The Joy of Cooking

“The Joy of Cooking” by Elaine Magarrell

Question #2

 

Although this poem depicts a grotesque image, it effectively characterizes the sister and the brother in this poem. “I have prepared my sister’s tongue, scrubbed and skinned it.” The tongue characterizes the sister in the poem. Since the speaker is cleaning it and skinning it, suggests that the sister did not have a “clean” mouth. This implies that she regularly used explicit language when speaking. Moreover, the tongue is said to be best with horseradish and creole sauce, which suggests that the sister has a “spicy” tongue. She probably talked back and spoke her mind on a regular basis. The brother is characterized with the heart in the poem. He is characterized with not having a big heart and that it needs to be stuffed. For example, “needs an apple-onion stuffing to make it interesting at all.” This implies that brother is careless and does not have passion.

Edward

“Edward” by Anonymous

Parallelism and Refrain

“Edward” contains two recurring literary techniques within the poem, which are parallelism and refrain. Each stanza has a parallel structure to the other stanzas. They each have eight lines and the second line in each stanza is “Edward, Edward.” The sixth line of each stanza is “Mother, Mother.” The repetition of the names contributes to the refrain. “Edward, Edward,” and “Mother, Mother,” are refrains in the poem because they are repeated in each stanza to create a dialogue between the Edward and his mother. The parallel structure within the dialect between Edward and his mother create suspense. For example,      

“ ‘And what penance will ye do for that,

                Edward, Edward,

And what penance will ye do for that,

   My dear son, now tell me, O.’

‘I’ll set my feet in yonder boat,

                Mother, Mother,

I’ll set my feet in yonder boat,

   And I’ll fare over the sea, O.’ ” (Anonymous, 978).

 

The parallelism and refrain emphasize what Edward and his mother say to each other. Their dialect contributes to Edward’s relationship with his parents, which must not be very good since he told his mother he would leave her the curse of hell.

The Drunkard

“The Drunkard” by Frank O’Connor

Question #5

The boys’ drunkenness is seen from four different perspectives, making “The Drunkard” quite humorous. The first perspective of the boy’s drunkenness is from the boy himself. He was motivated to drink his father’s pint because he was thirsty and curious of the drinks’ contents. He began to feel the pleasant effects of the alcohol within a few gulps. “I took a longer drink and began to see that porter might have its advantages. I felt pleasantly elevated and philosophic,” (O’Conner, 347). Through the boys eyes, the audience is able to see the internal effects of the drunkenness. He thinks deep and more “grown-up” thoughts. Also, we see that Larry’s vision becomes distorted, and he gets sick. The other perspective is from his father. He reacts with shock and is frightened of his wife’s reaction when she will see their son. He tried to get his son home as quickly as he could. The third perspective was from a group of old women outside Mrs. Roche’s house. They found Larry extremely amusing and laughed at the Larry, which provoked him to get angry. The fourth perspective is from the people in the bar. They were amused but also calm and held their composure during the scene with Larry and his father. The reactions to Larry’s actions were different with each of the perspectives. All of them found it humorous except for Larry and his father.  

Once Upon a Time

“Once Upon a Time” by Nadine Gordimer

Irony

This somewhat disturbing children’s story leads to an ironic situation at the end of “Once Upon a Time.” Because burglaries begin to escalate in the suburbs, the little boy’s parents become very cautious and install a security system. As their fears continue to grow, they install more complex and elaborate walls and security systems to keep possible burglars out of their house. Their motives behind this were to protect their house and possessions, and most importantly, their little boy. They become overly obsessed with caution that they install a “concentration camp” fence to keep out burglars. “It was the ugliest but the most honest in its suggestion of the pure concentration-camp style, no fills, all evident efficacy,” (Gordimer, 235). The ironic situation came about one day when the boy was inspired by the fairy tale his mother had read to him. So, like what most little boys would do, he acted out the fairy tale. The little boy acted as the Prince who saves the princess through the “thicket of thorns.” Henceforth, he decided to climb through the coiled tunnel with razor-sharp teeth. He was severely hurt and wounded as his parents and the housemaid tried to pull him out of the sharp thicket. The irony is that the parents tried so hard to keep their son safe by keeping people out of their house with the fence; but the son got hurt by trying to get in. Even the cat was smart enough to stay away from the razor sharp coils aligning the fence.

A Worn Path

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty

Theme

 “A Worn Path” develops a timeless theme through the course of the story. Phoenix Jackson, characterized as an old woman who walks with a cane and untied shoelaces, conveys the theme through her journey to get medicine for her grandson. Whether the grandson is dead or alive has no relevance to the theme. Because she is an old and somewhat disabled elderly woman, one would assume that she could not walk for hours through the woods in the cold winter weather. However, she defied her odds because she was driven and powered by the love for her grandson. The first obstacle Phoenix Jackson overcame was climbing up a hill. For example, “ ‘Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far,’ she said, in the voice of argument old people keep to use with themselves. ‘Something always take a hold of me on this hill—pleads I should say,’ ” (Welty, 224). She kept on to the path despite getting caught in thorny bushes. Moreover, she crossed a creek on a log with her eyes closed. She did not even flinch when a hunter pointed his gun straight toward her. Phoenix’s journey to get medicine for her grandson reveals the central theme to the story, which is that love can drive one to overcome any obstacle in their path.

