Donoghue doesn't present Ma as the first-person narrator of the novel, but she does include Ma's voice, particularly when it comes to the stories Ma tells to Jack. Obviously, these stories help to prepare Jack to escape, but, on a deeper level, they also reveal a lot about Ma's own sense of identity. Choose one of the stories/books Ma tells or reads to Jack and discuss its significance to Ma's identity in the "Dying" section of the novel. What does the act of storytelling say about Ma's view of herself? Why do you think Donoghue makes Ma a storyteller?