Grief and loss often trigger a desire for a change of lifestyle or a reflection on one’s current lifestyle, goals, and living purpose. This experience of misery gives the opportunity for improvement of one’s life and an appreciation for the previously unnoticed aspects of life. In the novella Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, the protagonist Mikage recovers from the grief and pain of the death of her family members and adopts an appreciation for the kitchen. Recovering from the recent loss of her grandmother, Mikage is vulnerable and weak. Initially, she adopts a fondness for the kitchen’s ability to allow her to feel comfortable within society. Furthermore, Mikage appreciates the kitchen’s ability to foster her creativity through cooking and indulging …show more content…
When Mikage contemplates her experience with the kitchen, she says, “Perhaps because to me a kitchen represents some distant longing engraved on my soul…I seemed to be making a new start; something was coming back,” (56). Mikage understands the kitchen as a place of freedom and self-expression, where she can take refuge in her household activities as a way to assume confidence and control over her reality. She uses this confidence developed within the kitchen to recover from the grief of the deaths surrounding her and make “a new start”. Mikage’s hopeful tone when describing the future through the phrase “something was coming back”, displays the kitchen’s ability to let Mikage cope with grief and move past the troubling times, toward a more hopeful time. In a vulnerable state of crying and pain, Mikage observes a calming scene: “Looking up, I saw white steam rising, in the dark, out of a brightly lit window overhead. I listened. From inside came the sounds of happy voice at work, soup boiling, knives and pots and pans clanging. It was a kitchen,” (35). Mikage experiences true happiness in the presence of a kitchen, especially in the liveliness and bustle of this kitchen. The diction that is used to describe the inside of the kitchen, such as “happy” and “clanging”, evinces Mikage’s appreciation of the experience of being in a kitchen. She displays an …show more content…
In the kitchen, Mikage is able to use her imagination to create rich and extravagant dishes from her simple home. When describing about her summer indulgence in cooking, Mikage says, “Complicated omelets, beautifully shaped vegetables cooked in broth, tempura—it took a fair amount of work to be able to make those thing,” (57). Through Mikage’s use of diction like “complicated” and “beautifully shaped”, the complexity of Mikage’s dishes are made evident, suggesting her ability to think for herself and produce a well-done result. Mikage escapes her grief and enjoys the freedom she experiences in the kitchen, especially due to her being allowed to create any dish she wants. In the kitchen, Mikage experiences a newfound love for cooking due to her ability to express herself and unleash her inner passion, as one would do with art. Even when Mikage begins to make certain dishes, she says, “Although that kind of cooking made my dinners no worse than those of the average housewife, they by no means resembled the illustrations in the books,” (58). Mikage suggests that her dishes would be “no worse than those of the average housewife” making evident her creativity that she uses when cooking. Mikage’s use of the first person possessive term “my” displays her personalization and individual touch within the dishes. The dishes she
She starts her poem by addressing her dead brother Johnny and gives a series of complaints about the condition of her kitchen. Just like what happens to many people, she recounts how they hesitate to undertake their responsibilities and blame them on other people or circumstances. She gives the ordinary excuses of a lazy person, accusing the presence of the mess in her kitchen rather than her indolence. She claims the crusty dishes have piled up while it is she or her guests piled them in the sink. She expects the plumber to repair the drainage although she didn't even call him. She would probably have a better kitchen if she called the plumber and then washed the dirty dishes. Instead of taking action, she stands, watches, and then blames everything else apart from herself. She recounts that is the ordinary thing that people do, and before she could solve her kitchen mess she drifts to another distraction and notices that it's already winter. Ideally, people will find tons of distraction but will not find time to accomplish their
The society of today’s world revolves around satisfaction, and as humans there is never a true feeling of satisfaction. In our lives it is no longer about satisfying ourselves but also satisfying the people we love the most. Throughout the poems; Blackberries by Yusef Komunyakaa, Singapore by Mary Oliver, and What Work Is by Philip Levine, lays a constant crave of satisfaction. The real issue is knowing that our soul-hunger for satisfaction is never truly met, at least from other people’s eyes. In each poem there comes a circumstance of when the narrator faces a time when questioning their whole idea of self-worth and satisfaction, caused by outside influences. These outside influences usually pity the narrator for having the jobs that they
Life is a complicated process. It’s filled with many things that keep it interesting but at the same time, very dull. Life’s what you make it and for many, it’s something we all strive for. In the story, The Space Between, the author takes full advantage of the premise as there’s rarely a dull moment- as in life. The book is filled with many literary devices that work nicely with the plot and dialogue. These include; metaphors, similes, irony, personification, and many more. We follow a young man who is finding his way in the world. He has only a week to change his life for the better. But he will face many obstacles on the way that brings the readers into a startling and fun journey.
All through the times of the intense expectation, overwhelming sadness, and inspiring hope in this novel comes a feeling of relief in knowing that this family will make it through the wearisome times with triumph in their faces. The relationships that the mother shares with her children and parents are what save her from despair and ruin, and these relationships are the key to any and all families emerging from the depths of darkness into the fresh air of hope and happiness.
In Amy Hempels’ Short Story “Going,” our journey with the narrator travels through loss, coping, memory, experience, and the duality of life. Throughout the story is the narrator’s struggle to cope with the passing of his mother, and how he transitions from a mixture of depression, denial, and anger, into a kind of acceptance and revelation. The narrator has lost his mother in a fire three states away, and proceeds on a reckless journey through the desert, when he crashes his car and finds himself hospitalized. Only his thoughts and the occasional nurse to keep him company. The narrator soon gains a level of discovery and realizations that lead to a higher understanding of the duality of life and death, and all of the experiences that come with being alive.
