Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe
Patricia Neal, an up-and-coming actress, faced the dilemma of there already being a well-known actress in Hollywood with the same name. In order to obviate confusion, she decided to change her name and the eccentric “Fannie Flagg” emerged. This name change reflects her jocular personality and novels, such as her well-known Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. Through writing, she realized that she could easily incorporate her own experiences into her characters and their own conflicts. Flagg’s background in theater, progressive stances on political issues, and tragic childhood greatly impacted her to create her kind-hearted stories. A large portion of Fannie Flagg’s life before writing was on stage, either acting in movies, television,
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Hostility seems to be omnipresent in the novel, in both the present and Ninny’s worn stories, except in the Threadgoode family. They continually possess kindness to their neighbors, no matter their race. For example, when Idgie explains to her son who the bravest people she knows are, she claims that Big George, one of their African American chefs, is one of them (Flagg 131). On the other hand, Flagg’s passion for women’s liberation fuels many of her characters. Although it is not directly stated, two characters, Ruth and Idgie, are in a homosexual relationship that the town accepts. Their love is undoubtedly strong; Idgie vows that she would kill the man that put his hands on Ruth (Flagg 190). This is a clear reflection of Flagg as she is a lesbian herself. Furthermore, many of the female characters in Fried Green Tomatoes exhibit kindness and innocence, such as Evelyn Couch. Throughout the story, Evelyn emerges as a feminist herself. Notably, she wonders “What have we [females] done to be thought of that way? To be called c*nt? People didn’t call blacks names anymore . . . but women were still being called names by men. Why” (Flagg 239)? She also expresses body positivity in girls and women, as she struggled with her weight. Flagg embraces this significant feminism not only for her characters’ benefit, but also for readers who can relate. Women’s’ rights are a major theme throughout Flagg’s works; however, friendship is also a dominant
Hostility seems to be omnipresent in the novel, in both the present and Ninny’s worn stories, except in the Threadgoode family. They continually possess kindness to their neighbors, no matter their race. For example, when Idgie explains to her son who the bravest people she knows are, she claims that Big George, one of their African American chefs, is one of them (Flagg 131). On the other hand, Flagg’s passion for women’s liberation fuels many of her characters. Although it is not directly stated, two characters, Ruth and Idgie, are in a homosexual relationship that the town accepts. Their love is undoubtedly strong; Idgie vows that she would kill the man that put his hands on Ruth (Flagg 190). This is a clear reflection of Flagg as she is a lesbian herself. Furthermore, many of the female characters in Fried Green Tomatoes exhibit kindness and innocence, such as Evelyn Couch. Throughout the story, Evelyn emerges as a feminist herself. Notably, she wonders “What have we [females] done to be thought of that way? To be called c*nt? People didn’t call blacks names anymore . . . but women were still being called names by men. Why” (Flagg 239)? She also expresses body positivity in girls and women, as she struggled with her weight. Flagg embraces this significant feminism not only for her characters’ benefit, but also for readers who can relate. Women’s’ rights are a major theme throughout Flagg’s works; however, friendship is also a dominant