Previous
Chapter 3
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
The girl keeps waiting for something to change at the house and for her feeling of ease to wear off, but it doesn’t. Instead, the days proceed much the same as the day before, peacefully and calmly. Each day, the girl helps Edna make breakfast and then helps Edna with chores and tasks around the house. At night, they’ll watch the 9 p.m. news together before the girl goes to bed. Sometimes, people come over to play cards after the girl has gone to bed, and the girl hears laughter from downstairs.
This passage shows that the girl feels a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility at the Kinsellas’ house, which seems to be a stark contrast to what the girl is used to at her own house. The presence of people coming over to the house after the girl has gone to sleep and the laughter that follows suggest that the Kinsellas have a fulfilling life built upon community.
Active
Themes
Literary Devices
One night, someone brings a donkey, and Edna fetches the girl, saying that the girl won’t get any sleep with a donkey nearby. The girl goes downstairs and eats a dozen macaroons. Then, two men come to the door selling raffle tickets for a fundraiser to put a new roof on the school. The men hesitate when they see John and Edna and apologetically say they hadn’t been thinking when they came to their house. But Edna and John invite the people in. The group jokes more and descends into laughter.
