Heaven

Dreams, a motif in the novel, frequently allow Marley to process the turmoil of discovering the truth about her family, but she also sometimes mistakes memories of her past for dreams. Before she learns the truth about her family, the narrative features a whole chapter titled “Dreams,” in which Marley and her friends visit Lake Erie. While there, Marley recalls a letter that she received from Uncle Jack in which he states, “Years ago we carried the baby in a Moses basket onto the beach” (67). Significantly, Jack describes himself as part of a duo, but although he does not reveal the identity of his companion or of the baby, Marley feels a visceral connection to this memory. As she reflects, “I’m in a dream and the baby is me (67). She explains this vision away as a dream, believing that Uncle Jack’s letter has shaped her perception, but the narrative implies that Marley is recalling a moment from her past when Uncle Jack and Christine took her to the Gulf coast and waded in the water with her. Because she does not yet know the truth about her past at this point in the novel, she can only rationalize this memory as a dream.