SUMMARY:
Ellen Foster wasn't always this happy. Her father, an abusive alcoholic, kept Ellen and her mother under his thumb. When her mother wasn't in the hospital, she was at home being bossed around or sick. When she is prompted to overdose on pills by her husband, Ellen is quietly enraged and hopes he dies too. Her only refuge from her father and his black drinking friends is another black family with a girl almost her age named Starletta. Although Ellen loves them all, she wouldn’t even drink after them, much less eat in their house. When Ellen is showing a bruise one day at school, her art teacher and her husband take her into their home. Ellen was happy there and felt refuge from her wild family. Eventually Allen’s grandmother steps in and wins custody over Ellen. An angry, controlling woman, her grandmother makes Ellen work in the field with her slaves because she is her father’s daughter. What her father drinks himself to death, Ellen feels all the anger that should be thrown in her father’s direction. Ellen takes good care of her grandmother until she dies in her sleep. Although she is traumatized by seeing another family member die, she is grateful for it. She is then transported to her aunt Nadine’s house where she lounges with her spoiled daughter, Dora. Ellen tries to be happy there and besides obviously favor and Dora, her aunt isn’t terrible, until Christmas. Ellen paints them a beautiful picture of kittens playing with yarn. Aunt Nadine acts grateful for it, but when Ellen leaves the room she overhears Dora complain about how tacky it is. Ellen feels hurt and betrayed and vows to get revenge. After an honest description of how she feels about Nadine and Dora, Aunt Nadine tells her to leave, so Ellen packs up her belongings and walks all the way across town to the woman from church with all the little girls. This woman becomes her “new mama.”
Ellen Foster wasn't always this happy. Her father, an abusive alcoholic, kept Ellen and her mother under his thumb. When her mother wasn't in the hospital, she was at home being bossed around or sick. When she is prompted to overdose on pills by her husband, Ellen is quietly enraged and hopes he dies too. Her only refuge from her father and his black drinking friends is another black family with a girl almost her age named Starletta. Although Ellen loves them all, she wouldn’t even drink after them, much less eat in their house. When Ellen is showing a bruise one day at school, her art teacher and her husband take her into their home. Ellen was happy there and felt refuge from her wild family. Eventually Allen’s grandmother steps in and wins custody over Ellen. An angry, controlling woman, her grandmother makes Ellen work in the field with her slaves because she is her father’s daughter. What her father drinks himself to death, Ellen feels all the anger that should be thrown in her father’s direction. Ellen takes good care of her grandmother until she dies in her sleep. Although she is traumatized by seeing another family member die, she is grateful for it. She is then transported to her aunt Nadine’s house where she lounges with her spoiled daughter, Dora. Ellen tries to be happy there and besides obviously favor and Dora, her aunt isn’t terrible, until Christmas. Ellen paints them a beautiful picture of kittens playing with yarn. Aunt Nadine acts grateful for it, but when Ellen leaves the room she overhears Dora complain about how tacky it is. Ellen feels hurt and betrayed and vows to get revenge. After an honest description of how she feels about Nadine and Dora, Aunt Nadine tells her to leave, so Ellen packs up her belongings and walks all the way across town to the woman from church with all the little girls. This woman becomes her “new mama.”
THEMES:
Character is not based on skin color - Ellen learns that people are not bad or good because they are white or black. She stayed with abusive white families and people and found comfort and belonging with slaves and black children.
With death comes rebirth - After Ellen’s father dies she is free from his abusive nature. When her Grandma dies, she is free from slavery. When “old Ellen” dies, she is able to find happiness and value in her otherwise depressing life.
Determination through hard times - Ellen never lost her spirit or child-like vigor for life. She knew who she was and what she deserved so she worked for it. That is why she was able to grow so much in the environments she was in.
Character is not based on skin color - Ellen learns that people are not bad or good because they are white or black. She stayed with abusive white families and people and found comfort and belonging with slaves and black children.
With death comes rebirth - After Ellen’s father dies she is free from his abusive nature. When her Grandma dies, she is free from slavery. When “old Ellen” dies, she is able to find happiness and value in her otherwise depressing life.
Determination through hard times - Ellen never lost her spirit or child-like vigor for life. She knew who she was and what she deserved so she worked for it. That is why she was able to grow so much in the environments she was in.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
"It is the same girl but I am old now I know it is not the germs that slide off her lips and on to a glass then to your white lips that will hurt you or turn you colored. What you had better worry about though is the people you know and trusted they would be like you because you were all made in the same batch. You need to look over your shoulder at the one who is in charge of holding you up and see if that is a knife he has in his hand. And it might not be a colored hand. But it is a knife" (85).
This quote sums up what I felt was the main theme. It also comments on the evil potential in humans. Usually we assume that people are good and evil is the exception, but we all have our evil streaks. We all hold knives to others.
"It is the same girl but I am old now I know it is not the germs that slide off her lips and on to a glass then to your white lips that will hurt you or turn you colored. What you had better worry about though is the people you know and trusted they would be like you because you were all made in the same batch. You need to look over your shoulder at the one who is in charge of holding you up and see if that is a knife he has in his hand. And it might not be a colored hand. But it is a knife" (85).
This quote sums up what I felt was the main theme. It also comments on the evil potential in humans. Usually we assume that people are good and evil is the exception, but we all have our evil streaks. We all hold knives to others.
Argument
Ellen learned to value those not of her race because she lost sight of the value in her own.
Ellen learned to value those not of her race because she lost sight of the value in her own.
