Yellow is Monday’s favorite color. Her fondness for the hue borders on obsession, and her sisters are often frustrated by her insistence on eating only yellow foods, wearing only yellow clothing, and reading only yellow books. They perceive her as being rigid and at times become exasperated with her fixation. However, the color yellow emerges as a powerful symbol for the key theme of Resilience in the Face of Adversity, as Monday’s preference for yellow will indirectly help her to demolish the town dam and prevent Belsum Chemical from reopening their plant.

There are early indications within the text that Monday’s love for all things yellow can actually be construed as a strength. In addition to Pastor Jeff’s lengthy encouragement, he also allows her to realize that her preference for the color yellow actually confers a number of benefits on her. For example, her fondness for the color saves her a great deal of time; as she says, “[C]hoosing yellow is not as limiting as it sounds” (20). She then recounts the many times when she is able to quickly make a decision based on her color preference. She never agonizes over clothing choices in the way that many girls her age do because she only wears yellow outfits.