Ellen FoSSter

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it since her father threatened to kill her if she even attempted to call for help. Ellen loved her mother more than anything in the world. When her mother died, Ellen sat next to her and said "You can rest with me until someone comes to get you."(Gibbons 10) How could Ellen live through this kind of loss and still have the confidence and will to live and support herself. "It is better that something be done now, rather than later".

Ellen went on with her life and made the best of it. Even though she was left at her home to live only with her father now, she tried to avoid him by getting out of the house. When she did this, she would usually go to Starletta's house, her colored friend. Starletta was a great friend to Ellen, if not her best friend. Ellen was brought up to think that colored people were bad and dirty.

The comfort that Starletta's family gave to Ellen quickly changed those thoughts. Starletta's parents would of then say to Ellen "Would you like to stay and eat? You know you are welcome to stay."(Gibbons 31) Even though Ellen and Starletta differed in color, they ignored that fact and always had a good time together. They would buy each other gifts, play games, and talk about whatever was on their mind. They would be there to help one another out.

One day in school, a teacher noticed a bruise on Ellen's arm that had been given to her by her abusive father. She was brought down to the office to be examined and questioned. The faculty of her school decided Ellen should go stay with the art teacher for a while until they could find a real home for her. Ellen was very happy when she found out she was going to live with a normal person. When she found this out she said, "Its about time, Yes Lord its about time."(Gibbons 47) Ellen's daddy would always come around looking for her since nobody had ever told him she had left the house.

That summer, Ellen went to stay at her mama's mama's house. This was not a good experience for Ellen. She said, "All that summer was a bad time and no matter how hard I try, I still remember her sad."(Gibbons 60) Ellen took care of her grandmother the best she could for some time and did her best to ignore her grandmother's thoughts towards her. Ellen's grandmother soon died in her sleep. She didn't want this to happen again just like it did to her mama. Ellen did all she could to keep her mama's mama alive. Ellen said, "I tried to make her keep breathing and when she stopped I blew air in her like I should have."(Gibbons 79). I can't say Ellen loved her grandmother, but she didn't want her to die. Next, she went to stay with her Aunt Dora and Nadine. She liked them very much but got angry with them when she overheard them talking behind her back. Nadine and Dora threw Ellen out of their house for carrying on with her own opinion.

Ellen would go to church often. She would always see a full row of children that the parish called "The Foster Family". Ellen decided she would go to the Foster's house and see if she could stay there. She took the money she had saved up and went on her way. When she got there, Ms. Foster opened the door. Ellen told her the story and emptied out the money she had been saving. The lady laughed and said that would not be necessary and took her inside. Ellen liked this lady right off the bat. The lady would always compliment Ellen saying, "What a pretty dress!"(Gibbons 118) Her new mama was very loving and caring. She would always give Ellen hugs. This was just the way Ellen wanted it to be. Ellen asked her new mama if Starletta would be able to spend the night. Her mama quickly accepted Ellen's request. Ellen was very excited about this because she had never had a good friend like this spend the night. Here mama did all she could to get the house ready for Starletta. She sewed an "S" on the bathroom towels for Starletta. This is the way Ellen wanted it to be in the beginning.