What does 'the pie tin glared at me and rolled away when the wind picked up' mean?

Answer 1

Someone (you!) has seen some garbage, an empty discarded pie tin, on the ground.

'It glared at me' could mean

1. The sun had caught the metal surface and was shining at you, or
2. The pie tin was was being obstinate, glaring (staring fiercely, disagreeably, defiantly) at you, challenging/daring you to do something with it, i.e. to pick it up and put it into a bin.

But, just at that moment the wind blew it away.

The writer is giving the pie tin 'human' characteristics. Pie tins (nor even tie pins!) don't normally look at people! Nor are they known for being obstinate.

Check in a dictionary for the alternative meanings of

• to glare

IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE!
The sentence is from the short story 'A Summer Life' by Gary Soto (1990):

"The pie tin glared at me and rolled away when the wind picked up."

In the story, the boy had just stolen an apple pie from the market. He had greedily and quickly eaten the apple pie, but the pie tin remained! He couldn't hide the evidence of his guilt, it lay on the ground, not only reminding him of his guilt, but it was there for all to see!

Later in the day he had returned home. It was a hot day. He rested in the shade under his house for a while ...."I lay until I was cold and then crawled back to the light, rising from one knee, then another, to dust off my pants and squint in the harsh light I looked and saw the glare of a pie tin on a hot day. I knew sin was what you took and didn't give back."

• See Related links for more information and story. The story is quite short.
• Try "A Summer Life" in a search engine such as Google. There are many reviews.