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Chapter 2
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Foster, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family
Loss and Grief
Parenting and Judgment
Secrets and Shame
Money and Priorities
Summary
Analysis
When the girl wakes up the next morning, she realizes she has wet the bed, which she frequently does at her own house. Edna doesn’t notice until she goes to make the bed. The girl wants to admit what happened, so she’ll be sent home. But, to help the girl feel more comfortable, Edna says that the room is damp, and she should have known better than to put the girl in a damp room. Edna and the girl then drag the mattress outside to dry in the sun. Edna then says that they could use some bacon, and the girl helps her cook breakfast. When John comes in for breakfast, he says that he heard on the news that another person on the hunger strike died.
This passage shows once more how Edna is emotionally attuned to the girl’s needs and how she goes out of her way to ensure that the girl feels comfortable at the Kinsellas’ house. In this case, the book suggests that the girl has developed a sense of shame around wetting the bed at her own home. Edna, though, comforts the girl. She does that not by addressing the matter directly but by blaming herself for what happened, thereby helping to alleviate the girl’s sense of shame and inadequacy.
Active
Themes
Literary Devices
After that, the girl helps Edna around the house for the rest of the day. At one point, John asks the girl to fetch the mail, and they make a game out of it where John times the girl to see how fast she can get to the mailbox and back. At night, they all watch the news together, which shows the mother of the person who died on the hunger strike, as well as a riot. Edna asks the girl if Mary cleans the girl’s ears, and the girl says Mary doesn’t always have time. Edna then brushes the girl’s hair before braiding it. The next morning, when the girl wakes up, she’s surprised to see that she hasn’t wet the bed.
Active
Themes
