Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

As the novel centers around poultry care and keeping, eggs take on the symbolism of the payoff for hard work and responsibility. Throughout the novel, Sophie routinely describes her daily responsibilities and routines with her growing flock of chickens, illustrating the constant hard work that goes into poultry farming. Sophie writes to Great-Uncle Jim to update him on how Henrietta is doing, and she ends with letter hoping that “[s]omeday, maybe I can cook [Dad] some eggs from my own chicken” (59), indicating that Sophie is hopeful that her chicken will reward her hard work with eggs someday.

Sophie’s wishes come true when she discovers that Henrietta has lain a glass egg in the nest box. Sophie expresses, “[i]t was pretty exciting to find that glass egg in the nest box. Like finding a treasure. I love having a chicken” (85). By comparing the egg to a treasure, Jones develops the chickens’ eggs as a symbol of the rewarding nature of hard work.

Sophie finally obtains an egg that isn’t glass, so her family can experience a farm fresh egg for the first time. Sophie writes, “Mom said it was the best egg she’d ever tasted. And Dad said maybe chickens were pretty useful after all” (109). The Brown family’s reaction to their first farm-fresh egg shows the distinction between the eggs at the grocery store and the eggs from Sophie’s chickens. The superior taste of an egg fresh from the farm suggests that the hard work paying off. Sophie is later able to use her farm fresh eggs to impress her family further with migas.