Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987) (edit title/settings)

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Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode: The main character around whom the story revolves, a tomboy having her own ideas in life, a very strong and compelling character. Owner of Whistle Stop Cafe.
• Ruth Anne Jamison: Idgie's friend and business partner. Owner of Whistle Stop Cafe.
• Sipsey Peavey: A black woman who has worked for the Threadgoodes since she was a young girl. She works at the Cafe as a cook.
• Onzell Peavey: Wife of Big George. She also works at the Cafe. She had pecan colored skin with red hair and freckles.
• Big George Pullman Peavey: Sipsey's adopted son. He cooks the barbecue at the Cafe. He stands 6 foot 5 inches. Husband to Onzell Peavey.
• Wilbur Weems: Dot Weems's "other half". He is a member of the Dill Pickle Club.
• Dot Weems: Works at the local post office and writes "The Weems Weekly", Whistle Stop's weekly bulletin.
• Evelyn Couch: A sad and disheartened housewife, who comes to visit her mother-in-law with her husband at the nursing home, where she meets Ninny and falls in love with the story that Ninny starts to narrate.
• Ed Couch: Evelyn's husband.
• Big Momma Couch: Ed Couch's mother who lives at the nursing home.
• Virginia "Ninny" Threadgoode: Her real name is Virginia, but everybody calls her Ninny. She is an 86-year-old woman staying at Rose Terrace Nursing Home. She was raised by the Threadgoodes, and is the wife of the eldest Threadgoode brother, Cleo, who was Idgie's brother.
• Biddie Louise Otis: Ninny's 78 year old friend from Whistle Stop who is also living at Rose Terrace.
• James "Buddy" Lee Threadgoode: Brother of Idgie's, and they were best friends.
• Cleo Threadgoode: Ninny's husband and Idgie's older brother. He was a chiropractor.
• Essie Rue Threadgoode Limeway: One of the Threadgoode children. She played the organ for the Baptist church and was the accompanist for the Jolly Belles Ladies' Barber Shop Quartet.
• Frank Corley Bennett: A man with a glass eye who is Ruth Jamison's fiance who she later marries and conceives a child with.
• Leona Threadgoode Justice: The oldest and prettiest Threadgoode sister. Everyone spoiled her rotten.
• Grady Kilgore: Whistle Stop's local sheriff and part-time railroad detective. He is one of Idgie's friends, and is a member of the Dill Pickle Club.
• Jim "Smokey Lonesome" Phillips: A hobo who becomes Idgie's and Ruth's friend. He lives in the shed behind the Cafe (with their permission). Every few months he would jump on a train, but would always return.
• Artis O. Peavey: Son of Big George and Onzell, and twin brother of Jasper. He is very black and even has blue gums.
• Julian Threadgoode: One of Idgie's older brothers.
• Alice "Momma" Lee Cloud Threadgoode: The matriarch of the Threadgoode family.
• Peggy Hadley: Dr. Hadley's daughter and Stump's childhood friend.
• Reverend Herbert Scroggins: Whistle Stop Baptist Church's preacher, who Idgie and the rest of the Dill Pickle Club always pick on and make fun of.
• Vesta Adcock: A resident of Whistle Stop. She also stays at Rose Terrace Nursing Home.
• William James "Poppa" Threadgoode: The father of the Threadgoodes. He used to own a store, but gave out too much on loans that weren't repaid. He also sold to both white and black people.
• Wonderful Council "Willie Boy" Peavey: One of Big George and Onzell's children. He was the color of coffee with cream and has green eyes.
• Jasper Q. Peavey: One of Big George and Onzell's children. He is Artis's twin brother. He becomes a pull man porter on a train. He looks like Onzell.
• Dr. Hadley: Whistle Stop's doctor.
• Towanda the Avenger: Evelyn Couch's strong, empowered alter ego.
• Jack Butts: A Dill Pickle Club member.
• Albert Threadgoode: Ninny and Cleo's son. He suffered a brain injury at birth, which prevented his mental development to not develop normally.
• Railroad Bill: A person who was nicknamed as such because he climbs government trains and throws off the food and other supplies on the railroad tracks for the starving black people living in Troutville to take. His real identity is unknown to the authorities and most of the people in Whistle Stop.
