Are
Memories Enough?
Whether
it is a young child wandering in the labyrinth like hallways filled with nurses
and walkers, adults providing care and comfort for their aging parents, or the
residents themselves passing the time through repetitive medical cycles, nursing
homes are an experience that most Americans become familiar with at some point.
But it is in these hallways of death and closure where Fannie Flagg decides to
begin her endearing and emotionally nurturing novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. While topics brought
up in this setting can be tackled in the darkest and most depressing terms, Flagg
finds a way to give light and joy to a woman’s final months by providing her
with only one strategy to pass away pleasantly: reliving past memories.
Born
in Birmingham, Alabama, it is no surprise that the southern setting of the
novel plays such a large role in the characters’ stories. Racism, sexism, and
even compulsive eating are all issues that these southern characters deal with.
With her wide array of characters, many of whom pop up only for brief
intervals, Flagg has no limit to how many problems can plague the southern
mind.
Flagg’s southern novel mainly focuses
on two merging stories and timelines, both of which are full of pain and humor.
The first focuses on the aging Ninny Threadgoode who spends her final few months
alive passing on her memories of home to Evelyn Couch, a character plagued by
her own midlife crisis. This story is contrasted with what can be summed up as
the adventures of Idgie Threadgoode, Ninny’s sister in law, who finds every rule
in the book to break to ensure justice and sometimes just to cause some chaos.
As Evelyn hears Ninny’s stories of Whistle Stop and listens to the bravery of
the strong and independent character Idgie, it not only instills in Evelyn a
sense of power and self-acceptance, but also provides Ninny with peace knowing
that her memories can life on.
It is this theme of accepting
finality in one’s life that is most predominant in the novel as characters are forced
to overcome challenges and find ways to cope with death and dramatic change.
Even the demise of small town America is explored by Flagg as her story
eventually must move away from its idealized, and sometimes romanticized,
setting and become grounded in the reality of a modernized and urban country.
This sense of finality is most prevalent through the thoughts of one nomadic
character, Smokey Lonesome, who reflects on life as the town of Whistle Stop
slowly closes down: “Those memories were still there, and tonight he sat searching
for them, just like always, grabbing at moonbeams. Every once in a while he
would catch one and take a ride, and it was like magic” (319). It is shown through
Flagg’s writing that change in life is not easy, and even the healing powers of
past memories can be a strenuous practice at times. While Flagg’s use of the
verb “searching” demonstrates that longing for past memories may not come easily
to her characters, it is absolutely necessary for one’s own mental health and
comfort. This is not surprising as Flagg
continually displays life as full of hardship and strife. Although these
memories help the characters cope with the challenges of life, Flagg does not
go so far as to suggest that pleasant memories are all that are needed to
overcome their problems. Sure enough, Smokey’s “magical” ride is simply that:
magical. While these enchanted memories do not last, the impact they have on us
does. This is especially seen through the character Evelyn who picks herself up
and finds meaning in life from these “magical” tales from Ninny. Ultimately, it
is a balancing act that Flagg portrays as her characters must use memories to
get through difficult changes in their lives while also learning valuable
lessons they can apply later in life.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle
Stop Café is certainly an enjoyable read that forms an attachment between the
characters and the readers. With the long list of active characters in the
novel, it is difficult for a reader to not discover some reflection of their
own self in the messy lives of the Whistle Stop residents. If there is one
issue with the book it may be the American South’s most serious problem with
accepting change: the stain of racism. Fannie Flagg tries to fairly depict the
evils of racism in the South, but her constant focus on privileged white women
unfortunately leaves many of the black characters pushed into the backdrop and
as they are never fully developed. Despite this shortcoming, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
has the power to captivate a reader and provide deep commentary on the powerful
impact memories can have for all of us trying to navigate our own tricky lives.
