Similarities Between 'Three Little Words And Removed'

Those three little words that keep Ashley Rhodes-Courter connected to her painful past are hard to let go. While reading this novel, overtime, it becomes clear to me that the three little words are simply, “I guess so”. However, I believe the most powerful statement that overtime changes Ashley’s life is, “I love you”. Those words are so powerful to a child that is being placed in the foster care system, and that power may present itself as aggressive behavior in children towards their foster parent. There are several similarities between Ashley in the novel, Three Little Words, and Zoe in the short film, ReMoved; these are two examples of the Resilience Framework. When both characters are shown affection or care, they act out and push the
However, the most pivotal scene in the movie is when Zoe realizes that her foster mom actually cares about her. In this scene, the foster mom hands Zoe a gift. As Zoe opens the bag and removes the tissue paper she realizes that the gift is dress. Then the scene flashes back to where Zoe is watching her parents fight and in the scene, you can see that her inebriated father is yelling, “I don’t care about your dress. You think I care about this dress? I don’t think you understand me. Do you”. Suddenly, we switch back to scene with Zoe and her foster mother. The audience and the foster mother both realize that the dress is trigger for Zoe; she starts to mimic the same behaviors seen by her father in the flashback, throws the dress at her foster mother, yells, “I hate you. I hate you”, and then runs to her room. At this point in the film, Zoe has already been placed in several foster homes and has been moved around due to her behavioral problems. When Zoe returns from her room she waits to see if her foster mother will punish her like her father did by physically abusing her. When that does not happen, she goes and puts on the dress only to find her foster mother on the phone with Child Protective Services. Zoe starts to pack up things, thinking that she will be moved to another foster home again because of her
I can recall several times as a child, when my mother or my aunt were frustrated when they were dealing with at the time, foster children who had been abused. There was one time when I caught one of my cousins sleeping in the bathtub. I remember thinking it was strange that he liked sleeping in bathtub, but later on I learned that his biological mother was a victim of domestic violence. In order to protect her children from the perpetrator, she would lock my cousins in the bathroom to protect them. I understand now that my cousin felt safest in the bathtub at the time and that was coping mechanism to his new surroundings. In the novel, it is apparent that overtime the relationship that Ashely has with her mother grows stronger, and in a way helps her heal from her time in the foster care system and the child abuse she experienced. Seeing the effects and the need of positive relationships between a child who has experienced maltreatment and a supportive and caring adult, displays the Resilience Framework at its best; basically, loving and caring for children past their