42 pages • 1 hour read
Lois LenskiStrawberry Girl
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1945A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Strawberry Crops
Strawberry crops are a symbol of resilience, dedication, and hard work in Strawberry Girl. Strawberries are difficult to grow and sustain because they are so sensitive. When Florida’s temperature drops, the strawberries can easily freeze. When Florida’s temperature gets scorching hot, the strawberries dry up. Along with climate, another challenge in growing strawberries is the many animals and birds who love to eat them. A strawberry crop requires constant care and attention. Birdie takes on the responsibility of her family’s strawberry crop because she genuinely cares about the strawberries as an extension of her family. She learns the value of hard work and the difficult lessons about the unpredictability of life by caring for the crop. When the crop fails, “Birdie was sick at heart. They had worked so hard over the berries. It seemed cruel to lose them just as they were ripening” (113). Birdie’s emotional attachment to the strawberries is symbolic of her contribution to her family’s well-being. But the strawberries also teach Birdie how to be entrepreneurial and clever with her farming. By never giving up on the strawberries despite the heartache and hard work, Birdie develops resilience and dedication. She is so dedicated to the strawberries that she earns the nickname Strawberry Girl. Her community’s nickname for her highlights her value to them. Therefore, the strawberry crops are also a symbol of inclusion and belonging.
Florida
Florida is both the setting of the novel and a symbol of change. Florida’s climate is itself a constantly changing element that challenges the characters. When Florida is hot, the sun is so scorching that crops suffer. When Florida is cold, the temperature difference is enough to hurt crops in another way. Florida is introduced as a setting of barrenness. Shoestring claims that no one can grow anything in Florida successfully and that people “can’t raise nothin’ on this sorry ole piece o’ land but a fuss!” (16). But the Boyers rise to the challenge that Florida presents and prove that hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit can be successful in such a rural setting. Florida is therefore both a setting and symbol of destitution and prosperity, as is represented through the Slaters’ poverty and juxtaposed with the Boyers’ wealth.
Florida is also a key symbol in the development of the theme of The Inevitability of Change. When a corporation establishes a phosphate company in Florida, the livelihoods of small family farms are threatened by an influx of new land ownership and monetized farming. The farmers can either rise to the challenge of embracing change or fall prey to failing as Florida changes. Florida is still an unsettled state, but by the end of the novel, Mr. Boyer notes that “times are bound to change” and that “Open Range can’t last forever in Florida” (106). Florida is a setting that is too bountiful to be ignored. What’s more, as more settlers come into Florida for production, more established communities and societies will develop. Laws will become codified, and land and animal ownership will be institutionalized.
The Schoolhouse
The Schoolhouse is a symbol of resilience and rebuilding. It is an important setting for children and their education. It is a respite from hard manual labor and a setting in which children can learn how to get along together. The schoolhouse is the first place where children learn the value and social skills of being a part of a community. The first challenge the schoolhouse faces is the beating of the schoolmaster at the hands of the two eldest Slater sons. The lack of a schoolteacher shuts the school down for months. The second challenge arises when the fire that Mr. Slater starts burns the schoolhouse down. The destruction of the schoolhouse is symbolic of Mr. Slater’s disregard for the community and the future of the children. But the schoolhouse is rebuilt, which symbolizes resilience. In rebuilding the schoolhouse, the community appreciates education even more. The rebuilding process includes putting Birdie’s idol, Miss Dunnaway, in the role of the schoolteacher. The school therefore comes back better than ever. The schoolhouse also becomes the symbol of the future. Shoestring starts a new chapter of his life by enrolling in school. With Birdie’s help and his father’s new approach to life, Shoestring will embark on making new friends and learning new lessons. He will get out of ignorance and poverty, thanks to the community that rebuilt the schoolhouse.
