The Parsley Garden Short Story

In the short story ¨The Parsley Garden¨ by William Saroyan the 11 year old boy Al Candraj who lives in Fresno, CA goes through a bad experience where he is humiliated. Al Candraj steals a hammer and is caught and he feels like his humiliated, he goes back to the store and he gets a job to earn the hammer to build his own bench, because he had nails and wood. He self identifies himself going back to the store and making himself look better by working and earning the hammer.

Al Candraj had nails and a few thing in his house to build something, but he didn’t have a hammer so he was in town, and when he was in town he went inside a store and saw a hammer. He right away thought that he could use the hammer to build what he wanted to build, so he grabs the hammer and slips it in his pocket. “What’s he swiped?” “A hammer.” The young man looked at Al with hatred. “Hand it over,” he’s The boy brought the hammer out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, who said, “I ought to hit you over the head with it, that’s what I ought to do.” He turned to the older man, the boss, the manager of the store. This

shows when the man that caught Al took him to the main manager of the store. Not talking back showed that he was trying to be the bigger person and he didn’t talk back.
After he was caught he went home and he thought of what he did. He had a close conversation with his mom and they discussed what had happened a few hours later. “ “I don’t want you to steal,” his mother said in broken English. “Here is ten cents. You go back to that man and you give him this money and you bring it home, that hammer.” “No,” Al Condraj said. “I won’t take your money for something I don’t really need. I just thought I ought to have a hammer, so I could make something if I felt like it. I’ve got a lot of nails and some box wood, but I haven’t got a hammer.” “Go buy it, that hammer,” his mother said. “No,” Al said. “ This proves that Al Candraj Is trying to self identify himself by not accepting the money from his mother.
After thinking about everything he did he went back to the store and he actually worked for the hammer.

“Where you get it, that hammer, Al?” “I got it at the store.” “How you get it? You steal it?” Al Condraj finished the bench and sat on it. “No,” he said. “I didn’t steal it.” “How you get it?” “I worked at the store for it,” Al said. “The store where you steal it yesterday?” “Yes.” “Who give you job?” “The boss.” “What you do?” “I carried different stuff to the different counters.” “Well, that’s good,” the woman said. “How long you work for that little hammer?” “I worked all day,” Al saider thinking about everything he did he went back to the store and he actually worked for the hammer. He proved people that he could work for what he wanted and that his intentions weren't to steal the hammer. He wanted not just to prove himself but others that he wasn’t a

thief.
When doing a mistake and fixing it, it makes you seem like a better person. Al had the courage to go back to the store and not just to apologize but he went back and worked hard all day to get what he wanted, to build the bench made out of wood with the nails and wood he had, and with the hammer that he earned by working hard and earning it. He chose to do the right thing and he chose to be seen as a better person.