Food

Food is a significant theme in the novel symbolizing power, family, and setting. Uncle Ray’s very presence in the family allows the family to eat again – when he arrives he takes the family to the Piggly Wiggly supermarket the next day. Mama will not let Dixie sit in the car alone and warns her little girls are not safe in cars by themselves in a supermarket lot – not realizing of course that Dixie is more unsafe with Uncle Ray. When he molests Dixie he reminds her that he has fed the family, and what would happen if he left. As Dixie begins to notice Uncle Rays’ stares she compares them to the way her brother stares at food, or the way a predator stares at its prey. Not only is food a symbol of Uncle Ray’s power of the family, but also his hunger...