A Raisin in the Sun- Pun

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Pun

A Raisin in the Sun contains multiple humorous lines; however, the pun Larraine included in this piece of pros was hilarious. “Well—that’s the way the crackers crumble,” (Hansberry, 512). This pun that Hansberry employs on the common phrase, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, is very clever. It not only depicts the tension between white and black Americans, it also creates humor in this piece. Ruth uses this pun when she and Beneatha are talking about why white people do not want African Americans moving into their neighborhoods. This clever pun reveals Ruth’s cultural awareness of the racial tension. Moreover, it reflects Ruth’s sense of humor. Ruth has not cracked any jokes and she has hardly laughed up unto this point in A Raisin in the Sun. Ruth can be funny and be serious simultaneously. This pun characterized Ruth by revealing her thoughts about why white Americans were so prejudice towards African Americans.

A Raisin in the Sun- Papa

 A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Papa

     Beneatha and Walter’s father is a very important character in A Raisin in the Sun even though he is dead. Hansberry continues to reveal more about Papa as the pros continues. Papa especially has an impact on Walter at the end when he is about to submit his pride. “And we have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick,” (Hansberry, 532). Walter’s father held him together when he and his family was at their lowest point. He was not going to waste his father’s work ethic and hard-earned money to prejudice white Americans. Papa is also extremely important because the Younger family would not be able to move into a nicer home without his insurance money. He served as a role model of integrity for Walter and his family. Walter remembered him when he was about to sell his integrity. Papa’s example inspired Walter to set an example of pride for his son.

A Raisin in the Sun- Allusion

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Allusion

     When George Murchison comes to pick up Beneatha from the Younger family house, we see him interact with Walter for the first time. However, Walter is drunk and acting wild when he meets George. Moreover, Walter behaves rudely towards George and insults his style multiple times. Walter uses a metaphor to describe himself as a giant. George employs an allusion to Prometheus to poke fun at Walter. For example, “Good night, Prometheus,” (Hansberry, 485). Prometheus is a titan who was said to have shaped humans out of clay and endowed them with the spark of life. He was chained to a rock for stealing fire from Olympus. This allusion reveals George’s good education because Walter and his family had no idea what it meant. The allusion also pokes fun at Walter’s disrespectful behavior towards George because Prometheus is punished for his actions.

A Raisin in the Sun- Theme

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Theme

     A prominent theme in A Raisin in the Sun is the American Dream. The American Dream is about going after one’s dream with all they have and working hard to provide for their family and live a good life. It involves taking risk and resulting in a high reward. Walter has a dream of becoming a businessperson and working his way up in society. He wants to open up a liquor store with two of his other acquaintances Willy and Bobo.  This will not only give him a sense of accomplishment and pride, but also a better life for his family. This theme of the American Dream emerges almost immediately in A Raisin in the Sun when Walter’s dream occupies his thoughts and words when he is first introduced in this piece of pros. Walter reveals more of his typical American Dream in Act II Scene II when he describes it to his son, Travis. For example, “I’ll be pretty tired, you know what I mean, after a day of conferences and secretaries getting things wrong the way they do… ‘cause an executive’s life is hell, man,” (Hansberry, 502). The desire to work hard to get far in life distinguishes the theme of an American Dream from any other dream one can conjure.

A Raisin in the Sun- Symbolism

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Symbolism

     A prominent and recurring symbol in A Raisin in the Sun is Mama’s plant. The plant being mentioned at both the beginning and the very end of A Raisin in the Sun reveals that it is an important symbol in Hansberry’s piece. For example, “The door opens and she comes back in, grabs her plant, and goes out for the last time,” (Hansberry, 535). In their small and run-down home in the Chicago Southside, the Younger family has only one window and one plant. The plant hardly gets any sunlight and struggles for life. Mama has a dream of owning a real home and not living in a building. Moreover, in her dream home, she must have a garden to keep up and take pride in. The plant symbolizes Mama’s dream to move out of the run-down house that oppresses a negative and unhappy mood upon the Younger family. The small light that shines upon it through their tiny window represents the small window of opportunity for only one of the Younger’s dreams to come true. When the Younger family decides to move into the house at the end of A Raisin in the Sun Mama takes the plant with her. This action symbolizes her finally finding a better life for her family and fulfilling her dream. Mama will be able to garden in piece and allow her family to live in a happy and upbeat home.