What are the motifs in Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White?

Denial is an idea used throughout the novel. Gypsy knows, deep inside, that her father is dead, and that he committed suicide. She found his body when she was five. However, since the incident, Gypsy has denied the truth, choosing instead to forget the details of her father's death. While she recognizes that he is no longer alive, she refuses to face that he, in a way, abandoned her and her mother.