 Despite Rockwell 's general optimism , he had misgivings about having depicted such a large turkey when much of Europe was " starving , overrun [ and ] displaced " as World War II raged . Rockwell noted that this painting was not popular in Europe : " The Europeans sort of resented it because it wasn 't freedom from want , it was overabundance , the table was so loaded down with food . " Outside the United States , this overabundance was the common perception . However , Richard Halpern says the painting not only displays overabundance of food , but also of " family , conviviality , and security " , and opines that " overabundance rather than mere sufficiency is the true answer to want . " He parallels the emotional nourishment provided by the image to that of the food nourishment that it depicts , remarking that the picture is noticeably inviting . However , by depicting the table with nothing but empty plates and white dishes on white linen , Rockwell may have been invoking the Puritan origins of the Thanksgiving holiday . 
