The Joy of Cooking

The Joy of Cooking
Elaine Magarrell

Upon first reading this poem, I thought that the speaker was actually planning to cook her family's body parts. But then a thought occurred to me that the body parts could symbolize character traits of the speaker's siblings. The first stanza of the poem deals with cooking the sister's tongue. Because females are often accused of talking a lot and because the body part was a tongue, I would surmise that the speaker would like for his sister to stop talking as much as she does. "It(the tongue) probably will grow back"(Magarrell). In this quote, the speaker suggests that the sister talks a lot because her tongue would grow back out of necessity.
The second stanza talks about the brother's heart. Certain phrases suggest that the brother is unloving. The heart, symbolic of love, "is firm and rather dry" and it would "barely feed two" (Magarrell). This withered and small heart seems incapable of holding much love.
By picking specific body parts to cook from each sibling, the speaker suggests changes that she would like to see in their characters.

Edward

Edward
Anonymous

In this poem, structure plays a key role in building suspense towards the climax of the poem. In each stanza, the poet repeated the question (1st and 3rd lines) and also repeated the answer (5th and 7th lines).  Repeating the question built the anticipation for the answer to each question posed. By repeating the answer to each question, the poet reiterated the response to each question posed.  These repetitions made the poem longer, but they also emphasized important points in each stanza. By removing the repeated lines, the poem flows smoother but lacks emphasis previously placed on certain phrases. "The curse of hell from me shall ye bear, Mother, Mother, The curse of hell from me shall ye bear" (Anonymous). In this quote, the reader can comprehend that Edward is cursing his mother, but repeating the phrase adds emphasis to this bitter phrase. This repetition also provokes pathos from the reader for the mother. She lost her husband, her son is leaving, and her son cursed her. Pathos for each of these saddening events is doubled by repeating each phrase expressing the event.

The Drunkard

The Drunkard
Frank O'Connor

In this short story, the boy's drunkenness is seen from different points of view. The first point of view is the boy's. His innocent curiosity and thirst led him to drink his father's alcohol at the bar. The boy felt sick and eventually seemed confused and upset, all typical reactions to alcohol. Another point of view is that of the dad. He took the boy with him to the bar because he wanted a drink and had no where else to take the boy. Upon discovering the boy's actions, he felt embarrassed that the boy drank alcohol, frustrated that he now had nothing to drink, and worried about what the boy's mother would think. Another point of view is that of the mother. At first she seemed enraged. She yelled at her husband for going to the bar and giving the boy a drink. "The road knows the way you filled you unfortunate innocent child with drink to make sport for you and that other rotten, filthy brute"(O'Connor). After the mother was alone with her son, she thanked him from drinking the alcohol because it kept his father from his alcoholic tendencies.

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time
Nadine Gordimer

Once Upon a Time is an example of a frame story. The speaker starts by telling of a creaking sound that she heard.She feared that it was either a robber or a collapse in an underground gold mine that would cause her house to fall. To calm herself down so that she could sleep, she decided to tell the weirdest children's story that I have ever read. This story reflected her fears. In the story, the family took extreme measures to ensure the security of their home. Just as the speaker feared a potential burglar, the family feared the riots and burglars. This contributed to why the people in the story have security systems. In addition, the speakers fears were not an actual immediate threat to her. In a sense, she overreacted to a small sound by creating elaborate suppositions of the cause of the sound. In her story, the people also overreacted to the threat of the robbers by turning their homes into fortresses. Just as the speaker's suppositions stole from her time to sleep, the family's fear of robbers stole from them their greatest possession: their son. "...while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it-the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener- into the house"(Gordimer).

A Worn Path

A Worn Path
Eudora Welty

In this short story, Welty used indirect characterization to describe Phoenix. Near the beginning of the story, Welty reveals part of Phoenix's character by describing her appearance."She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock" (Welty). Welty further revealed Phoenix's character through her interaction with other minor characters. During the story, Phoenix meets a hunter. During their conversation, the hunter points his gun at Phoenix, but she did not move. She was unafraid which shows that she was a courageous woman. Another character who helped reveal Phoenix's character was the nurse. In their conversation, Phoenix momentarily forgot why she traveled to their office. She may be old and slightly senile, but this event revealed something deeper. This showed the care she took for her grandson. Whether or not the boy is alive, the fact that Phoenix traveled so far to get him help shows her unconditional love for him.

