Human is a social creature. It is natural that normal people’s life is impossible without communication. However, in today’s modern world, when people are very busy, we do not notice how we estrange from our family and friends. “Because of Winn Dixie” is a heartwarming story written by Kate DiCamillo. This is a well-crafted book about a girl, who tries to fight loneliness. The author created a realistic story that, at the same time, has so much magic and warmth in it, as it narrates about simple things and feelings, which we experience in our everyday life.
In the book “Because of Winn Dixie”, Kate DiCamillo focuses on a ten-year-old girl India Opal Buloni and her friend, a dog named Winn Dixie. Opal is raised by her father solely; the girl is missing her mother, who abandoned her, however, the author does not put the story in dull colors, on the contrary, she keeps its line beautifully. Of course, sadness is a part of the story, but features of friendship, love, happiness, hope to prevail. Opal travels with her father, who is the preacher, too many places, moving from one town to another. This causes her a lot of pain, because every time they move to another place, she loses her friends. This fact frustrates the girl very much and her relationship with her father becomes more strained. The girl said this about her father: “My daddy is a good preacher and a nice man, but sometimes it’s hard for me to think about him as my daddy because he spends so much time preaching or thinking about preaching or getting ready to preach.” (DiCamillo 13). One day she meets a creature that changes all her life. At the supermarket, she encountered a big, clumsy, funny dog, which caused a big stir in the produce section, at which the grocery manager was screaming. The girl saved the dog from being sent to the pound by claiming that the dog belonged to her. When Opal and the dog came out from the market “Winn Dixie”, she decided to give him this exact name. From this moment the girl’s life is changed forever. Winn Dixie becomes Opal’s best friend. This dog enriches Opal’s life; he is better at making friends, together they meet interesting people, such as Gloria Dump, a woman who is almost blind, but who can see with her heart; Otis, a shy ex-con, who lulls pets in the pet shop with his guitar. Owing to Winn Dixie, Opal learns a number of people’s stories and realizes that when you encounter some problems, when you lose someone you should keep living because such things happen in everyone’s life. Kate DiCamillo provides a great example when book characters talk about the losses, they have experienced, and nevertheless, life for them still goes on. Winn Dixie gives Opal not only a chance to meet with other people, to have new experiences, but also becomes a key element in discharging the strained relationship between the girl and her father. By the end of the story, we can see how Opal changes: the girl who was very lonely and sad in the beginning, in the end, has a lot of friends, values her family and gains wisdom. And this is all because of a smelly, lovely, funny dog, named Winn Dixie.
All in all, the book by Kate DiCamillo is a story full of magical realism that tells us about simple things, such as friendship, love, sorrow, family, happiness and charges you with loads of positive energy. This book is highly recommended for people who think that life is over when you think that you are lonely. The story shows that although sometimes everyone seems lonely, life can be interesting when people take steps to reach out to one another. The characters, the dialogs, the settings, the events in the book are entirely realistic, making the story a good example of how to improve your life when you think it is over.
Work Cited
Kate DiCamillo. Because of Winn Dixie. Candlewick Pr. 2005.