When Water Caught Fire vs. Ellen Foster

The title of my story is When Water Caught Fire, a story of romance between a boy and a girl both overcoming obstacles in their lives. The story will be told by the main character Brooke through her diary entrees. Brook e will tell the story of her life, her obstacles, and her lover Adian. Brooke will start her diary after the death of her mother. Brooke is now left with her twin brothers and unemployed father. As the years pass Brooke’s father begins to drink intensely and takes his anger and sexual frustrations out on Brooke. Brooke is forced to quit school and work full time as a waitress in a small dinner in order to support her twin brothers. Brooke’s father is out of work on injury, but still receives money for his unemployment. He uses that money for booze and cigarettes and his late night outings at the local bar. Brooke first meets Adian at the dinner where she works and instantly the two are inseparable. Working at his father’s lumber yard since he was young makes Adian a strong, hardworking character. Adian’s father wants Adian to one day take over the family business, but Adian has another idea. Adian wants to be a writer. As years pass Brooke and Adian marry and Brooke has saved enough money to hire a lawyer in order to get custody of her twin brothers. This is where the climax of the story will be created.

The story of Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons is very similar to my story. The story is told by Ellen, a young girl struggling with the death of her mother and abusive drunk father. Ellen tells both the past and present of her life. Ellen describes her new life as if it’s a dream come true, but describes her past as a nightmare. She first informs us how her mother dies and how after her death her father becomes more aggressive and evil. After that she mainly talks about the many different homes she is placed in. The most surprising home she is placed in is her grandmothers. Ellen’s grandmother owns a cotton picking business and all of her employees are African American workers. Ellen’s grandmother can’t stand looking at Ellen because she looks so much like her mother, so in order to keep Ellen away from her she forces Ellen to work in the fields with the other workers. Throughout her story Ellen expresses her thoughts and opinions in a very unique way creating a sense of compassion for the reader.

My story of When Water Caught Fire and the story of Ellen Foster are similar in many different ways. Brooke and Ellen share many similarities. They are both strong, independent female characters and they both have the same villain, their fathers. Both of these characters have had to go through the loss of their mothers and the journey of finding who they are as individuals. Both of these stories are told through their perspectives and the only person that can help them overcome their obstacles is themselves.