Literary Devices in Because of Winn-Dixie
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Florida in the summertime is hot, hot, hot. Whoo-eee! So it's no surprise that most of the novel takes place outside. People sit outside to eat peanut butter sandwiches, ride bikes, and even bring...
Narrator Point of View
Opal is 10 (well, 11 when she tells the story). She's willing to use her own toothbrush on a stray dog. She likes hanging out with old people. Sounds quirky, eh? Yep. And that's what makes her voic...
Genre
Young Adult LiteratureOkay, the Young Adult Literature genre is pretty easy to tag in this book. Main character is young. Check. Parents are maybe not as involved as you'd think. Check. First perso...
Tone
Imagine having a heart-to-heart with a fifth grader. Got it? (This might be easy if you happen to be a fifth grader.) That's the tone of Opal's voice. Which makes sense, because she's telling the s...
Writing Style
Opal is not a fan of beating around the bush, and since the story is written in her point-of-view, the sentence style reflects that idea. Many sentences are short and matter-of-fact: The preacher l...
What's Up With the Title?
Because of Winn-Dixie. The title pretty sums up Opal's summer. Because of that friendly mutt Winn-Dixie, Opal makes friends.learns about her mother.repairs her relationship with her father.understa...
What's Up With the Ending?
This is one of those awesome, happy, everything-comes-together endings. It makes you want to hug your parents and text your friends to tell them they're the best parts of your life. Not kidding. In...
Tough-o-Meter
Relax. This book's language and themes are pretty straightforward. This is about the hardest it gets:I wondered if my mama, wherever she was, had a tree full of bottles; and I wondered if I was a g...
Plot Analysis
Needy in NaomiWe begin with 10-year-old Opal and her daddy, a preacher. They've just moved south to Naomi, Florida where Dad's going to be the new town preacher. Opal is super down in the dumps u...
Trivia
The movie Winn-Dixie was actually played by four different dogs. Count 'em! Four! French Picardy Shepherds, to be exact. Trés chic!(source)There are over 480 actual Winn-Dixie grocery stores scatt...
Allusions
Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind (15.6, 17.36, 18.13, 20.13, 20.46)Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (7.17)Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain (7.31)The Civil War (15.8-12)The Firing on Fort Sumter (16.1-3...