The book ‘Because of Winn-Dixie’ is written about a ten year old girl Opal Buloni who recently moved with her father to a small town located in the state of Florida. Her father is primarily engaged with the church and does not have much time for his daughter with the result that she feels disconnected and lonely. Into this sad scenario enters a stray dog which she then named Winn-Dixie and immediately adopted him. The strange name was derived via the name of the supermarket where she found him (DiCamillo 2). When I first picked up and started to read this book I was reminded about situations when I have moved house with my parents and gone to a new school; it can be very daunting and a little frightening too, however, I have been lucky in that my parents were supportive as opposed to what Opal experienced as a child so I didn’t feel lonely. So I understand her need to adopt a companion. Winn-Dixie proved to be the ideal partner as he helped her to make new friends; many of who were also lonely. In addition, she began to discover more about her mother and to develop better communication and understanding with her father. As a result of her deepening friendships and improved relationship with her father, her loneliness is replaced with a sense of acceptance and belonging. The dog soon rewards Opal with lots of love and also displays affection for Opal’s new friends. I think that animals can be the mechanism that can bring people together; I have made many new friends in part because of my pets at home. One of Opal’s favorite pastimes was to go to the pet shop Gertrude’s Pets and one of her friends Otis was gifted with playing the guitar. He would play songs for hours and sing to the animals in order that they would also become content and happy. Another friendly character Sweetie Pie would sometimes join them and also loved Winn-Dixie.
The pet shop became a central location for the friends to meet and spend time together; the love of animals and their initial loneliness became the primary factors that bonded them together. Later on in the book, Gloria was introduced as another local character who was partially disabled with poor eyesight so Opal would sit and read her stories about the pet shop and Otis. Sometimes Opal would divert from actual characters she knew and had known and proceeded to relate imaginary stories about the early days when she had arrived in this small Florida town. Gloria would attribute important to friendship and the ability to trust and communicate and despite her handicap she became a positive influence to Opal. However, many of Opal’s stories related to the friends she first became acquainted with and little by little she would share stories about the individual characters that she had made friends with. Perhaps Otis was one of the central characters her stories were created for as she was fascinated by his past such as the time he spent in custody and had a criminal record (DiCamillo 76).
Miss Franny Block was the lady who looked after the Herman W. Block Memorial Library and she befriended both Opal and her dog Winn-Dixie so they became frequent visitors to the library (DiCamillo 99). Opal soon learned about Miss Franny Block’s upbringing and her ancestors too. Opal learned from Miss Franny Block that patriotic ambitions were often misplaced as the idealism of war was replaced by the horror and reality of death and disasters (DiCamillo 113). For me reading this book became an amazing experience as I often became immersed so much in the story that I identified not only with Opal and her dog but also other characters who came and went throughout the story. Perhaps most telling is that some of the greatest lessons in life can be learned not just from traditional education but from those who society may have rejected or those who may have individual low self-esteem. However, I soon found myself reflecting on the strange people I have met and in some cases became friends and realized that I had something very in common with Opal; we both discovered that true friendship and knowledge can come from the most unlikely places and turn out be infinitely more valuable that we first thought.
Works Cited
DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Candlewick Press, 2009. Print.
