I want me a whole gallona ice cream.

In Chapter 22, Jefferson expresses to Grant a wish to eat vanilla ice cream. This statement marks the first step of Jefferson’s recovery. Jefferson has spent the first half of this novel in a daze, asking for nothing and hardly speaking. He has expressed no personal desire, allowing people to feed him and move him around as if he is the animal his lawyer called him. With this simple desire for ice cream, he begins to act like a human again by expressing desire and personality. Jefferson’s request also illustrates the beginnings of his realization of self-worth. Jefferson says he never had the opportunity to eat a filling portion of ice cream in the past. Now, for the first time, he does not wordlessly accept his meager portion, but says he would like a larger share. Although here he talks about food, this desire for more will soon spread to include a desire for more respect.