Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe

Love is one of the most powerful forces in the world, and one of the most difficult to describe. It is one of those emotions that words do not seem to justify a person may feel it, but may not be able to explain it. However, that does not mean that people do not know that love is out there. Many people believe that everyone has one true love somewhere in the world, and spend their lives searching for that person. Love is not difficult to find though. It exists in many forms, including love between family members, friends, different races, and even the love for oneself, both in the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Frannie Flagg and in one's own life.The first and most basic form of love is found in the family.

From the time a child is born, in usual circumstances, that child is loved unconditionally. A person grows up with their family, and is able to express who they really are. Because of this, ties within the family are usually quite strong. Take for example the relationship between Idgie and Buddy: Idgie (Imogene), a dare-devilish tomboy, and her older brother Buddy are quite close until Buddy's untimely death. Idgie takes his passing with difficulty: "You never saw anybody hurt so much. I thought she would die right along with him" (Flagg, p.37).

Another example of the love felt within a family is Stump (Buddy Jr.), who is Ruth's son, Ruth herself, and Idgie. Stump's father is murdered, and grows up with Ruth and Idgie as his parents. Ruth and Idgie do everything possible to try and keep Stump happy. In fact, when Stump is feeling self-conscious about being with a female in the sexual sense, it is Idgie who arranges for him to have intercourse with a friend of hers: "'It's just that I'm scared, Aunt Idgie. I'm just plain scared'" (Flagg, p.266).

"The door of the cabin opened, and a freshly bathed, powdered, and perfumed woman with rust-colored hair and apple-green eyes said, 'Come on in, sugar,' as Idgie drove away" (Flagg, p.267). Also, another example of family love is how hard Jasper Peavey works, and how he scrapes to white people to get enough money to support his family: "The burial policy for his family was paid off, he had sent all four of his children through college, and not one of them would ever have to live off tips. That was the one thought that had kept him going all the hard,...

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...wful despair had started when she finally began to realize that nothing was ever going to change... She began to feel as if she were at the bottom of a well, screaming, no one to hear" (Flagg, p.63).

As Evelyn becomes friends with Ninny, she learns from her that it is pointless to feel so hopeless and despondent. After Evelyn manages to rid herself of her alter-ego, Towanda the Avenger, she begins to understand and feel good about herself. She also attends a weight-loss spa where she "found her group, the group she had been looking for all her life" (Flagg, p.374). By the end of the novel, Evelyn is a happy, well-adjusted middle-aged woman who is finally able to love herself.Love can be uncovered almost anywhere. In the novel by Frannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, love is a powerful force that is found in many forms: love between family members, love between friends, love between races, and the love that a person has for themselves. This love is important because without it there would be an extensive amount of fighting between people, and a greater lack of respect between citizens. To maintain the sanity of the world, there must be love.