Character Analysis
A Real Angel
When we say that Aunt May is an angel, we don't mean that she became one when she died—nope, Aunt May has always been an angel to Summer and Uncle Ob. She's been the person who has watched over them and provided them with unconditional love no matter what:
May was the best person I ever knew. Even better than Ob. She was a big barrel of nothing but love, and while Ob and me were off in our dreamy heads, May was here in this trailer seeing to it there was a good home for us when we were ready to land. She understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she ever met, and this never failed her, for nobody ever disappointed May. (2.39)
Aunt May acts as a protector and caretaker for Summer and Uncle Ob while she's alive, and that doesn't stop when she dies. She continues to be their guidance, and even after she's dead, they make their decisions based on what she would want. Her love lives on to help them heal.