Fried Green Tomatoes

There were many examples of how the characters in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” manifested power in and through their lives. One example of this is with the character Big George. He was a black man who lived in the town. He also did the barbeque at the Whistle Stop Cafe. A big example of how he manifested power was through his dealings with racism. This movie took place in the 1930’s, a time period where the black race was greatly looked down upon and thought to be lesser than white people. This could also be seen when Idgie’s friend tells her he has to bring her to Georgia the next day because she is being convicted of Frank Bennett’s murder. He basically tells her to pack up and leave the town so she is not arrested and also tells her to leave Big George in the town to get arrested because the people wanted to have someone hung for the crime, and they would rather have it be a black man than a white woman. So because of these biases, Big George had to find the power within him to overcome these obstacles and to live a decent life, despite the hardships he had to face on a daily basis because of his skin color. Big George also found power within his own family and even with Idgie. So, by combining their determination and strength with his own, Big George was able to overcome the barriers of racism.

Another character in this story that manifested power within him and in his life is Frank Bennett. While Big George’s power was exhibited in a positive way, Frank Bennett’s use and manifestation of power was in a negative way, which not only affected him personally, but others as well, more specifically Ruth. Ruth ends up marrying Frank, and everything seems to be fine. Except one day Idgie sees a bruise on Ruth’s face, but Ruth just tells Idgy to leave. But, later in the story, Idgie comes back again and rescues Ruth from her terrible marriage. It turns out that Frank Bennett was very abusive towards Ruth. Frank could have manifested the power he had into being a good husband and a loving father. Instead, he chooses to abuse his power, and hurt other people, even going as far as trying to kidnap Ruth’s baby. So although power can be used for good, Frank Bennett is a very blatant example of how someone can use the power they have in a negative way.

The last two characters that manifested their power through themselves and their lives are Ninny Threadgood and Evelyn Couch. Ninny Threadgood is a little old lady who lives in the same nursing home as Evelyn’s husband’s Aunt. Evelyn Couch is an overweight, insecure woman who is very unsure and seemly completely dependent on her husband. But, as Ninny Threadgood tells the story of Idgie and the little town of Whistle Stop, a great change is brought about in Evelyn. She quits her marriage classes, loses weight, stands up to Ed, and gets a job. Ninny ends up leaving the nursing home and living with Evelyn, who actually starts to love Ninny and takes care of her like she’s her own