Importance of Tomatoes

From the beginning of the story, Catherine Grace likens living in Ringgold to growing tomatoes. Everybody in town grows excellent tomatoes, even prays over them to produce a great crop. Her mother and her Home Economics teacher, even Gloria Jean spoke long on the benefit of being able to grow a good tomato. Whenever Catherine Grace thinks of a long life in Ringgold, she thinks, "I can't just sit around in that town and grow tomatoes forever..." And endless life of growing tomatoes; this is what Catherine Grace thinks life in Ringgold would be like.