Critical Lens Essay free essay sample

When going through a rough patch in life, someone may notice and come to terms with things about themselves that they didn’t come to grips with before. In other words, â€Å"In times of adversity or hardship, one’s true character is revealed. † In Ellen Foster, a book about a young foster child by Kaye Gibbons, Ellen faces many challenges. These challenges include the suicide of her mother, the abuse and unavoidable death of her father, and rejection from family members which led her to be moved from home to home. In the end, however, she learns that she’s never had â€Å"the hardest row to hoe† and proves that she is a survivor. I agree with this quote because of the major relevance it has in fictional Ellen’s life. Ellen is characterized as a lonely young girl. For example, Ellen’s first words in the book were; â€Å"When I was little I used to think of ways to kill my daddy. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Lens Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † Her father was an alcoholic, racist, and not to mention cruel and heartless towards Ellen, he was Ellen’s earliest hardship but helped her grow as a person in the end. As a result of her father being so mean, Ellen always strived to be the opposite. Following this trauma, her mother killed herself, most likely because of the father, which in itself is overwhelming and heartbreaking for a 10 year old. During all of this Ellen is always very close friends with a little colored girl named Starletta, as much as Ellen doesn’t want to be like her father, she still can’t help being racist because of her own fathers influence. She may not be able to control who’s child she is or how much she looks like her father, but Ellen eventually learns she can take the way she feels about other people into her own hands. What you had better worry about though is the people you know and trusted they would be like you because you were all made in the same batch. You need to look over your shoulder at the one who is in charge of holding you up and see if that is a knife he has in his hand. And it might not be a colored hand. But it is a knife† this is where Ellen realizes she is wrong in all of her stereotypes. Colored peop le have never wronged her personally. It’s Ironic because It was always her own family, her own WHITE family that was cruel, and spiteful to her. In the end she even invites Starletta over at her â€Å"new mama’s† for a sleepover. Ellens final say of the matter is â€Å" I came a long way to get here but when you think about it real hard you will see that old Starletta came even farther And all this time I thought I had the hardest row to hoe. † In this she means generally speaking, African Americans have had a rougher start in their lives as stereotypical whole than any white man will have to go through, and she is just now appreciating the fact that she does not have to fight to be an equal with the world. â€Å"In times of adversity or hardship, one’s true character is revealed† is undeniably the most relevant theme in Ellen foster. Ellen’s loss of her parents and rejection from her loved ones eventually makes her realize that colored people aren’t bad like she was raised to think they were, and that her own family was who she should have been ashamed to be around her whole life. Among other things she comes to terms with the fact she is not the only person with a rough childhood, and she ends up not only in a new and great home, but with a new mindset. Racism is no longer a concern for Ellen and in that; she has grown closer with her best friend Starletta. Ellen was always strong, but by the end of Kaye Gibbon’s novel, she’s a survivor.