Blood on the Floor

The blood on the floor is a symbol of Ada’s attempts to teach herself how to walk. When she sees the spot on the floor that she missed Ada slides over to cover it so that her mother won’t guess that she has been trying to learn to walk.

Ada’s Clubfoot

Ada’s clubfoot is a symbol of her mother’s hatred for her. All of her life Ada has been told by her mother that she should not be seen in public because of her deformed foot. Ada’s Mam forces her to stay inside the apartment because of the foot. It is only when Ada evacuates to the country with the other children that she learns that her mother could have chosen to have Ada’s foot fixed when Ada was a baby. She also learns that her...