There 's always that one person that helps you go through life, even when life gets tough. In these case, it 's Doug 's friend, Lil. In Gary D. Schmidt 's book "Okay for Now" we meet Doug, an eighth-grade boy with an alcoholic dad, two troubled older brothers, and very tired mother. He makes a new friendship with Lil and together they go through the ups and the downs during this book. Lil and Doug 's relationship makes Doug’s life better in seeing hope through hard times, getting help from others, and seeing things clearer.
Through the book, Lil gave Doug hope though the hard times. Doug has a rough life and didn’t have anyone to turn to until after he meets Lil, “No, I didn’t just go in and tell him to give me two cokes. I asked for a Coke for me and a Coke for the skinny thug sitting on the library steps.” (28). During this scene Lil doesn’t think badly about Doug, instead, she acts upon kindness to gain him as a friend. That was something Doug needed at the time. Near the end of the book at chapter 10, it’s time for Doug to give that hope back, “ “Will he stay next to me?” she said. “Always,” I said. “You think the moon’s all there is? There’s a
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When Doug met Lil, he was able to see things be what they seem. When learning to draw the Arctic Tern he notices more than what was on the page, “This bird was falling and there wasn’t a single thing in the world that cared at all. It was a terrifying picture I had ever seen. The most beautiful.” (19). If Lil never told Doug about the library, he won’t of been able to learn to draw, nor see things in depth. After drawing a few times, he was able to see things and imagine them in real life, “I looked back at the eye of the dying gull, who knew that everything was ruined forever because that’s how it always is.” (118). Because of this he able to relate pictures of birds to people or events that occur in his life. Through his drawings, he was able to see things in depth and was able to find the good in life with Lil being