Shay cries and sounds like a small child. Ally feels bad...
(full context)
