Foster
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Themes
All Themes Family Loss and Grief Parenting and Judgment Secrets and Shame Money and Priorities
Quotes
Characters
All Characters The Girl Edna Kinsella John Kinsella Dan Mary
Symbols
All Symbols The Boy’s Clothes The Well
Literary Devices
All Literary Devices Allusions Dramatic Irony Foil Foreshadowing Genre Imagery Irony Mood Motifs Setting Similes Style Tone
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Foster
by Claire Keegan
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Introduction Intro
Plot Summary Plot
Summary & Analysis Summary
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6
  • Chapter 7
  • Chapter 8
Themes
  • All Themes
  • Family Theme Icon
    Family
  • Loss and Grief Theme Icon
    Loss and Grief
  • Parenting and Judgment Theme Icon
    Parenting and Judgment
  • Secrets and Shame Theme Icon
    Secrets and Shame
  • Money and Priorities Theme Icon
    Money and Priorities
Quotes
Characters
  • All Characters
  • The Girl
  • Edna Kinsella
  • John Kinsella
  • Dan
  • Mary
Symbols
  • All Symbols
  • The Boy’s Clothes Symbol Icon
    The Boy’s Clothes
  • The Well Symbol Icon
    The Well
Lit Devices
  • All Literary Devices
  • Allusions
  • Dramatic Irony
  • Foil
  • Foreshadowing
  • Genre
  • Imagery
  • Irony
  • Mood
  • Motifs
  • Setting
  • Similes
  • Style
  • Tone
Theme Wheel Theme Viz
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Mary

Foster Symbols

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The Boy’s Clothes

The Boy’s Clothes

The boy’s clothes symbolize John and Edna’s grief after losing their son and their attempts to process that grief while they forge a profound familial bond with the girl. When the girl first…

read analysis of The Boy’s Clothes

The Boy’s Clothes Symbol Icon

The Well

The well symbolizes the emotional healing that John, Edna, and the girl experience during the time the girl spends on the Kinsellas’ farm. When Edna first takes the girl to the well, the…

read analysis of The Well

The Well Symbol Icon
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Mary
Previous
Mary
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The Boy’s Clothes
Next
The Boy’s Clothes
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