Blood Relations What is the definition of family? Can people only be family if they are blood related or does that not matter? Do families always love each other? Many people have their own definition of family and what they consider as family. In Gibbons’s novel, Ellen Foster, the author challenges the assumption that biological family are the ones who care and love us the most through the experiences that Ellen finds with Julia, Starletta’s family, and new mama. In parts of the book, Ellen is helped by her art teacher, Julia. During school, one day, Ellen’s father shows up at her school. Before he showed up at her school, Ellen’s dad always showed up at home drunk and never even wondered how Ellen was doing. To make matters even worse, he tried to sexually abuse Ellen even though he had one simple job to do, which was to take care of Ellen and be a father figure. When he shows up at school, Ellen explains the situation to the reader by saying “You have to wonder what they will remember when they are big. A man coming to school? A many waving dollars …show more content…
Before Ellen met her new mama, she had experienced the worst from her dad, Aunt Betsy, her grandma, and even more of her relatives. When Ellen started living with her new mama, her life changed from being worst to having someone actually become a parent to her. When she first met her new mama, all she told her was that she had a bag of money and that she would pay her for giving her a place to stay. Her new mama replies with, “ I can’t take this money. I tell you what. I’m going to call county Social Services first thing in the morning and we’ll get the ball rolling. I can’t promise you anything but if you need a place as badly as it appears then we would welcome you here” (Gibbons, 119). At this moment in time, Ellen realizes that she finally found a place where she was welcomed and made the best mistake by running away from