Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Throughout most of the novel, food is an isolating factor, representing the potentially critical responses other people may have to Aven, Connor, and Zion. Eating publicly is a source of anxiety and embarrassment for all three friends. They resist eating in front of their peers at school, and Connor resists eating in front of anyone. All three characters think that the act of eating calls attention to the ways they are different from “everyone else.” Connor spits when he eats, Zion thinks others will perceive him as eating greedily because of his size, and Aven believes others will think she is “gross” when she eats with her toes. Their anxiety about eating in front of others becomes a source of their exclusion from the larger peer group. Because the three empathize with and accept each other’s fears, however, they are comfortable eating together.

Food later becomes a symbol of both inclusion and emerging self-confidence. Connor feels safe enough in the movie theater to eat snacks with his friends, and on Christmas Eve he and his mother eat dinner at Stagecoach Pass. Zion allows himself to enjoy treats with Aven at the festival. Aven refuses to hide in the bathroom stall at school any longer.