The house Sylvie attempts to "keep" must accommodate change including the peace and threat implied by nothingness. "A house should be built to float cloud high, if need be...A house should have a compass and a keel" (184). Rather than being seduced by the ultimate and final separation of nothingness, Ruth learns (as a transient) that housekeeping can be an expansive and inclusive method of engaging and interpreting the world.
In Amy Hempel’s Short Story “Going,” we take part in a journey with the narrator through loss, coping, memory, experience, and the duality of life. Throughout the story we see the narrator’s struggle through coping with the loss of his mother, and how he moves from a mixture of depression, denial, and anger, to a form of acceptance and revelation. The narrator has lost his mother to a fire three states away, and goes on a reckless journey through the desert, when he crashes his car and ends up hospitalized. Only his thoughts and the occasional nurse to keep him company. He then reaches a point of discovery and realizations that lead to a higher understanding of mortality, and all of the experiences that come with being alive.
I can distinctly recall spending many early mornings with my mother as a very young child. Endlessly engraved in my memory is aroma of coffee and sprinting down the stairs to my basement to collect my mothers’ uniform from the dryer. And then with a kiss laid upon my forehead, she would drop my siblings and I off at my grandparents’ home to begin her ten, sometimes twelve hour shifts as an ultrasound technologist. Then just as I can vividly recount my mother’s morning routine, I still can picture the evenings I spent with my mother to the same caliber. Simply put, my mother is a wonderful cook. And thus, each evening she would prepare a different meal. And while the meals always varied, her superior cooking skills never faltered. Despite her hectic work schedule, never once did I witness my mother skip cooking dinner for myself, my four elder brothers, or my father.
Often it seems one may not even know they have wanted something until they have found it. In the aftermath of Janie and Jody’s debilitating relationship, she finds this something on a sweltering summer day. He struts into Janie’s store with an air of indifference and an intoxicating presence. His name is Tea Cake and Janie falls instantly in love: “He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place” (128). Janie’s action of “looking down on him,” alludes to the nature of their relationship. She wants to gaze tenderly at Tea Cake while he sleeps. She also has the ability to “look down” upon a man. Further, this action is followed by her feeling a “self-crushing love.” A love that inches inside of her veins and corrodes her arteries. A love that awakens her soul and probes it to “crawl out from its hiding place.” This display of vulnerability exhibits Janie’s undeniable and unequivocal love for Tea Cake. Also, as her soul “crawls,” like a baby or young child, the fresh sweetness of their love becomes apparent. It pokes its head out from hiding and ventures out into a new world. A world where love crushes Janie’s body and heart. A world where this pain is brilliant and
Ray Bradbury uses juxtaposition by contrasting this imaginary world that is set in the twenty-first century to very ordinary actions. Although the house is automated and again, empty, the kitchen is making the ideal breakfast for a family of four, and singing basic nursery rhymes such as “Rain, rain, go away...”. These humanlike events do not compare to the unoccupied house. The description of the house becomes more animalistic and almost oxymoronic when the, “rooms were acrawl with the small cleaning animals, all rubber and metal.” The almost constant cleaning of the tiny robot mice suggest that the previous household was very orderly and precise. Through Bradbury’s description of the outside of the house and its surroundings he indirectly tells the reader about the events that may have occurred. A burnt “silhouette” of the family imprinted on the west wall of the house is the only thing left of them. In the image each person is doing something picking flowers, moving the lawn, playing with a ball. This was a family having a good time, but little did they know the catastrophe they were about to experience would end their
During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.
Ethan went into town to search for glue to repair the plate, just as he sought out Mattie as a temporary fix to his broken marriage. Mattie’s desire to decorate the table for a beautiful dinner frustrates Zeena because of the meaning behind the plate - it was a wedding gift that is now being used in an adulterous relationship. Ethan is quick to defend Mattie for being blamed for breaking the plate, yet feels no sympathy for Zeena. The memories that are recalled from the shattered plate evoke tears and pain, but Mattie and Ethan disregard Zeena’s suffering. While the fragments of the glass pickle dish resemble pure carelessness, they also resemble a relationship so broken that even glue cannot mend the fragments of their
What gives a life meaning? Some might say that family, friends, religious values, or even money give meaning to their life, but what about the people who do not have any of these things? In Earnest Hemingway’s short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” two characters are portrayed as being in despair. These older gentlemen have explicit reasons for their grief however. Hemingway presents the central theme of despair throughout the story by the use of dialogue, images, and multiple viewpoints. Through the use of these three literary tools, Hemingway is able to reiterate that without family, friends, or values life is ultimately meaningless.
In the book “How I Live Now” by Meg Rossoff, the main character, Daisy, is faced with war, love and tragedy all at once. In Daisy’s battle to stay alive she realizes that love exists and recognizes that Oslo is where she belongs. Already knowing her limitations, Daisy comes to an understanding that eating and not being anorexic is okay. Her determination moves the reader in a way that changes what they think of her. It shows that tragic events can change someone in the simplest ways.
In every walk of life, people come face to face with suffering and difficulties. A person might suffer quietly by themselves, while the other is surrounded by the loving support of family and friends. When faced with challenges, many people seek to prove their strength by concealing their suffering. However, one can only carry so much pain and suffering on their own shoulders. Throughout society, these situations often appear in a person’s own life, and the lives of their family and friends. While this theme is visible in society, it is also evident throughout many works of literature. Within Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, in the midst of difficult situations, gaining strength and support from family, friends, and religion, helps one to defeat challenges in life more efficiently than leaning on their own strength.