What picture do you get of growing up southern in Ellen Foster? How would you characterize Ellens childhood? What roles

Read the novel Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons.

In writing about Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, the questions below might be helpful in developing your response.  

• What picture do you get of growing up southern in Ellen Foster?
• How would you characterize Ellens childhood?
• What roles doe race, gender, and social class play in the novel? Can you relate information from earlier readings on these topics to the novel and Ellens experience of growing up southern?
• Discuss the centrality of violence and abuse in Ellen Foster. How does Ellen deal with trauma and loss? How does it affect her relationships with others?
• How does Ellen take on adult roles and responsibilities in the novel? How does this affect her childhood?
• What kind(s) of families does Ellen find after her mother’s death? What do you make of her original family?
• Discuss the differences between Ellens family and Starlettas family. How does Starlettas family aid Ellen? How would you characterize Starlettas parents and their relationship with each other and with Starletta?
• What importance does Starletta have in Ellen’s life? How does Ellen change in her understanding of race and racial difference?
• Discuss Ellens narrative voice.  How would you describe it?  Why dont we hear Starlettas voice in the novel?