Good, Bad, and Ugly
Over 8.3 million children in the United States live with one or two abusive parents. In Kaye Gibbons’ first novel, Ellen is a young girl in an abusive environment. While commenting on the foster care system and abusive homes, Gibbons also includes a subplot about Ellen’s view on racism. Racism was common where Ellen lived in North Carolina so she innocently jumped on the superiority that her race afforded her. Throughout her time wandering from home to home, Ellen stays with plenty of white families and sees that they too can be evil. Ellen learned to value those not of her race because she saw the evils of her own in her father, her grandmother, and her aunt Nadine.
Although Ellen was never taught to hate black people, her prideful race rubbed off on her. At the beginning of the book when she ate with Starletta’s family, Ellen “[doesn’t think she] could drink after them” because of their skin color (29). However, she saw the evil in her father who cared for no one but himself. At this point, Starletta’s family is planting a seed of goodness in Ellen’s heart although she is still too blind to understand, and her father is proving to her that God makes mistakes sometimes. Ellen reaches a point of devaluing a white man where she would not wince to see her father killed. This is Gibbons’ first bold contrast between what racism claims and what Ellen has experienced.
When she moves in with her grandmother, Ellen is thrown into the middle of the lives of slaves. After experiencing the work that they do and seeing the pitiful pay they receive from her grandmother, Ellen is once again ashamed of her family. This is yet another strike against her race. In comparison, Mavis, a worker in the fields, is a teacher and a mentor to Ellen in the hostile home she has been forced into. Ellen experiences firsthand the unfair treatment of white owners toward black slaves and starts to think about how cruel they can be, especially her grandmother. Even the cruelty of her father was outshone by the overwhelming disdain from her grandmother. She was surprised to find that she was mostly hurt by “the people [she knew] and trusted they would be like [her] because [they] were all made in the same batch” (85).
While living at her Aunt Nadine’s, there was time for Ellen to think about Starletta, and wonder “why [she did] not hate her” (110). She compared Starletta to her cousin Dora and was once again surprised at how terrible her own blood was. Dora is spoiled and entitled because she is white enough to have status while Starletta is calm and vibrant even through her persecution. When her meager Christmas gift is mocked, Ellen decides that she would rather be anywhere than with the people that lock their car doors through colored neighborhoods. Gibbons included Ellen’s obsession with apologizing to Starletta for her actions to emphasize how shameful it is to judge someone by their color.
After seeing the good and the bad of those with white skin and those of color, Ellen realizes that those that hurt her most were of her own race and those that supported her through her lowest times were colored. She was convinced not only by the good of the people she discriminated against, but by the evil she found in her “batch” of people. Kaye Gibbons highlighted this contrast to show both the good and bad in people of all races and stations in life. You don’t need to be white or black to have a substance abuse problem, or treat your employees terribly, or feel like you are more important than everyone around you.
Over 8.3 million children in the United States live with one or two abusive parents. In Kaye Gibbons’ first novel, Ellen is a young girl in an abusive environment. While commenting on the foster care system and abusive homes, Gibbons also includes a subplot about Ellen’s view on racism. Racism was common where Ellen lived in North Carolina so she innocently jumped on the superiority that her race afforded her. Throughout her time wandering from home to home, Ellen stays with plenty of white families and sees that they too can be evil. Ellen learned to value those not of her race because she saw the evils of her own in her father, her grandmother, and her aunt Nadine.
Although Ellen was never taught to hate black people, her prideful race rubbed off on her. At the beginning of the book when she ate with Starletta’s family, Ellen “[doesn’t think she] could drink after them” because of their skin color (29). However, she saw the evil in her father who cared for no one but himself. At this point, Starletta’s family is planting a seed of goodness in Ellen’s heart although she is still too blind to understand, and her father is proving to her that God makes mistakes sometimes. Ellen reaches a point of devaluing a white man where she would not wince to see her father killed. This is Gibbons’ first bold contrast between what racism claims and what Ellen has experienced.
When she moves in with her grandmother, Ellen is thrown into the middle of the lives of slaves. After experiencing the work that they do and seeing the pitiful pay they receive from her grandmother, Ellen is once again ashamed of her family. This is yet another strike against her race. In comparison, Mavis, a worker in the fields, is a teacher and a mentor to Ellen in the hostile home she has been forced into. Ellen experiences firsthand the unfair treatment of white owners toward black slaves and starts to think about how cruel they can be, especially her grandmother. Even the cruelty of her father was outshone by the overwhelming disdain from her grandmother. She was surprised to find that she was mostly hurt by “the people [she knew] and trusted they would be like [her] because [they] were all made in the same batch” (85).
While living at her Aunt Nadine’s, there was time for Ellen to think about Starletta, and wonder “why [she did] not hate her” (110). She compared Starletta to her cousin Dora and was once again surprised at how terrible her own blood was. Dora is spoiled and entitled because she is white enough to have status while Starletta is calm and vibrant even through her persecution. When her meager Christmas gift is mocked, Ellen decides that she would rather be anywhere than with the people that lock their car doors through colored neighborhoods. Gibbons included Ellen’s obsession with apologizing to Starletta for her actions to emphasize how shameful it is to judge someone by their color.
After seeing the good and the bad of those with white skin and those of color, Ellen realizes that those that hurt her most were of her own race and those that supported her through her lowest times were colored. She was convinced not only by the good of the people she discriminated against, but by the evil she found in her “batch” of people. Kaye Gibbons highlighted this contrast to show both the good and bad in people of all races and stations in life. You don’t need to be white or black to have a substance abuse problem, or treat your employees terribly, or feel like you are more important than everyone around you.