The end of happiness
Ginny links the end of her happy times with the birth of her sister who is eight years younger than her. When Ginny thinks about her life before Caroline, she describes it as being almost perfect, the ideal picture of a perfect family with friends and close ties to the community. All this seem to change after Caroline is born and the family’s situation becomes uncertain after Caroline’s birth. It seems that the family even lost their financial stability around that time. The connection between Caroline’s birth and the beginning of change is a common motif in the novel.
Symbol for the new generation
Caroline is different from her siblings in the sense that she cut herself from the land and farm where she grew. She refused to be treated as a being inferior to the men around her and pursued a higher education to help her succeed in life. But her father did not agree with her decision and when Caroline refused to accept taking over a part of her father’s lands, he threatened to cut her out of his will. Caroline here is more than just a character; she is a symbol that stands for a new class emerging in society, namely the independent women who are no longer tied to their parents’ wealth. These women are capable of earning their own money and of standing on their own feet but they unfortunately irritate those who stand for the way things used to be done. While the younger generation embraced the change, the older one was reluctant to see it as a positive thing and tried to do everything they could to keep things the way they were.
The farmer's role
A common motif in the novel is the way farmers see themselves and their role in society. It seems that Larry, his wife, children and their neighboring farmers think of themselves as being sent by God on earth to provide the others with food. Without them, the others would not have food to eat so they see themselves as being almost as important as the prophets sent down on earth in ancient times to bring the word of God to the common people.
Symbol for greed
The characters never express directly their desire to own more land or have more money since it is considered a taboo subject. So what they do is repress those desires and let them out through something else, namely through a board game, Monopoly. After Larry gives Rose and Ginny their inheritance, the two girls and their husbands start a tradition of playing Monopoly. The game is used here as a symbol for the characters’ greed that comes to the surface through the apparent innocent board game.
Losing one's meaning
Larry is tied to the land he owns and the only purpose he ever had in life was to work his land and produce food. When Larry divides his wealth among his daughters, he loses his meaning in life and his behavior becomes erratic, spending money on useless things and not caring for his property, letting it be affected by the weather. Larry’s erratic behavior is linked with the idea that he gave up his property, thus losing his meaning in life.
