The Joy of Cooking

Elaine Magarrel is another author who does not have much of an affinity towards her family in her poem The Joy of Cooking. Magarrel must find some pleasure in thinking of cooking her siblings least desirable features. Her sister must be quite a loquacious person if she would want to cook her tongue. Magarrel must have had it with her sister's talking; otherwise, she would not be thinking of cooking her tongue. Magarrel writes, "and economical-it probably will grow back." I believe this statement is saying any time she can get her sister to stop talking, she finds a way to say something. Even more strange than cooking a tongue, Magarrel wants to cook her brother's heart. This is most likely because her brother is not a very loving person. She describes her brother's heart as dry and small because it can barely feed anyone. She also says that his heart should be served with sour sauce, suggesting he is a rather ill-humored person. Nonetheless, I get the sense that she and her siblings do not get along. If one think of cooking parts of his siblings, that might be a dysfunctional family.

Edward

I am sure glad that the author of Edward is listed as anonymous because this guy sure is troubled. My main point to this would be: "The curse of hell from me shall ye bear (978)." I would like to know what led this man to hate his family. Edward killed his father, leaves nothing for his wife and children, and curses his mother to hell. Edward must have had a troubled childhood. I found it interesting that Edward says he killed his hawk and then his steed before admitting to killing his father. The hawk and steed could be symbolic for his father because his father must have provided for him like a hunting hawk, and his father must have worked hard like a horse for his son. Apparently, Edward still did not appreciate his father, and he had some reason to kill his father. Edward must be from a very high class because he owns "towers and halls." He must not enjoy his lifestyle very much because he has no remorse after killing his father. However, the author gives the feeling that Edward gives his mother the worse punishment of cursing her to hell because he wants her to suffer longer. I would guess that Edward hated his mother more than his father.

The Drunkard - antihero

Oh how I am excited about O'Connor's The Drunkard.  I feel almost as if I have a twisted sense of humor for thinking a drunk nine year-old boy is funny. I am sure that the whole opening of Mr. Dooley is significant, but the only significance I can think of is that Mr. Dooley made an impression on Larry, just as Dooley's funeral made an impression on Larry. The quite sneaky Larry steals a drink of beer from Mick creating a ruckus in the bar and inebriating Larry. Although not so significant to the story, my favorite line was: "The intention was good but the performance was exaggerated, because I lurched right into the wall, hurting it badly, as it seemed to me. Being always very polite, I said 'Pardon' before the second bout came on me (348)." It was rather difficult to contain my laughter in the quiet classroom when I read this with my favorite part being how he apologizes to the wall. More importantly, this leads to Mick taking Larry home which prevents Mick from becoming inebriated. I also enjoyed Larry's cursing the women on the street. I believe Larry is in fact an antihero. Larry's mother practically thanks Larry for stealing his father's drink because it prevented him from getting drunk. This shows that the nine year-old boy, who should have just been a bystander to his father's drunkenness, accidentally becomes a hero to his mother for helping out his father. I enjoyed this story because it was humorous all the while it had an interesting ending.

A Worn Path - vernacular

Welty tells tells the story of a venturing woman named Phoenix Jackson in A Worn Path. Phoenix makes the journey to get medicine for her sick, dying, or dead grandson. Phoenix's love for her grandson becomes noticeable as the length of the journey is revealed by the position of the sun throughout her journey. Phoenix set out at sunrise, was halfway at noon, and arrived near sunset. Welty creates an effect by characterizing Phoenix as a less educated woman with Phoenix's vernacular. Phoenix speaks phrases such as "he not get his breath." Phoenix's dialect, or vernacular, helps the reader learn of Phoenix's isolated background. However, I believe Phoenix may be senile. The first sign of this can be found  in Welty's writing, "...a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it...But when she went to take it there was just her hand in the air (224)." Additionally, when Phoenix arrives in town, she stares off into space because she cannot remember why she even came there in the first place. Phoenix's questionable memory brings to question whether her grandson is even still alive. Honestly, my original theory was a little crazy compared to most people's. I thought what if Phoenix is dying and in her evanescent moments she begins to dream of her dead grandson who she had trekked days to get medicine for since this was most likely one of her moments that she was proud to think about. As expected, this theory does not hold much water, and one of the questions at the end says that Welty answered a student saying that Phoenix is alive. After reading this, I believe Phoenix just makes this trip as a show of love her grandson regardless of whether he is alive or not.

Once Upon a Time - irony

The narrator of  Nadine Gordimer's Once Upon a Time begins with: "...I don't accept that I 'ought' to write anything (231)." The narrator sure does prove this point with her twisted children's story that she tells to herself. The narrator tells the story of the ideal family: successful, relaxed, normal, and one innocent child. However, the parents are paranoid from what the husband's mother, a wise witch, warned them not to take anyone off the street. Driven by this paranoia, the couple takes every measure to prevent the outside world from getting onto their property. They never felt satisfied with their measures. They installed a security system, built a higher wall, and installed a sort of barbed wire on top of their wall. The couple took all of these precautions to protect their child, but their is a sense of irony in the end. The boy climbs the wall, motivated by one of the witch's stories, and gets stuck in the wire. The parents took all of these measures to protect their son, but ironically these precautions end up causing harm  to their son. This story is in fact not supposed to be meant for children. Readers can tell this from the elevated diction such as implored or importuned. Also, the story does not relate to children. Children would be unable to find much a message to them besides not to climb into barbed wire. However, the message is more directed towards adults who feel unsafe. The message could be not to take excessive precautions for a nonexistent threat as the narrator thought of doing.

A Raisin in the Sun - pressure

In the thick of the play A Raisin in the Sun, Mama buys the house with the insurance money. No one expected this to come so abruptly which made it a surprise to every character. Mama explains her decision by saying, "Son--you---you understand what I done, don't you? I--I just seen my family falling apart today...We couldn't of gone on like we was today...When it gets like that in life--you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger...(94)." The events that unfolded that day pushed Mama to do this drastic action. Mama felt that she needed something to bring her family back together, what better than a house? Although at the time this did not immediately bring the family together, the Youngers feel like a united family by the final scene. Mama made the right the decision buying the house. This became a driving force of the plot later when the white people of Clybourne Park are upset. This situation finally gets Walter to honor his father's death now that he no longer possesses the money from his father's death. This lead Walter to realize that there was much more to his father's legacy than the money. Mama gets Walter to finally realize this once the money is gone.

A Raisin in the Sun - dynamic character

Throughout the course of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter's character changes dramatically, making him a dynamic character. In the beginning of the play, Walter fights to have his vision of a successful liquor business appreciated. When Walter first discovers Ruth's pregnancy, Walter is a cowardly man. Mama wants to see her son be an honorable man in her urging: " I you a soon of mine, tell her! (Walter picks up his keys and his coat and walks out. She continues, bitterly) You...you are a disgrace to your father's memory. Somebody get me my hat (75)!" Walter has a cowardly response in his turning to alcohol. Walter is at his lowest when he loses all the money to Willy Harris. Walter is disgraced that he lost the insurance money from his father's death. However, this situation forces Walter finally to do something honorable. In the closing scene, everyone expects Walter to stick to his foolish personality and accept the offer from Linder for the house. Surprisingly, Walter finally decides to be a man, and Walter tells Linder that they have every intention of moving into that house no matter their response. This becomes the first time during the entire play that Mama is proud of Walter's actions. Even Ruth, who Walter had pushed away for the majority of the play, giddily celebrates Walter's new-found manhood which completed the dramatic change of the dynamic character of Walter.