Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of mental illness, children in emotional distress, and discussions of mental illness inheritance.

Della Kelly is the novel’s 12-year-old protagonist and first-person narrator. The events of the novel are filtered through Della’s perspective as she navigates her mother’s mental illness.

Mama’s illness and the way it impacts the rest of the family is the main source of conflict for Della throughout the novel. Della’s favorite things are watermelon and playing in the playhouse with her best friend, Arden. When Mama’s illness begins to get bad again at the beginning of the novel, Della becomes preoccupied with Mama’s illness and distances herself from the things she loves. Della’s largest conflict comes from her feeling responsible for Mama’s schizophrenia since Mama did not have schizophrenia prior to having Della.

As Mama’s condition rapidly worsens, Della feels more and more responsible for finding a way to cure Mama of her illness permanently. Mama’s episodes and Daddy’s growing concerns about Mama and the farm put extra stress on Della, who refuses to open up about what’s going on to Arden, thinking that she can fix things before she’ll need to talk about them.