What is a farmer? A farmer is a man who feeds the world.
The quote from above reveals how Larry and his family thought about themselves and the world around them. Larry lets it be understood that he thinks about himself as having power aver the others because he is a farmer. For him, farming is a noble occupation left by God and farmers are important because their task is to feed the world. This way of seeing themselves is what makes them greedy and what makes them think that they have power over everyone around them. This type of thinking is shared by Larry’s children and by his wife as well, hinting that the land is not important only for Larry but for the other members of the family as well.
I have this recurring nightmare about grabbing things that might hurt me, like that straight razor Daddy used to have, or a jar of some poison that spills on my hands. I know I shouldn’t and I watch myself, but I can’t resist.
Ginny admits that she can’t stop herself from wanting things that she knows are dangerous for her or things that she knows she shouldn’t have. Rose notes that when Ginny was a child, she used to try and grab everything other children would avoid because it would hurt them. Ginny’s recurrent dreams transmit this idea as well and it shows that in certain situations, Ginny can’t help herself but want things she knows she should not want. This includes her father’s land, Jess or children.
Now that I’m back, after all those years away, I’m really amazed at how good Harold is at manipulating the way people think of him.
Jess is the only character who is not fooled by the façade other character show to those around them. Jess is able to see that Larry is manipulating the community into believing everything he says, that Rose is manipulating her sisters because she has a hidden motif and that his own father is not whom the others think he is. It is later revealed that the reason why Jess is capable of seeing all this is because he too puts a show for the others to see while he keeps his true self hidden away.
