1. At the end of Where the Lilies Bloom, Mary Call has broken two of her promises to Roy Luther. She has taken charity (Kiser's gifts of ham, a cow,a pig, and a radio) and she has let Devola marry Riser. Furthermore, Riser is Mary Call's great enemy, symbolizing everything that is unjust. At the end of the book, Mary Call is, in a sense, Riser's child, because he has become her legal guardian. Does this mean that Mary Call has been beaten? Why do the authors give such a strong role to Riser in the story?

2. Is it right for Roy Luther to put such a heavy burden on his fourteen-year-old daughter?

3. If Mary Call did not have her family to think of, she probably would react differently to Roy Luther's death. How does her sense of responsibility affect the choices she makes...