The character of the mother in ‘It Used to be Green Once’ written by Patricia Grace is important because she helps show the main themes of the story. The main themes surround the issues of appreciation of family and to not care about what others think of you.

In the story the character of the mother is loud, strict, and resourceful. She is a little old fashioned and lives by traditional values. She is selfless and always puts her family’s welfare first. She has fourteen children and as a result does not have a lot of money to go around. The mother does all she can for her children including making second hand togs, darning clothes, and digging out the rotten bits from their fruit. The children however only see her and her actions as embarrassing.

When the family wins 50,000 in the lottery the children all change and begin to take their parents for granted. They think having money makes them better than other people. The mother however stays exactly the same