Food Symbol in The Simple Gift

In The Simple Gift, food symbolizes the healing, transformative potential of human connection. Food is the glue that binds together the relationships in The Simple Gift. It’s also a way that people express kindness and a shared sense of humanity. Thus, Ernie gives runaway Billy Luckett temporary shelter and food on his train ride out of town. Later, searching for free food at McDonald’s leads Billy to meet Caitlin Holmes. Their budding romance develops over the coffee and apple pies Caitlin brings to Billy’s train car at the end of her shifts and picnics by the river. Likewise, Billy initiates and grows his friendship with Old Bill by bringing him breakfast each day. And Billy, Caitlin, and Old Bill find their fates bound together when Caitlin invites Old Bill and Billy to her house for dinner. There, Billy and Caitlin treat Old Bill like a human being, and their compassion sets him on a path toward recovering from the traumas that have shaped his life.

Food Quotes in The Simple Gift

The The Simple Gift quotes below all refer to the symbol of Food. 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:

‘Hey kid,
get outta there.
You’ll freeze to death.
That’ll teach you
to hitch a ride with National Rail.
No free rides with this government, son.
Just kidding.
I hate the bloody government.
Get your bag
and come back to the guard’s van.
There’s a heater that works,
and some coffee.[’]

Related Characters: (speaker),

Related Symbols:

Because when I was
twelve years old
and my dad chased me
out of the house
with a strap,
I’d hidden in the neighbor’s
chook shed, waiting for night
when I could climb
through my bedroom window
and sleep,
hoping Dad wouldn’t wake angry.
After an hour,
our neighbor came out
and placed a bowl of soup
and some bread
on a tin
outside the chook shed door.
She left me dinner
and walked away.
I ate my fill
and waited till late.
A few weeks later
that neighbor moved away
and I never thanked her,
and that’s why I help Old Bill,
for no reason
other than he needs it.

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I almost laughed
when they arrived.
The two neatest hobos
I’d ever seen,
with their hair combed,
slicked back,
and their faces rubbed shiny clean.
Old Bill called me ‘Miss’
and offered me a box of chocolates
he’d brought
and he looked around the house
as though he were visiting the moon.
Billy saw the wine,
already open,
and he poured three glasses
passed them around
and as we raised our glasses
Billy said,
‘To the richest house in Bendarat’
and we laughed.
My cooking even smelt good […]

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Billy returned an hour later
and came to my carriage.
We sat opposite, talking.
I heard the bottles clink
in his bag
and said,
‘Come on, then,
let’s have them.’
But when he brought out
the ginger beer
I swore
and laughed
and swore some more,
but really
you’ve got to admire the kid.
So I drank the stuff
and we sat up late
talking
and I slept
better than I had in a long time
so maybe
just maybe
I’ll work on less beer
for a while.
For the kid’s sake.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Related Symbols:

I arrive at Billy’s
and he’s in the kitchen
scrubbing the floor.
He’s already done the bathroom.
I vacuum the lounge
and the main bedroom—
it’s only dust
that’s gathered lonely in the corners
and on the curtains.
Billy and I work all morning.
We eat lunch under the fir trees
and look at the house.
We don’t say much.
We lie on the blanket
and hold each other.
Billy has his arms around me
and his eyes turned
towards the white timber house.

Related Characters: (speaker), , ,

Related Symbols: ,

Food Symbol Timeline in The Simple Gift

The timeline below shows where the symbol Food appears in The Simple Gift. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Champagne. Billy empties his backpack of yesterday’s lunch and his school supplies, then he goes to the kitchen and reloads it with beer,... (full context)

...death overnight, and sends him back to the guard’s car, which has a heater, some sandwiches, and a coffee maker. The boat belongs to Ernie. There’s a lake near his home,... (full context)

Another crossing. In the guard car, Billy eats some sandwiches and drinks a cup of hot coffee with sugar. He leaves the bottle of champagne... (full context)

...day in Bendarat, Billy finishes his rolls and cheese. So, he goes to McDonald’s for dinner. He buys just a small lemonade, which he takes to the upstairs dining room. He... (full context)

Caitlin and mopping. Caitlin watches Billy take the food left behind by other McDonald’s patrons. Her first impulse is to tell him to put... (full context)

...has a welcoming library in which to read, a McDonald’s where he can collect enough food for his supper, and a cozy abandoned train car to sleep in. Each morning, he... (full context)

...“pure and innocent.” Reading the note made her feel pangs of hunger, but not for food. (full context)

Too early. Early the next morning, Billy makes a bowl of cereal and milk and carries it next door to Old Bill’s train car. It smells like... (full context)

...out of her work clothes and prepares to visit Billy with two coffees and two apple pies. Her parents taught her it’s rude to visit without bringing gifts. (full context)

