June and Billy

The novel “Getting Mother’s Body”, centers on the story of Billy Beede and the struggles she goes through due to her past and present choices. June, Billy’s aunt, was a very interesting character in Billy’ story.She played a small role in the novel but influenced how other characters were perceived. Her relationship with Billy is overlooked and the impact that she makes on her is not really discussed. June is Billy’s foil and her actions highlight Billy’s key personality traits. 

Right at the beginning of the novel Billy is already in a position that June would never be in. Billy is pregnant. Teddy says to himself when Dill brings up the fact that he and June have no children “If I could give June children I would. If June could give me children she would” (Parks 22). Therefore one of them or possibly both of them are infertile but want kids. Billy, a sixteen year old who had sex with a guy she thought was attractive, now hates her potential offspring. This offers the first parallel between June and Billy. It is a physical barrier that separates them as women. June has lost a part of herself and because of it makes Billy more whole as a character. She emphasizes Billy’s selfish and bratty qualities by giving of herself even though she is crippled in more than one way. June at one point offers to take the child and raise it but Billy tells her no because Billy wants an abortion. Billy doesn’t realize that she is hurting June by doing this in the way a bratty child does not realize it is hurting its mother. June has “done quit talking about the baby she got” (Parks 171) because she knows there is no way she will be able to convince Billy otherwise. This shows the parallel between what June can’t do and what Billy can do. Billy can have the option of having a kid or not, but June does not have these options, and in this way makes Billy seem selfish in her choice.

Throughout the novel June takes a passive role. She is so passive that I actually couldn’t tell she was older than Billy until Teddy mentions that they are married. Because of this passive role most of June’s character development comes from personal thoughts. June is quiet about her wants. An example of this is June’s hair. Billy only pressed half of June’s hair so that “the other side’s still wild” (Park 19). This was the first time June’s voice was introduced. She shows that she is willing to roll over and take whatever other people give her. Surprisingly, she was actually for stealing Willa Mae’s treasure. June tells Dill and Teddy that she wants “just enough to get me a leg” (Park 24). So in a way, June has selfish reasons for seeking the treasure, but because of the context of the time period her desire is seen as less selfish than Billy’s. Billy wants the treasure so she can get an illegal abortion which was very taboo at the time. This again parallels the two characters. June wants to gain a part of herself again and Billy wants to rid herself of something.

Billy is seen by Homer as “hot and wild” (Park 184). Her actions are calculated to her but the results make her seem unpredictable. Like when she got her wedding dress. She had $63 and was expected to buy a dress, shoes, and a bus ticket. And she succeeded because she knows how to manipulate people and does not just give up. Billy is aware that life is going to be difficult. She was exposed to the hardest type of lifestyle that a child can be exposed to. Her mother gave her an unstable upbringing in which she not only learned how to manipulate but was manipulated. June is not hot and wild. June was abandoned. Her family was obviously poor since they were traveling cramped in a “beat-up Ford truck” (Park 132) to California. June’s father struck a deal with Teddy and the next day June was married to the young preacher and her family was long gone. After being crippled June understands that she is a burden on others. So she tries to help where she can. She raises Billy and works at the gas station with Teddy whereas Billy quit school and her job as a hairdresser. Again June amplifies Billy’s enduring personality but also her almost lazy nature.

June is more prone to giving in to other’s wants than Billy is. For example, Billy is not willing to give into men easily. She uses men for what she needs the way her mother did. June does what men tell her to do. When Teddy decides “it was her happiness or mines” (Park 151) in regards to moving to California, June just follows him back and does what Teddy wants. Whereas Billy would have found Teddy’s “hole” (Park 27) and exploited it to get to California. Billy shows this when talking to Mrs. Jackson and first describing what a hole is. She finds a person’s weak spot so that they feel pity for her and in turn try to make up for her circumstances. June just allows events to occur without her manipulation. Her father left her on the river and walked away and June stayed. But when Billy’s mother died Billy said good riddance and went to live with her aunt and uncle. June’s passivity in these scenes enhance Billy’s ability to move on from her circumstances and push through obstacles such as men telling her what to do.

June is also a follower. She follows her family to California, then Teddy to build his church, and then Billy at the end of the story when she wants to unearth Willa Mae. Billy on the other hand often leads. Everyone follows her ring plan without question and she is the one who decides to finally dig up Willa Mae. June had only proposed the idea but never went through with it. Billy only does these things because she is trying to create a better future for herself. She is headstrong and a great leader and despite her past she has an optimistic view on life. She always thinks things are going to go better than they do. Like when she was calculating how much money she would need for the abortion. She always thought of how everyone would love her work and tip her the maximum amount for their hair. Whereas June often predicts the worst. Whenever a situation reminds her of when her leg got cut off she knows something bad is bound to occur. In this way June serves to make Billy a more positive character.

June amplifies Billy’s strongest qualities such as her will to keep going, optimism in the face of tragedy, and leadership skills. Before I only saw Billy as a spoiled teen who used her tragic past as a crutch to act out. Now she is a young adult who is using her past knowledge to make decisions that work for her and her family. Without June, Billy would not have these qualities as emphasized.

Suzan-Lori Parks, Getting Mother's Body. New York: Random House, 2004.