Ellen Foster Character Analysis

The book, Ellen Foster, revolves around a young girl’s unstable life and her ability to fight through obstacles and to find people who truly care for her. As a young child, Ellen was damaged by her father especially because he treated her with extreme disrespect. After her mother’s death, Ellen did not really have any family left as her family members continued to pass away. However, Ellen learned to tend to adult responsibilities at a very young age. Specifically Starletta and her family, Julia and Roy, and her new mama all supported her in a way that made her feel as if she were a young girl rather than an adult with responsibilities.
Starletta and her family supported Ellen throughout her childhood as they nearly replaced her own family. However, Starletta and her family were black which was looked down upon during that time period and in the society that Ellen lived in. Ellen’s father would often comment about her being with a black girl and that it was socially unacceptable even though a majority of his own friends were black. Ellen would listen and believe this as she was so young and did not know any better. However, this only somewhat affected Ellen as she
Out of the entire book, I believed that Starletta and her family, Julia and Roy, and Ellen’s new mama all significantly impacted her life the most. Ellen was degraded on a daily basis by her own family members but was able to stay strong and push through it at such a young age because of a few supporters. Ellen showed a significant amount of maturity throughout the book as she learned to care for herself and still care for others around her as well. In the end, the type of person you are really does not revolve around the type of cards you were dealt, but how you deal with negative situations and how they have made you a better, stronger