Since going over the main characters in class, i thought i would add a blog from Emily and I about Ada Lumb as we came across some very interesting symbols and links towards the war and other aspect's of the book. Enjoy.
Ada is the mother of Sarah, whom is currently going out with Billy. She is a very protective mother who cares about her daughter a lot and would do anything to protect her girl. Ada's function is mainly what she represents and the symbolics of her character.
‘By the mixture of bullying, wheedling, cajoling, questions, speculations, wild surmises, bitter silences, extracted the whole story of Sarah’s relationship with Billy Prior...’ – this quotation is at the beginning in which Ada has just been introduced into book, this statement is very strong and powerful which shows her personality and how she feels very strongly about things. Ada seems very strong about her thoughts and different things which she doesnt get to have a say about, Ada pushes for what she thinks is right. This is shown later on.
‘The waitress came to remove their plates. ‘Anything else madam?’ Ada switches to her genteel voice. ‘Yes, we’d like to see the menu, please.’ She waited til the waitress had gone, and then lent forward to deliver the knock-out blow. ‘No man likes to think he’s sliding in on another man’s leavings.’- Page 194, again you can see the change in attitude and the way that Ada is able to change from yelling to being a kind lady once again. She is very persistent at trying to get Sarah to end her relationship with Billy, but makes sure that she won’t get blamed for that and stays out of the fire.
‘Aw, go on. It’s not often I get a chance to spoil you...’ After being awful to Sarah, she then goes back to being nice and acting like nothing has ever happened, she seems to have a spilt personality which she could be put in hospital for as it can become a problem it gets out of control.
‘She wiped a hole in the condensation on the window. Outside the people were moving shadows’, the pavements of Princess Street jumped and steamed with rain. ‘- This quote is about Sarah more than Ada, but it shows how she is trying to get throw to the glass but her mum is getting in the way which is the condensation which won’t go away every time she wipes it, showing the affect that the mum has on her daughter. Sarah is feeling this way because her mum is trying to control her relationship, as she doesn't approve of this and tries to turn Sarah away from Billy. This reflects on Ada's past, she is trying to raise her daughters perfectly - as if she is trying to protect them for the mistakes she has made in her past. Trying to raise her girls to be something that she was never able to be. This is shown in the quote below.
‘Ada, ox-jawed, determined, ruthless, had struggled to bring up her two girls alone, and yet, when it came to teaching the girls, she’d tried to encourage all the opposite qualities.’ Ada is almost trying to hid something from her past, make up for her mistakes and making sure her girls don't turn out like Ada. This creates a spilt image for Ada, as she has a different side to her. Just like the Government; she is hiding the truth about herself, and trying to protect her girls, or the cilvens and not let them know what is/has gone/going on. This link is very important to the book as it shows one of the reasons why Ada is in the book - and how she links to these different aspects and the importance's of the hidden link of what the government is doing and the affect of war on not just the soldiers but the people around them, the people that sent there sons, grandsons and friends.
[Symbols]
- Role of women during the war, strong women, working hard without any help. Having to do everything for themselves.
-Government, as stated in quote earlier.
-War, Ada is at her own war with her daughter. She is the general, pushy, forceful, persistence. She is pushing her solider (Sarah) but makes sure that she doesn't show the fear inside her of failure or disappointing her soldiers or family. Deep down she is scared of losing, scared of not winning, and letting her children/government down.
[Links]
-Link to Billy, pretending to be normal and fit into a world they don't fully understand or belong too. Hidden problems and secerts.
-Government, hiding their mistakes; covering up the past.
If you have any more points feel free to add !
3 comments:
i would like to add a little more to explain Adas representation of the government. The fact that Ada has a split personality represents the government as in the war, they would cover up the relality to the young people by the propagander. this is the same as how Ada changes her personality around stranger.
This is a detailed and informative entry. I particularly enjoyed reading about what you think Ada Lumb symbolises in the novel. Although she is a relatively minor character, she represents a great deal in terms of theme and message and has a very important function in the novel as a whole. This has been explained thoroughly.
could you say that her past with the stuggle to bring up her children the "correct way", has allowed her to become a more manly character, since the days have gone when she could look after herself more often like a sterotypical woman would do. For Pat Barker describes her actions to be quite manly, with a "knock out blow" and was " ox-jawed, determined, ruthless". She tries to hide this by the quick change in personality around strangers. which as ash and i said before, is to hide the truth and to show to her daughter that she doesnt have to be very manly, and Ada wants her daughter to have a better life than herself, obviously with a rich hansome man.
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