because of winn dixie
A 10 year old girl named India Opal had just moved to a trailer park in the small town of Naomi, Florida with her itinerant preacher father. While in the Winn-Dixie supermarket, she encountered a scruffy dog that was wreaking havoc in the store. She claimed the dog as hers in order to save him from going to the pound and named him Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie's first act of inspiration on Opal was for the girl to challenge her father to list ten things about her mother, who had abandoned them years before, due to a problem with alcohol.
Opal also befriended the very wealthy librarian, Miss Franny Block, who shared great stories about her past, about the civil war, and --about a bear. Her tales included one about her great-grandfather, whose family members had all died while he was fighting the South in the Civil War. Grief-stricken upon his return from battle, he decided he wanted to live the remainder of his life filled with sweetness. Therefore, he invented Littmus Lozenge candies which tasted like a combination of root beer and strawberry but included a secret ingredient — sorrow. Anyone who tasted the candies tasted sweetness mixed with sadness. In Because of Winn-Dixie, these candies symbolize that even though life sometimes deals people a bit of sadness, there is always much to appreciate. Opal also encountered Gloria Dump, a woman thought to be a witch by many children, and Otis, the pet shop manager in Naomi. Otis was shy and distraught about his past because he had spent time in jail for playing his guitar on the street. Now he played for the pet shop animals and for a parrot named Gertrude.
Otis was the man who owned the pet shop. He didn't want to give Opal a job cleaning the pet shop, but Opal said "Thanks, I'll be here in the morning," before Otis could even say a word. The next day, Opal was there to work. She was already cleaning the windows while Otis was sitting comfortably on the floor playing his guitar. When Opal had finished the windows, she
Opal also befriended the very wealthy librarian, Miss Franny Block, who shared great stories about her past, about the civil war, and --about a bear. Her tales included one about her great-grandfather, whose family members had all died while he was fighting the South in the Civil War. Grief-stricken upon his return from battle, he decided he wanted to live the remainder of his life filled with sweetness. Therefore, he invented Littmus Lozenge candies which tasted like a combination of root beer and strawberry but included a secret ingredient — sorrow. Anyone who tasted the candies tasted sweetness mixed with sadness. In Because of Winn-Dixie, these candies symbolize that even though life sometimes deals people a bit of sadness, there is always much to appreciate. Opal also encountered Gloria Dump, a woman thought to be a witch by many children, and Otis, the pet shop manager in Naomi. Otis was shy and distraught about his past because he had spent time in jail for playing his guitar on the street. Now he played for the pet shop animals and for a parrot named Gertrude.
Otis was the man who owned the pet shop. He didn't want to give Opal a job cleaning the pet shop, but Opal said "Thanks, I'll be here in the morning," before Otis could even say a word. The next day, Opal was there to work. She was already cleaning the windows while Otis was sitting comfortably on the floor playing his guitar. When Opal had finished the windows, she