The death of Toycie
Toycie is Beka's foil in this novel because the two have much in common with a few major differences. The two major differences are that Toycie gets pregnant and dies. That symbolizes the tragedy of death because it invokes the dual principle of birth and death with a major emphasis on death. Meanwhile, Beka is challenged from the onset of the novel to learn from this death. In the end, the writer shows that death challenged her to become what she can by accepting responsibility and trying to succeed in life.
The two politicians
In an side plot, two British politicians are imprisoned for treason. That seems to be unrelated to Beka's life, so the relationship is probably symbolic. As symbolism, the basic idea would be a comparison between treason and Beka's treatment of her parents. Together, the two politicians are another foil; they are the opposite of the girls in most ways, but their betrayal of duty makes all four somewhat similar. The politicians are inherently symbols of lying and the girls struggle to maintain their honesty as well.
The Catholic school
If there is a more natural symbol for human shame besides Catholic school, it is not what obvious what that might possibly be. The school is a natural symbol for indoctrination, and the religious slant makes that indoctrination ultimate with religious sincerity. In school, the girls are often treated shamefully because of their decisions, which makes their relationship to school a naturally shameful experience. The process of "graduating" is a brilliant symbol for entering adult life, but in order to do that, Beka must accept responsibility.
The parents
There is a symbolic connection between the parents and their sacrifice and the motif which governs Catholic theology of Christ's self-sacrifice. The question is what Beka will do with her grace? Unfortunately it seems that she might waste her opportunity despite her parents sacrifice, making her a symbol for human sin (sin is a religious concept which is automatically invoked because of their deeply Catholic culture). The parents seem to Beka as a natural symbol for God, and her rejection of their advice and authority is a parallel for the conflict between her and fate.
Beka's success
When Beka succeeds in overcoming ethical hurdles in her life she proves to the reader that she is indeed a dynamic character. The tone shifts from frustration and conflict to responsibility and sincere devotion. The transition is literally her "coming-of-age," but is also makes the novel allegorical because the novel hints to the reader that they also might overcome frustration and feelings of victimhood by accepting responsibility for their performance in life instead of blaming circumstance.