• Buddy "Stump" Threadgoode, Jr.: Ruth's and Idgie's son who lost his one arm on the train tracks. He was known as Buddy, Jr. but after he lost his arm his new nickname was Stump.
• Eva Bates: She runs the Wagon Wheel Fishing Farm. She doesn't know much about the world but she knows how to love.
• Naughty Bird Peavey: Big George and Onzell's daughter. This was a nickname given to her by Sipsy.
• John Justice: Leona's husband.
• Gladys Moats Kilgore: Grady's wife.
• Geneene: A nurse at Rose Terrace Nursing Home that reminds Ninny of Sipsy because she's "independent like"
• Patsy Ruth Threadgoode: One of the Threadgood children.
• Mildred Threadgoode: One of the Threadgood children.
• Eva Bates: Buxom girl with red hair and apple-green eyes. She didn't know the meaning of the word shame. Buddy loved her, therefore, so did Idgie.
• Big Jack Bates: Eva's father. Part-time bootlegger that weighted about 300 lbs.
• Margaret Hadley: Dr. Hadley's wife.
• Conductor Barney Ross: Train conductor when Buddy Jr. became Stump.
• Dwane Kilgore: Stump's friend.
• Vernon Hadley: Peggy's older brother. Stump's friend.
• Bobby Lee Scroggins: Stump's friend. Reverend's son. He becomes a big-time lawyer and even attorney general.
• J.W. Moldwater: Elephant trainer that plays poker and drinks whiskey
• Earl Adcock Sr.: He was a quiet and decent man married to Vesta. When he retired he signed his pension over to Vesta and left town only leaving a note. He was the executive for the L & N Railroad, who has just been named Grand Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, Order No. 37.
• Billy Limeway: Friend of Cleo and Julian's. He married Essie Rue.
• Jake Box: Frank Bennett's hired man.
• Jesse Thiggins: Vesta Adcock hired hand. She ran over him with a car.
• Curtis Smoote: A law enforcement officer looking for a missing person that may have visited Whistle Stop. He later becomes a judge.
• Wendell Riggins: A law enforcement officer looking for a missing person that may have visited Whistle Stop.
• Edward Threadgood: Another one of the Threadgoode children.
• Electra Green Peavey: Artis Peavey's wife. She is from Birmingham
• Mozell: Checker at the Pigley-Wigley Supermarket.
• Arna Scroggins: Reverend Scroggins' wife.
• Blanch Maybury Peavey: Jasper's wife. She is just as light in color as he is.
• Clarissa Peavey: Jasper and Blanche's daughter she is the leading debutante for the Carnation Coalition in 1949. When she is alone she will pretend she is white.
• Delbert Naves: Stump's high school football coach that believes he is the MVP.
• Opal Threadgood.: Runs the beauty shop in Whistle Stop. Naughty Bird works for her. She is married to Julian.
• Madeline Poole Peavey: Artis' second wife.
• Le Roy Grooms: Naughty bird fell in love with him when she was 16. He was a cook on The Crescent.
• Almondine Grooms: Naughty Bird and Le Roy's daughter.
• Reverend Porter: He is the minister for the Martin Luther King Memorial Baptist Church
• Charles Maybury: Blanch's father. He was a respected citizen, well-known educator, and principle of the Negro high school.
• Norma Threadgoode: Stump and Patsy's daughter
• Macky: Norma's husband.
• Linda: Norma and Macky's duaghter.
• Ralph Root: A lawyer friend of Grady's.
• Hank Roberts: A young man that owns a construction company.
• Travisq: He works for Hank, and finds a body in Whistle Stop.
• Betty Simmons: A girlfried of Artis. She was the toast of Birmingham's ebony glitter set in the 1930s.
• Jonnie Hartman: She is Ninny's neighbor after Cleo dies.
• Ray Hartman: Jonnie's husband.
• Terry Hartman: Jonnie and Ray's daughter. Ninny plans to give her house when she dies.
• Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe: Add a description of this character.
• Marion Neal: Bill's wife
• Patsy Neal: Bill and Marion's daughter.
• Seymore Pinto: Famous murderer
• Bernice Phillips: Jim Smokey Phillips sister
• Chattanooga Red Barker: hobo
• Crackshot Sackett: hobo
• BoWeevil Jake: hobo
• Elmo Inky Williams: hobo
• Roy Otis: Biddie's husband; a brakeman for the Southern Railroad
• Earl Jr.: Mrs. & Mr. Adcock's son
• Cookie: the raccoon
• Ida Simms: seamstress for Leona's wedding

