In “Just Add Water” Nora represents a symbol of hope. Every time Ray has a rough moment in his day he looks at his tin, which holds pictures of Nora. The thought of her makes Ray keep pushing forward. Day by day he tries to cope with all the negative changes around him. When he visits the supermarket where she works, he smiles for those 5 minutes. I mean after all, she is the sole purpose that he never left miserable Trona. Nora gave him faith that Trona still had a bright side and not all of Trona was negative. When they get together he finally realizes that the way their community is living is not acceptable. They should not settle for something terrible when they can push for a better life. For me, the picnic with Nora is one of the turning points. When she makes Ray homemade food he is in awe. She tells him, “You can’t eat canned food your whole life”. Ray questions where she even got the food from and Nora explains how she drove to a different town because a home cooked meal is more important to her. This whole scene symbolizes how Nora does not settle for the worst. She tries to make her day better by using her own effort. Her effort for a better life shows Ray how change needs to happen in Trona. Nora helps push him in that direction.
Nora representing Ray's exigence in the film is important because it forced him not only to stay in Trona but to make change in Trona as well. Nora stands for the good in the world on the larger scale than just in the film because the good is after all what we are all trying to "save" when we discuss saving the planet. The home cooked food really matters in this film because it stands for healthy living just like the land needs to become healthy in order to thrive.
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