The War That Saved My Life

Rationing begins in the new year. This makes Jamie and Ada nervous because they’ve “gotten used to eating regular” (224). They try eating less to conserve food, but Susan insists that they eat their meals. She explains that rationing doesn’t mean less food, just different kinds of food, and she assures them that she’ll always take care of them. This confuses Ada because Susan has said so many times that she never wanted children. Susan clarifies that she never wanted children because she never wanted to get married. She goes on to explain that she was sad when Ada and Jamie arrived, but she wasn’t sad because of them personally; she was just sad in general.

Ada is angry because she fears the current living situation is only temporary. She feels anger toward Susan for not being permanent, anger at Mam for not caring for her and Jamie, anger at Grimes for wearing the scarf she makes him, anger at Margaret for loaning her a book, anger at the war “for taking us away from Mam before she realized she loved us” (226) and anger at herself. She wants to go away inside her head, but Susan grounds her with a tap on the arm, bringing her back.