Star Food Summary

In the short story “Star Food” by Ethan Canin, Dade is a young teenage boy who works at his father’s grocery store, and from time to time tends to slack off. Dade enjoys relaxing on the roof of the store to observe the clouds, amid dreaming in regards for the life ahead of him, which is what his mother determines is key for him and his future. His father furthermore, believes that Dade should increase the amount of help he provides in the store so that he may one day own the family business. While engaged in his work at the store Dade encounters a woman who steals a loaf of rye bread right before his eyes, but Dade does not do anything; he just stands there, allowing her to shoplift, due to the fact that he has something else on his mind. Dade

let the woman go because he finally realized that he is unable to please either parent.
Dade’s father wishes that Dade would water the vegetables in the store more often than he watered his thoughts up on the roof.

And would constantly complain about how Dade was wasting his time, as well as procrastinating, but he knew that Dade was trying his best to please his mother even though it was not helping him in the long-run. He would even tell him that “‘you’re going to end up on one of those curbs’,” as a way to prove to his only son that he needed to stop waiting around for nothing(2). Considering if he continues to act like he’s on the brink of a discovery, he will be lingering to this false hope for an extensive period of time. Besides, if Dade were to follow his mother’s ideas and pursue staring out into space, he would disappoint his father, which means letting the woman go. And even before Dade let the woman go he could already tell that his dad had given up on forcing him to leave the roof so often; for he said, “‘I’m taking you off the hook, your mother says you’ve got a few thoughts, that maybe you’re on the verge of

something…’(13).”
Contrary to his dad’s beliefs, his mom encourages Dade to dwell among the shingles, and examine the clouds, to expose his aspirations. Dade’s mother “believed her only son was destined for limited fame,” even though primarily what he did was sit and gaze at the sky (2). If Dade ever wants to accomplish whatever dreams that he is trying to discover, he needs to get up and work for them. Unfortunately if Dade were to make an effort to satisfy his father, it would only harm his mother. The day that Dade was trying to catch the woman his mother came out from where she was working and “she had a look about her of disappointment,” because Dade chose to side with his father in this event (15).
Pleasing people does not work all that thoroughly when it comes to hurting the ones you love.

Dade cannot please his father, because Dade has dreams that he needs to start working towards, and these dreams do not include him working at his father’s store. Giving up is never the best option, so that is why Dade needs to pick which parent to follow and which to leave behind. Except Dade does not want to hurt his mother, but he can’t please her either, because he knows that she has dreams and ideas, and that she wants him to have limited fame, yet Dade cannot keep waiting for his future to be handed to him, he needs to do something. His incapability of following either conclusion that his parents intended for him is what resulted in him letting the woman go. And during the process of letting her go, Dade knew that he was disappointing both of his parents; he disappointed his father by physically releasing the woman, and he upset his mother by mentally letting go. In the long-run he will be capable of proceeding towards his goals, instead of delaying and holding

back.