...or discomfort over his living space. She makes herself at home and they share the apple pies and coffee, like two little kids on a picnic. (full context)

...sorry for Billy every day at 6:30 a.m. when the teen wakes him up for breakfast and their early morning walk to the cannery. Old Bill wants to be left alone;... (full context)

Rich. Billy can’t decide what to do with his money—splurge on a nice meal at a restaurant, buy new clothes or a better sleeping bag, or get something like... (full context)

...helped him. He remembers a neighbor from his childhood, too, who silently brought him a dinner when Billy was hiding from his dad in her chicken coop. She moved away before... (full context)

...date on Saturday. She tells him to pick the place and she will bring a picnic. She tries to feel casual about the whole thing, but it feels like a big... (full context)

No hurry. On Saturday, Caitlin knocks on the door of Carriage 1864. She has a picnic basket filled with good food: bread, cheese, roasted chicken, fruit, and beer. Billy has washed... (full context)

The picnic. Billy and Caitlin slowly and lazily savor everything in the picnic basket. The warm sun,... (full context)

Dinner. Family dinners at Caitlin’s house are always the same: her mother cooks a perfect meal and pairs... (full context)

Hobos like us. Every morning, Billy wakes up Old Bill and they share a breakfast of cereal and McDonald’s coffee that Billy keeps warm in a thermos overnight. Old Bill... (full context)

...money instead of drinking it all away; he wakes up earlier and eats a decent breakfast; he occasionally washes in the river. Old Bill thinks that Billy deserves a better life... (full context)

...gotten into trouble, she creeps around back. In the next car, she sees Billy serving breakfast to an old man she doesn’t recognize (Old Bill). She watches Billy help Old Bill... (full context)

...how he lives—as an unhoused person—more than seeing his train car or watching him steal food at the McDonald’s. She feels ashamed of her horror and worries that maybe she’s more... (full context)

A man. Ashamed of her earlier horror, Caitlin invites both Billy and Old Bill to dinner at her house that evening. Billy expresses delight at his friend’s inclusion, and he tells... (full context)

...meat, the tedious process of peeling and cutting vegetables—so she does the prep work for dinner as quickly as possible, throwing ingredients for a curry into a pot and leaving it... (full context)

The moon. Billy and Old Bill arrive for dinner, scrubbed and cleaned up so much that Caitlin almost can’t help but laugh at the... (full context)

Stories. The trio sit on the floor near the fireplace to eat their dinner and drink a pleasant amount of wine. And they talk. Caitlin and Billy plan future... (full context)

Simple gift. After dinner, Old Bill graciously thanks Caitlin for the meal, then he shakes hers and Billy’s hands... (full context)

...startled and afraid it might be the police, but it’s just Old Bill bringing him breakfast and coffee. Old Bill gently teases Billy about sleeping in so late—it’s 9:00! Billy starts... (full context)

Share. Sometimes, Caitlin packs food from home into her bag before she goes to work so that she can give... (full context)

...and this town. Every day, Old Bill now wakes up early and eats a proper breakfast before taking long walks. Sometimes he goes to the river with Billy to wash and... (full context)

Early, or late. Early the next morning, Billy carries breakfast and coffee to Old Bill only to find his friend awake and shaving. They sit... (full context)

...young. Old Bill offers to buy Billy coffee to show his gratitude for all the breakfasts Billy has shared. Billy comes along reluctantly—he wants to wait for Caitlin to get out... (full context)

...home, making plans to return to the train car after her shift that night with apple pies and coffee so she can listen about Billy’s problem. (full context)

...“like a bum.” But Billy stuck around and took care of Old Bill, bringing him breakfast, making him go to the cannery for work, and helping him to stop drinking. He... (full context)

...started scrubbing the kitchen floor. She vacuums the living room and master bedroom. They eat lunch in the yard, then they cuddle on the picnic blanket. Caitlin watches Billy looking at... (full context)

Saturday dinner. Caitlin calls her mother on her mobile phone to say she’s having dinner with her... (full context)

The best meal. Caitlin and Billy spend all afternoon making dinner—a chicken curry with rice. They keep stopping... (full context)

Drinking by the river. Billy and Old Bill meet up at the river to share lunch. While they watch birds in the water and on the opposite bank, Old Bill tells... (full context)

...house again, but Billy likes the comfortable bed and the opportunity to cook the “proper food” that Caitlin brings over. He especially loves the curtains and the way he can choose... (full context)

Holiday. One morning, Billy wakes up early and packs up a thermos of coffee, some cereal, and a carton of milk. He carries these down to the Freight Yard and wakes... (full context)

The Simple Gift

Steven Herrick

Food Symbol Analysis

Food Quotes in The Simple Gift

Food Symbol Timeline in The Simple Gift