Opal learns a variety of lessons about life and love. At the beginning, she is in a world of hurt, trying to understand why her mother left her and why her father won't talk about her mother. Being new in town, she also doesn't have any friends. She is in dire need of them.
By finding Winn-Dixie, a lovable canine, Opal's heart begins to open again. In time, she meets a variety of other people in town who are also lonely. Thanks to Winn-Dixie, Opal is able to open her heart to these people as well. As she gets closer to them, she learns what it means to be part of a community. Opal gets to know Miss Franny, who is alleged to be a witch, a shy man named Otis, who works at the pet store, and an old librarian called Miss Franny.
Later, when Opal throws a party...
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for her new friends and thinks that Winn-Dixie has gone missing, she and her father finally talk to each other on a deep level. Opal learns that although her mother is not coming back, her father and friends love her. Beyond that, she has the potential to make new friends who will also love her.
In a nutshell, Opel learns that life in the aftermath of her mother's departure goes on. She is capable of making new friends even after what she's been through.
What did Opal learn in Because of Winn-Dixie?
In Because of Winn-Dixie, the protagonist is a young girl named Opal who moves to a new town with her father, her mother having left them before the story begins. Opal feels abandoned by her mother’s departure. Moreover, she has no friends in this new town. In short, she is unhappy.
Through the course of the book and through the interactions she has with people, usually thanks to her dog Winn-Dixie, she learns many things about people and about life, including that one should not judge people, and that most people have a story that can make them more relatable. Moreover, she also learns that if you are kind and open, people will usually respond positively. For instance, when Miss Franny is afraid of Winn-Dixie, Opal asks:
“Miss Franny?” I said. “Are you all right?”
“A bear,” she said.
“A bear?” I asked...
“Miss Franny Block,” I said, “that’s not a bear. That’s a dog. That’s my dog. Winn-Dixie.”
Miss Franny judges Winn-Dixie by his appearance, but when she learns that Opal is right about Winn-Dixie having a large heart, she befriends Opal and Winn-Dixie. Opal realizes that she and Miss Franny have more in common than she realized upon first seeing Miss Franny. She can relate to the librarian and thinks,
“She looked sad and old and wrinkled. It was the same way I felt sometimes, being friendless in a new town and not having a mama to comfort me. I sighed, too.”
Finally, Opal also learns to let go of her unhappiness and bitterness about her mother. When Opal believes that Winn-Dixie has run away, she is heartbroken and searches for him. Her friend Gloria tells her that she cannot make something stay if it wants to leave even if she loves it. Gloria is speaking about Winn-Dixie, but Opal understands this in reference to her mother too. At the end of the novel, she speaks to her absent mother, saying,
“I miss you, but my heart doesn’t feel empty anymore. It’s full all the way up.”
Opal has managed to fill her heart with relationships with new friends who form a part of her extended family, with Winn-Dixie, and with a different, hopefully more open relationship with her father.