Plucky heroine Ellen Foster is at the center of Kaye Gibbons' inspiring interpretive novel, Ellen Foster. At the beginning of the novel, Ellen is a spirited nine-year-old girl. Throughout her life, particularly the three years depicted in Ellen Foster, Ellen is exposed to death, neglect, hunger, and emotional and physical abuse. Despite the atrocities surrounding her, Ellen wants nothing more than to find a “new mom” to love her. She avoids facing the harsh reality of strangers and her own family's cruelty towards her by using different forms of escape. Three times Ellen is exposed to death (Gibbons 27). Each time, Ellen has a conversation with a magician to deal with the trauma (Gibbons 22-145). Often, Ellen's actions and words make it difficult to tell that she is still a child. However, in order to distract herself, Ellen will play meaningful games (Gibbons 26). These games become a point of support allowing Ellen's inner child to express herself. Often, Ellen sinks into a reverie (Gibbons 67). Usually, these daydreams are aimed at protecting oneself from the harsh reality around them. Ellen Foster's unique use of escapism echoes the theme of Kaye Gibbon's Ellen Foster. To illustrate Ellen's ability to survive trauma such as death and abuse, one might turn to her imagination. Ellen is still a little girl when the novel takes place, so it seems natural that she has a vivid imagination. Ellen goes to many funerals and witnesses two deaths (Gibbons 22-30, 114-130). At this funeral, or around the lifeless body of a supposed loved one, Ellen has a little conversation with the character known as "the magician" (Gibbons 22-145). Ellen calls on this character to help her explain the finality of death. Since she is still a child...... middle of paper......). When working in the fields, Ellen mentally recites poetry while imagining herself speaking forcefully in front of others (Rambo 670). This daydream keeps Ellen from collapsing as she works in her grandmother's cotton fields (Rambo 668). When her mother's mother falls ill, Ellen is forced to take care of her. When her mother's mother falls asleep, Ellen fantasizes about being on the shore of an ocean, far away (Gibbons 79). These and many other daydreams that Ellen experiences throughout Ellen Foster ring true to Ellen's desire to break away from her harsh life. Ellen Foster's use of escapism reverberates as the theme of Kaye Gibbons' novel. His imagination, his determination, his tenacity and his innocence allow him to escape, to break with all the unfathomable cruelty that surrounds him. Without her unique and clever use of escapism, Ellen Foster's heroine would have been easily overwhelmed..