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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Because of Winn-Dixie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Storytelling and Listening
Sadness, Happiness, and Growing Up
Family and Loss
Openness, Friendship, and Community
Summary
Analysis
Opal and her daddy just moved to Naomi, Florida so that he could be the preacher at the Open Arms Baptist Church of Naomi. Opal explains that her daddy is good, but sometimes it’s hard to think of him as a father—he spends so much time thinking about preaching. This is why, in her head, Opal thinks of him as “the preacher.” He was a missionary in India before Opal was born, and that’s why her first name is India, but her middle name and the one she goes by is Opal, the preacher’s mother’s name. Opal tells Winn-Dixie this as they walk home. She also mentions that the preacher is too caught up in praying and thinking about suffering people to go grocery shopping, but that maybe he’ll be willing to take in a “suffering dog.” Winn-Dixie wags his tail. He’s limping.
The fact that Opal doesn’t refer to her father as “daddy” in her head and instead calls him “the preacher” suggests that their relationship isn’t especially close. She backs this up when she explains that he spends so much time preaching and doesn’t even have time to go grocery shopping. All of this indicates that Opal may feel neglected by her father and thus alone in her family. Winn-Dixie’s response of tail-wagging suggest that he’s a good listener. He’s already giving Opal a venue to voice her woes—something that the novel portrays as cathartic.
Themes
When they get to the Friendly Corners Trailer Park, Opal informs Winn-Dixie that he must be quiet and well-behaved. It’s an adults-only trailer park; Opal only gets to live here because she’s the preacher’s daughter and, according to the manager, Mr. Alfred, she’s “an exception.” She tells specifically tells Winn-Dixie to leave Mr. Alfred’s cats and Mrs. Detweller’s dog, Samuel, alone. Then, Opal tells him to sit and she goes into her trailer. The preacher is hard at work at the foldout table and barely acknowledges Opal when she says that she found a “Less Fortunate” at the grocery store. Opal stares at him. She thinks that sometimes, the preacher reminds her of a turtle hiding in its shell. In his shell, he thinks about things and never pokes his head out into the world.
Opal confirms that even if the preacher’s behavior may not be neglectful in a legal sense, it nevertheless makes her feel overlooked on an emotional level. He’s absent from her life, since he spends so much time preaching and in his “turtle shell.” Though Opal doesn’t say so outright, it’s worth considering that her loneliness may be amplified and harder for her to remedy because she lives in an adults-only trailer park. If she lived somewhere where there were other kids around, she might have more friends in Naomi already.
Themes
Opal asks if the “Less Fortunate” could stay with them for a while. This gets the preacher’s attention. She elaborates that she found a dog. The preacher reminds her that they don’t need a dog, but she insists that Winn-Dixie needs her and calls for the dog. Winn-Dixie limps into the trailer and settles his head in the preacher’s lap. The preacher inspects Winn-Dixie and wrinkles his nose at the smell, while Winn-Dixie pulls up his lips and smiles while wagging his tail. The preacher asks again what the dog’s name is and Opal says it quietly; she doesn’t want to speak too loudly and ruin anything. The preacher declares that the dog is certainly a stray and a Less Fortunate—he can stay.
Winn-Dixie’s positive impression on the preacher makes the argument that friends don’t need to be human to be meaningful. Befriending an animal, like Winn-Dixie, can help someone come out of their “shell” and pay more attention to what’s going on around them—and hopefully, Winn-Dixie’s presence will help the preacher open up and be more involved with Opal.
Themes
