Feminism

A difficulty that Ginny discovers is how she and Rose are subjugated because of their sex. She and Rose are raped as teenagers, and their father pits their feelings against each other to keep his acts a secret. They are also thought of as reckless and over-emotional by all the men around them.

During her transformation, though, Ginny begins to wonder if all the women in her family were put down and cast aside. She feels like the land holds much more worth in the men’s eyes than the women do, so her journey is also about her growth as an independent woman.

The Effects of Capitalism

The Cook family, along with all of Zebulon County, believes in the practical, hard-working ethics of capitalism. They believe that the only way to be respected is to gain more land and more possessions. However, they do not realize the...