Essay Questions

What do the dolls symbolize?

The Kewpie dolls that Olive collects are given to her by Roo, who brings them after every layoff season. In that way, the dolls symbolize love for Olive, who sees them as a token of affection given to her by Roo. But at the same time, the dolls symbolize the false maturity of Olive's character and imperfectness of her relationship with Roo.

Although Roo is the one bringing these dolls to Olive, not everyone sees this act as a sign of love. Emma, for instance, views Olive as a childish person for not only getting attached to the dolls but also sees her relationship with Roo to be immature.

How is masculinity viewed in the story?

Throughout the novel, we see how gender norms play a vital role in shaping up the opinions and views of the characters involved in different aspects of their lives. It even influences their jobs and places of occupation. This is all the more evident when Pearl and Olive are discussing about Roo and Barney being viewed as "real men" because they work not only in the bush but also do hard labour and menial work which is seen as more strong and 'manly' than the work done by those working in the city.

In some ways, knowing that because in their local area few places employ both men and women while in the city there are places where both men and women work on equal terms, those working alongside women are seen as the weaker and less masculine men because they are on par with women which automatically makes them weaker and below the 'masculine' men. This is obviously quite a misogynistic mindset, and it goes to show that women have as much of an important role in encouraging or discouraging toxic masculinity and gender norms.

Who is Nancy?

Throughout the story, Olive mentions Nancy time and again and explains how she used to be a part of their group with her, Barney and Roo. Despite having been married and setting off on her own, which is why her character does not appear in person in the story, the fact that she is mentioned so often goes to show that she was quite close to the other three.

We also notice how despite not being there in person, Nancy has clearly left strong opinions and impressions on the other three because we see Olive still sticking by what Nancy told her about certain things, such as the way to differentiate between "real" men and "less masculine" men. Nancy was also Barney's ex.