Quotes edit see section history

• “I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “You know, a heart can be broken, but it will keep beating, just the same.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “See, now is a time for courage. I guess you already know that there are angels masquerading as people walking around this planet and your mom was the bravest one of those.”

  Idgie Threadgoode

• “She's of this world, but not in it.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• ““Idgie Threadegoode is a true original. Huckleberry Finn would have tried to marry her.” (the first quotation on the original book jacket.)”

  Harper Lee

• “When you get old, you shrink.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “Imagine those boys: They're terrified to sit next to a nigger and have a meal, but they'll eat eggs that came right out of a chicken's ass.”

  Idgie Threadgoode

• “But He only gives you what you can handle and no more … and I'll tell you this: You Cain't dwell on sadness, oh, it'll make you sick faster than anything in this world.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “You never know what's in a person's heart until they're tested, do you?”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “No matter what you look like, there's somebody who's gonna think you're the handsomest man in the world.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “Now, a murder is usually just a one-time thing – mostly over some woman, not a repeat crime. But a thief is a thief until the day he dies.”

  Grady Kilgore

• “We have to live and let live.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “(Two teens take Evelyn's parking spot) “Let's face it, lady, I'm younger and faster than you are.” (Evelyn rams her car into the back of their parked car) “Let's face it, honey, I'm older than you are and have more insurance than you do.””

  Two teenagers and Evelyn Couch

• “Dead men tell no lies.”

  Ninny Threadgoode

• “The ones that hurt the most always say the least.”

  Narrator

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Birmingham, Alabama: This is where Evelyn lives and where the Rose Terrace Nursing Home is located. Artis Peavey moves here. Major city near Whistle Stop.
• Atlanta, Georgia: Where Stump and his family live.
• Valdosta, Georgia: This is where Ruth Jamison is from and where she returns after leaving the Threadgoode household.
• Troutville, Alabama: This is where the majority of the blacks that worked in Whistle Stop lived.
• Whistle Stop, Alabama: Where the heart of the story takes place. Home of the Threadgoode's and the Whistle Stop Cafe.
• Rose Terrace Nursing Home: Where Ninny and Evelyn meet.
• Whistle Stop Cafe: A cafe owned and run by Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison Bennett.
• Warrior River: River near Whistle Stop.
• The Wagon Wheel River and Fishing Club: Owned by Big Jack Bates.
• Whistle Stop Baptist Church: The Threadgoode excluding Poppa and Ruth attend services here.

Organizations edit see section history

• Ku Klux Klan: A historical white supremacy group
• The Dill Pickle Club: Led by Idgie Threadgoode, the club is made up of a group of people who frequently got together for the purposes of recreation and charity.
• Royal Saxon Society Belles Social and Saving Club: An organization whose members where of such fair coloring that the club's annual group picture had wound up in the white newspaper by mistake. Blanche Peavey was president in 1949.
• Knight of Pythias: Jasper Peavey was reelected as Grand Vice Chancellor of this prestigous organization in 1949.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Grits: boiled and sometimes fried and eaten as a breakfast dish or as a side dish with meats.
• Red-Eye Gravy: made from the pan juices of fried country ham, thickened with flour and sometimes containing coffee for color and flavor.
• Collard: the leaves of this plant are eaten as a vegetable.
• Butter Bean: a type of lima bean
• Cain't: cross between the word can't (cannot) and ain't (am not)
• Fleet Enema: saline laxative
• Lattice: a structure of crossed wooden or metal strips usually arranged to form a diagonal pattern of open spaces between the strips.
• Cutup: a prankster or showoff
• Scalawag: a rascal
• Mincing: affectedly dainty, nice or elegant
• Sissified: having the characteristics of a sissy; timid, cowardly, or effeminate.
• Teetotaler: One who abstains completely from alcoholic beverages.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Racial discrimination: Describe this theme.
• Life, death and aging
• Feminism
• Lesbianism

Errata edit see section history

p. 61 – She knew she should do it, if not FOR her sake, for her children's sake.
p.182 – And so he had just remained quiet while Vesta AND his mother-in-law-to-be had arranged everything from the wedding to the honeymoon to where they would live.
p.272 – Artis STARTED moving.
p.335 – He said, 'Cleo, I'd rather cut off my right arm THAN to do what I'm about to do, but I've got to go take Idgie and Big George in on charges, and I want you to go with me.”

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Fannie Flagg (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Harper Lee Award for Alabama's distinguished writer of the year (April 2012)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3556.L26 F7 1987
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( F ) › Flagg, Fannie
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Friendship
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) (IMDb): Starring Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Jessica Tandy, and Cicely Tyson

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history