Because of Winn-Dixie

by

Kate DiCamillo

Gloria Dump Character Analysis

Gloria is one of Opal’s friends in Naomi. She’s a wrinkly old lady with dark skin whom many kids in town believe is a witch. However, Opal quickly discovers that this isn’t true: Gloria is an immediate hit with Winn-Dixie, and within an hour of meeting Opal, she makes Opal feel more loved, heard, and accepted than almost anyone else in town. Gloria loves telling and hearing stories. In her younger years, she loved to read, but in the present, her eyesight has gotten so bad that she can’t even read with the help of glasses. Even more than any of Opal’s other adult friends, Gloria acts as a mentor and a teacher to Opal. Most importantly, Gloria is the one to introduce Opal to the idea that even good people can do bad things and make mistakes by showing Opal her “mistake tree.” Since Gloria is the nicest and kindest person Opal knows, it’s a shock for her to see the tree hung with alcohol bottles—all of which Gloria herself emptied when she was younger and struggling with alcoholism. Through this and through Gloria’s insistence that it’s impossible to keep someone from running away who wants to leave, Gloria helps Opal come to terms with Mama’s abandonment. She also inadvertently teaches Opal that Opal has the ability to care for others and make them feel respected, which Opal does by reading Gone with the Wind to Gloria chapter by chapter. Gloria also facilitates Opal’s party and encourages her to make friends with Dunlap and Stevie.

Gloria Dump Quotes in Because of Winn-Dixie

The Because of Winn-Dixie quotes below are all either spoken by Gloria Dump or refer to Gloria Dump. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Storytelling and Listening Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

“You know, my eyes ain’t too good at all. I can’t see nothing but the general shape of things, so I got to rely on my heart. Why don’t you go on and tell me everything about yourself, so as I can see you with my heart.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Dunlap Dewberry, Stevie Dewberry
Page Number: 65-66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

And the whole time I was talking, Gloria Dump was listening. She was nodding her head and smiling and frowning and saying, “Hmmm,” and “Is that right?”

I could feel her listening with all her heart, and it felt good.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“Why are all those bottles on it?”

“To keep the ghosts away,” Gloria said.

“What ghosts?”

“The ghosts of all the things I done wrong.”

I looked at all the bottles on the tree. “You did that many things wrong?” I asked her.

“Mmmm-hmmm,” said Gloria. “More than that.”

“But you’re the nicest person I know,” I told her.

“Doesn’t mean I haven’t done bad things,” she said.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Gloria Dump (speaker), Otis
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 94-95
Explanation and Analysis:

I stayed where I was and studied the tree. I wondered if my mama, wherever she was, had a tree full of bottles; and I wondered if I was a ghost to her, the same way she sometimes seemed like a ghost to me.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump, Mama
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 97
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

And I got real good at holding on to Winn-Dixie whenever they came. I held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him, just the same way he tried to comfort Miss Franny when she had her fits. Only I held on to Winn-Dixie for another reason, too. I held on to him tight so he wouldn’t run away.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Gloria Dump, Miss Franny Block, Mama
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:

It all made me think about Gloria Dump. I wondered who comforted her when she heard those bottles knocking together, those ghosts chattering about the things she had done wrong. I wanted to comfort Gloria Dump. And I decided that the best way to do that would be to read her a book, read it to her loud enough to keep the ghosts away.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump, Miss Franny Block, Mama
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Mama
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

“Well,” said Gloria Dump. “We didn’t do nothin’. We just sat here and waited and sang some songs. We all got to be good friends. Now. The punch ain’t nothin’ but water and the egg-salad sandwiches got tore up by the rain. You got to eat them with a spoon if you want egg salad. But we got pickles to eat. And Littmus Lozenges. And we still got a party going on.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Otis, Miss Franny Block, Amanda Wilkinson, Dunlap Dewberry, Stevie Dewberry
Related Symbols: Littmus Lozenges
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
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Because of Winn-Dixie PDF

Gloria Dump Quotes in Because of Winn-Dixie

The Because of Winn-Dixie quotes below are all either spoken by Gloria Dump or refer to Gloria Dump. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Storytelling and Listening Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

“You know, my eyes ain’t too good at all. I can’t see nothing but the general shape of things, so I got to rely on my heart. Why don’t you go on and tell me everything about yourself, so as I can see you with my heart.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Dunlap Dewberry, Stevie Dewberry
Page Number: 65-66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

And the whole time I was talking, Gloria Dump was listening. She was nodding her head and smiling and frowning and saying, “Hmmm,” and “Is that right?”

I could feel her listening with all her heart, and it felt good.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“Why are all those bottles on it?”

“To keep the ghosts away,” Gloria said.

“What ghosts?”

“The ghosts of all the things I done wrong.”

I looked at all the bottles on the tree. “You did that many things wrong?” I asked her.

“Mmmm-hmmm,” said Gloria. “More than that.”

“But you’re the nicest person I know,” I told her.

“Doesn’t mean I haven’t done bad things,” she said.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Gloria Dump (speaker), Otis
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 94-95
Explanation and Analysis:

I stayed where I was and studied the tree. I wondered if my mama, wherever she was, had a tree full of bottles; and I wondered if I was a ghost to her, the same way she sometimes seemed like a ghost to me.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump, Mama
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 97
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

And I got real good at holding on to Winn-Dixie whenever they came. I held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him, just the same way he tried to comfort Miss Franny when she had her fits. Only I held on to Winn-Dixie for another reason, too. I held on to him tight so he wouldn’t run away.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Gloria Dump, Miss Franny Block, Mama
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:

It all made me think about Gloria Dump. I wondered who comforted her when she heard those bottles knocking together, those ghosts chattering about the things she had done wrong. I wanted to comfort Gloria Dump. And I decided that the best way to do that would be to read her a book, read it to her loud enough to keep the ghosts away.

Related Characters: India Opal Buloni (speaker), Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump, Miss Franny Block, Mama
Related Symbols: The Mistake Tree
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Mama
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

“Well,” said Gloria Dump. “We didn’t do nothin’. We just sat here and waited and sang some songs. We all got to be good friends. Now. The punch ain’t nothin’ but water and the egg-salad sandwiches got tore up by the rain. You got to eat them with a spoon if you want egg salad. But we got pickles to eat. And Littmus Lozenges. And we still got a party going on.”

Related Characters: Gloria Dump (speaker), India Opal Buloni, Winn-Dixie, Daddy/The Preacher, Otis, Miss Franny Block, Amanda Wilkinson, Dunlap Dewberry, Stevie Dewberry
Related Symbols: Littmus Lozenges
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis: