Literary Analysis: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
History is defined as the study of past events, particularly in human affairs. History has influenced and built the structure of the world today. It also can be interpreted throughout books and stories. In the book “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café” by Fannie Flagg, the attitudes of the characters in the story directly reflect the historical views of the South in 1930s.
This story’s history is reflected throughout the 1920s and 1980s in Birmingham, Alabama. The South was a very hard place to live for African Americans. Some men organized hate organizations that would employ terror in pursuit of their belief in white supremacy. This group was better known as the Klu Klux Klan also went by the KKK. During this time that the story was taking place in the Klu Klux Klan had a problem with Idgie Threadgoode because she was feeding the African Americans and would do things for them.
“Now, Idgie, you ought not to be selling those ni**ers food, you know better than that. And there’s some boys in this town that’s not too happy about it. Nobody want to eat in the same place that ni**ers come, it’s not right and you just ought not be doin’ it.” (Flagg 53)
The town of Birmingham in the story is very different from the real Birmingham. Birmingham was known for its hate for African Americans. The KKK played a huge role in society but not so much throughout the story.
When analyzing the story’s background there are a few key historical events. During the time that Fried Green Tomatoes was set in, the main events that took place in the South were ; The Great Depression, Segregation, Falling Agriculture, and Transportation (Train).The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, it officially began in 1929, and the rural south (Alabama) was impacted the most which lead to falling agriculture prices making it hard for the rural family.
“Come to think of it, Idgie and Ruth bought the café in 1929, right in the height of the depression, but I don’t think we ever had margarine there. Leastways, I can’t recall if we did. It’s odd, here the whole world was suffering so, but at the café, those Depression years come back to me now as the happy times, even though we were all struggling. We were happy and didn’t know it” (Flagg 248), stated Ninny.
When the café first opened everyone wanted to come to Alabama, that was as far as the train would go in the 1930s. Toward the end of The Great Depression the train stopped coming to Whistle Stop it went on down to Florida and took the tourist with them, which caused businesses to fail. Segregation was also a historical event although slavery ended, the South was still segregated. African Americans stayed on one part of the town and whites stayed on the other. The black people had to work and be treated a certain way. The whites didn’t want to sit in the same room as the blacks. Family’s in the 30s did have African Americans working for them. Some of which they treated like family. The Threadgoode’s were a family who had African American workers which they treated them like family others in the town disagreed with this. Idgie was taught to respect and treat everyone far. When African Americans came to the cafe for food it would infuriate the white people of the town. they even made threats.
The Family is what shaped the overall story. In the small town Whistle Stop, everyone knew everyone. People would often stay at the Threadgoode’s home in Whistle Stop over the summer. Ninny said, “So much happened there, so many babies born, we had so many happy times”(Flagg 11). The Threadgoode’s were the heart of the town, especially Poppa Threadgoode. He and his family owned the only store in town which had everything. ”Everyone in Whistle Stop traded there. That’s why we were so surprised when the store closed down in ‘twenty two” (Flagg26). The Threadgoode’s were a fairly large family of 11 including Momma and Poppa. The Threadgoode’s had nine children, three of whom were girls. They even took Ninny who was a neighbor in when her parents passed away, Ninny explained that, “Momma and Poppa Threadgoode raised me just like I was one of their own” (Flagg 12). Everyone was close in the family, however a relationship that the story highlights the most was Imogene Threadgoode and her brother Buddy Threadgoode. Buddy started calling her Idgie. Ninny said,“ Buddy was eight when she was born, and he used to carry her over town, just like she was a doll”(Flagg 25). Buddy was Idgie’s everything, she would do anything for Buddy. She was even Buddy’s note runner between him and the girls. He was charming and a very handsome boy. Every girl had a crush on him but one-day things took a turn for the worst, Buddy got into a train accident and died. Idgie took Buddy’s death the hardest. “You never saw anybody hurt so much. I thought she would die right along with him”(Flagg 37). Momma Threadgoode worried about Idgie because she had ran away and when she did return home she would go upstairs and sit in Buddy’s room.
Until one day, Momma Threadgoode sent for Ruth Jamison. Ruth was from Valdosta, Georgia. Momma Threadgoode made Ruth in charge of the BYO activities at the church. She was a lovely young lady, she was about twenty-two years old. “She had light auburn hair and brown eye with long eyelashes, and was so sweet and soft-spoken that people just fell in love with her on first sight”(Flagg 80). Idgie was fascinated with Ruth, she even started showing off for Ruth. Momma Threadgoode believed that Idgie had a crush on Ruth. Ruth and Idgie hit it off they started spending lots of time together. Idgie was a very outgoing tomboy who loved a good laugh. The two grew to love each other. “When Idgie had grinned at her and tried to hand her that jar of honey, all these feelings that she had been trying to hold back came flooding through her, and it was at that second in time that she knew she loved Idgie with all of her heart” (Flagg 88). This was odd in the South and even during this time period women weren’t supposed to have this much love for other women. Ruth and Idgie’s love was different from just a friend love. The summer was soon coming to an end and Ruth would have to return back to Valdosta, Georgia. Idgie who was sixteen at the time didn’t want Ruth to leave but Ruth had to get back home because she had to marry a man named Frank Bennett “she had to get over her crush”. Idgie was so upset, she hated Ruth for getting married and leaving. Ruth went on with life in Valdosta. Her marriage didn’t represent a true marriage. Her husband would portray a different person in the town. He was a gentleman, loving, and caring man to the society. When he went home would take advantage of her and force himself on her. He often would beat her and push her down the stairs. During the 1930s women would get abused and society wouldn’t look at it as being wrong. Women were supposed to be submissive to their husband. Ruth exceeded standards and had had enough. She decided to write a note to Idgie and basically explain that she wanted to leave. Momma Threadgoode told Idgie to go get Ruth and Idgie went and got her. Frank Bennett Ruths husband had just come home when Ruth was leaving and he appeared very upset. It was uncommon to have a wife leave her husband. “Back then, if you were married, you stayed married” (Flagg 191).
With Ruth being back in Whistle Stop, she seemed to be happier and enjoying life again. She noticed that her belly was get bigger, so she went to the doctor and he said she was expecting. He was born at the Threadgoode house known as the big house. He was this blonde headed baby that would be named after Buddy but they would call him Stump. Stump never met his father. Idgie and Ruth raised him. “Poppa Threadgoode sat Idgie down and told her that she was going to be responsible for Ruth and a baby, she’d better figure out what she wanted to do and gave her five hundred dollars to start a business with” (Flagg 192). So that’s what they did the opened up a café. They also raised their boy together. In the town new articles Idgie was viewed as his other mom but on the Birmingham news she was viewed as his Aunt. This plays a significant role in the story. Back in the 30s women and women did not go together. Women were only supposed to be with men but in the town no one ever viewed the two or even their little family in a negative way. Everyone knew the two loved each other and that both of them were going to raise a good kid.
In conclusion, the story Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café has many historical views that helped shape the story in the 1930s. Also, has reflected pass events that were taking place throughout history. Books can be based off real events in history. The characters impacted not only the story but they impacted the 1930s.