Mam is the paste, not glue, holding the family together in many ways. This weekend, as I was organizing a few things in my office, I found an old jar of paste in one of my drawers. I found it interesting since nobody ever really uses paste anymore, or even talks about it. It is one of the things that fell out of use as glue became more popular since it often held things together better. Mam just like paste is a forgotten gem within the novel. As her cancer progresses and she weakens, she slowly falls out of the characters' lives in many ways and is forgotten. Ward is careful in her diction when depicting Mam, constantly making the tone nostalgic, as if she weren’t really present. Ward does this to mirror the relationships that many people have with their guardians or elders. The young Michaela doesn’t truly realize all that her grandparents have done for her but will look back when she matures and grasp the magnanimity of all their deeds. Mam is a symbol of this emotional response.
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