Friendship
At first glance, it appears that the novels Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag have little in common. While Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception is a tale of a secret police agent of the underground fairy world, Holly Short, and her interactions with two humans, Artemis Fowl and his bodyguard Butler, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a turn-of -- the century tale of a friendship that develops between two women in the deep South, Idgie and Ruth, and how that friendship helps bring together two women, Mrs. Cleo Threadgood and Evelyn, in the 1980s. However, despite their differences, both novels are about the transformative power of friendship.
In both Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, the main characters become friends through adversity, after having some prior familiarity with each other. Ruth and Idgie were introduced when Ruth began dating Idgie's brother buddy. However, their friendship did not fully develop until after Buddy died in a tragic accident and Idgie went wild. Idgie's mother asked Ruth to come look after Idgie, and it was at this time that the women became fast friends. Ruth saved Idgie from self-destruction and Idgie introduced Ruth to the joy of living up to her own expectations. Artemis Fowl and Holly Short had been friends in previous Artemis Fowl novels, but Artemis' memory had been wiped clean and he was left with no knowledge of the fairy world. However, when the villain Opal Koboi...
Like Idgie and Ruth, Artemis and Holly are forced to build their friendship from scratch, as Artemis has no recollection of their prior relationship.
Not only do both pairs of friends meet through adversity, but they also have to work together to conquer villains. In Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, the villain is Ruth's husband Frank Bennett. After marrying Frank, Ruth discovers that he is a spousal abuser. The first time that Idgie goes to visit Ruth after she is married, she discovers a battered Ruth and offers to take her home. Ruth refuses, and Idgie leaves, knowing that her friend is in danger, but powerless to help her. Eventually, a pregnant Ruth sends Idgie a message, asking for her help in leaving Frank. Idgie takes her brother and some friends to Frank's home and they intimidate Frank into letting Ruth leave. However, Frank's involvement in Ruth's life does not end with her departure from his home. Frank wants to see his baby, Buddy Jr., and comes to Whistle Stop to try to find him. Frank attempts to kidnap Buddy Jr. And is killed by a friend of Ruth and Idgie, Sipsey, in the process. Sipsey is an African-American woman in the Jim Crow South, so when Idgie is indicted for the murder, she refuses to implicate Sipsey. This reveals that a good friendship is not limited to the two people in it, but spreads outside of the friendship. Ruth has always been considered a good church-going girl, convinces the preacher to lie under…
