Because of Winn-Dixie is a quest story in which the structural and literary elements combine to create a sense of intimacy. Each character has an individual journey to make, but when they are brought together by Opal and Winn-Dixie, they are bound together by the answer to one central question: What is the most important thing?

DiCamillo uses the first-person point of view to allow Opal to speak directly to the reader. Opal carries the reader breathlessly through the first chapter with nonstop sentences made up of long phrases often joined by "and" and lacking punctuation. This breathless, confiding voice immediately involves the reader in the excitement of Opal's quest.

The intimate, conversational approach to narrative also allows DiCamillo to establish divisions between the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story. Opal interrupts her narrative in chapter 1 with "This is what happened." The chapters...