Significance of Food

Food represents nourishment and life. There are many offers of food in the book, but this does not mean that the food nourishes those who eat it. When Gonzalez first arrives in Indio, his grandfather gives him food. Gonzalez eats it, even though he is not hungry. He does want to to be polite, but there is no nourishment.

On the bus, his father buys food for Gonzalez and he takes it. But the end of the journey, though, Gonzalez takes only liquids, symbolizing that he is no longer open to the nourishment his father is trying to provide. When Gonzalez and his father finally arrive there is hope that things will end well because the two of them share a meal together. The result, however, is just the opposite. The two men fight. Instead of bringing them together, it pulls them away from each other. Gonzalez's father even ruins Gonzalez's birthday meal by showing up and asking for money.

With Gonzalez's lover's there is always a play on words when it comes to the word "hungry." The question readers ask themselves is whether Gonzalez is getting the right kind of nourishment.