The Road Home Symbolism

The Road Home is filled with many symbols throughout the film. One that I found to be very prominent was the symbol of food. Food is discussed many times in the movie and the amount of care gone into the preparation is another factor that lead me to believe it had a large significance. In the beginning, the women prepare food and hope their dish is chosen by the school teacher. This demonstrates the amount of care and pride they out in their dishes. Later, when it is the girl's turn to prepare food, her grandmother describes the care she took in preparing the meal. The final example is the mushroom dumpling dish that was prepared for the teacher. Watching the girl prepare the food so meticulously made me realize how much car and effort she put into the dish. I believe the emphasis on food was intentional and that the care she put into her food was symbolic of the love and care she felt for the teacher.