Point of no return

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

In this play, characters faced decisions that would lead them to the "point of no return". One example of this type of decision occurred when Ruth discovered her pregnancy. As first implied by Mama, Ruth visited an abortionist. Ruth feared that she could not support another child, so she considered having an abortion. She even went as far a putting a down payment on the abortion. "Yes I would too, Walter. I gave her a five-dollar down payment" (Hansberry, 75). A decision of having an abortion is one that cannot be undone. Ruth could have carried on with the abortion, but after the procedure, she could not undo the death of the child. Death is the most permanent decision on earth. These unchangeable decisions alter the life of the character. Deciding to have the abortion would have changed all of Ruth's relationships. In addition, by keeping the baby, Ruth kept herself from the grief associated with abortion. Keeping the baby prevented Ruth from going beyond the "point of no return".

Loneliness

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

In this play, Walter experienced loneliness even though he was surrounded by his family. Near the beginning of the play, Walter attempted to explain to his wife his desire to enter the liquor business with Willy Harris. Because she did not want Walter to associate himself with Willy Harris and the liquor business, she ignored Walter and told him to eat his breakfast and go to work. Walter received similar disapproval from Beneatha and Mama. Both discouraged him from pursuing the liquor business. Beneatha wanted more money for school and Mama wanted to uphold family standards. Frustrated about being alone in his desire, Walter felt that none of his family listened to or understood him. "WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!"(Hansberry, 70). This constant feeling of being misunderstood and without voice contributed to Walter's sense of loneliness. Talking and not being heard can make a person feel invisible. In addition, being ignored isolated Walter from his family. Even though his family filled the small apartment, Walter felt loneliness because he felt isolated from them due to a lack of true communication.

Flowers

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

"Lord , if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting it ain't never going to see spring again (Hansberry, 40).  This small, seemingly insignificant, plant represents a much greater aspect of this play. The plant can be symbolic of the Younger family's dreams. Without sunlight and other nourishment, the plant would wither and die. Similarly, postponed dreams shrink out of one's thoughts, and eventually the dream can vanish altogether. This plant physically represented Mama's dream to own a garden of her own. Near the end of the play, Mama looked to secure her plant while the family packed to move. She planned to bring the plant with her to her new garden, and she did at the end when the family left the apartment. Mama's action of carrying the plant with her to the new house shows that one should always carry with him his dreams. Other events may occur in life, but they should not dissuade one from his dreams. Even though achieving one's dream may take many years, he should continue to nourish and work toward his dream. Keeping the dream allows one to add to the dream upon each successful measure to attain happiness.

Generation Gap

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

This play displays problems of the generation gap between Mama's generation and Walter's generation. A main difference between the two generations is debate over the importance of money and its role in one's dreams. Near the beginning of the play, Walter, Beneatha, and even Travis anxiously await the arrival of the insurance check. The sole focus of these characters was on receiving the money, so they could then pursue their dreams. "Can't you give people a Christian greeting before you start asking about money?"(Hansberry, 70). Mama said this to Walter after he entered and first asked if the money had arrived. This quote shows the difference between Mama and her children's generation. Mama placed more importance on her family and their happiness than she placed on money. Her dreams were to make her children happy. Walter differs from Mama in that he placed more importance on money.  He still had dreams, but his dreams were to gain wealth. In order to gain wealth, Walter pursued foolish business transactions which required money to spark growth. Whereas Walter's generation looked for quick easy ways to gain money, Mama's generation worked long hard hours to make a living.

Setting

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

The play A Raisin in the Sun took place in Chicago sometime after World War II. During this time, white people strongly discriminated against African Americans. The discrimination that the Younger family faced drove their actions. Because the family was subject to working low paying jobs, they resided in a small, poor apartment. This apartment served as a limitation to the Younger family, especially Walter. In a physical sense, the apartment was too small for the family, and so each member did not have space of their own. In a less literal sense, the apartment served as a symbolic limitation to Walter. The apartment represented the low class in which Walter was raised. He worked as a chauffeur, but he dreamed of becoming something more. However, every night when he returned home, the apartment reminded him of the reality in which he lived. He was not wealthy, and he was limited by the color of his skin. He did not escape the limitation of discrimination until he escaped the confines of the small apartment. "We come from people who had a lot of pride...and we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father- he earned it for us brick by brick" (Hansberry, 148). By leaving the apartment and moving to a new house, Walter left behind his past problems to gain a fresh start with his family.