The novel, ‘The Higher Power of Lucky’ by Susan Patron talks about a ten-year-old girl named Lucky, who lives in Hard Pan, a small town in the California desert. After her mother died two years earlier, Lucky’s father had called Brigitte, his ex-wife, to come to the United States from France to take care of Lucky. Then, Lucky starts to fear that Brigitte will abandon her and return to France. After discovering three 'signs' to leave, she runs away with her dog, HMS Beagle, during a sandstorm. Outside of town, she finds Miles, and shelter in dugouts until the storm's end. After getting found by the rest of the town, Brigitte takes Lucky back home and reveals her plan of opening a restaurant in Hard Pan.
Abandonment can have many stereotypes, such as abandoning others, being abandoned, and abandoning oneself. It causes everyone related to be desperate. It could be accidental, and other times it could be intentional. In the story, Lucky’s father abandoned Lucky, she got abandoned, and the participants of the anonymous meetings abandoned themselves. How Lucky’s mother died was an accident. She didn’t purposely abandon Lucky for any reason. While Lucky’s mother abandoned her in an accident, her father deliberately deserted Lucky. He was irresponsible and didn’t want to take care of her. There are many problems in Lucky’s town. Many people abandoned themselves by drinking alcohol, smoking, overeating, and gambling. Many of the citizens want to leave the town due to the natural surroundings and other social problems, like poverty and the anonymous meetings. Abandonment can affect others in lots of ways.
Do not believe everything you see, as many objects can be visually deceiving. Sometimes, an object or action might mean something to you, but it’s not always what it seems. When Lucky saw Brigitte’s passport, the first thing she thought was that she was going to leave her. But in reality, it is just a legal travel certification that gives Brigitte the right to take care of Lucky, and she is not thinking about abandoning her at all. Since her name is Lucky, she would probably be very lucky, with the connection of the name, but in reality, she isn’t lucky at all, her mother died and her father abandoned her. Still, she is fortunate to find and achieve her higher power. Hard Pan represents panning, and panning for gold is hard, so finding your higher power is also hard. Hard Pan also has a hard layer, so life is hard as well. Sometimes, some things are not what they seem.
Bravery can influence someone physically, but being mentally brave is even more important in some cases. You could be stronger and more persistent in many ways, as long as you have enough courage to take risks. Lucky is strong, both mentally and physically. During the sandstorm, when the weather conditions were very threatening, she was brave and managed to plow through the desert in the fierce weather. When the snake got in her dryer, Lucky courageously scared it away without feeling even a tiny bit scared. Also, when Lucky’s mom died, she didn’t act like it was a big deal but instead kept on going with her own life. Lucky knows that she will have to let it go and face her new life. She persisted and didn’t give up in finding her higher power. We have to be brave and have courage to face and get on with our own lives.
Abandonment can cause sorrow and depression within people, assuming something but finding the reality is different can create confusion, and bravery can influence both you and others in many ways. Sometimes, abandonment comes by accident while other times, intentionally, like Lucky’s mother and father. You could abandon yourselves by having bad habits and poverty. Sometimes, things are not always what it seems, like when Lucky saw Brigitte’s passport and thought that she was going to leave her. Lucky was brave and understanding throughout the story. She fought against the brutal sandstorm, scared the snake away, and knew to let it go and keep on going with her life when her mother died and her father abandoned her.
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