What's That Smell In The Kitchen Analysis

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Identity and the American Dream through Poetry Throughout American society the conversation of identity has led into questioning what the American Dream exists. Today’s American Dream can be defined as having the same opportunity to be successful regardless of one’s identity. Literature lends itself as a medium for society to discuss identity. Specifically, poetry is a form of literature that provides a venue for authors to provide their opinions of society and social issues in creative and thought provoking ways. Also, poetry allows authors to take different approaches to show the same theme. Garrett Hongo and Marcy Piercy use poetry to express the same message, that a person with the identity of a minority cannot achieve the American Dream, …show more content…

In the poem Piercy describes the life of a housewife and explores the oppression that women go through on an everyday basis in America. In the poem Piercy uses a metaphor of food to show how women are undervalued, “Look, she says, once I was roast duck on your platter with parsley but now I am Spam.” (Piercy, 20-21). The change in worth, shown by the woman’s change from a fresh meal to a canned product, shows how a woman’s value diminishes overtime because of the male dominated society. At first women are valued because of their ability to have children, but the women lose their value as time passes, changing from a roasted duck to spam. Piercy’s metaphor, comparing the woman to food, inherently shows the undervalued nature of women in America beyond their diminishing value since food is a discarded good. Piercy shows that women are undervalued in the male dominated society, and the disrespect shown towards women prohibits their ability to overcome the inequality and achieve the American Dream. Piercy uses this poem to show that women may have the same rights as men but yet are still not equal. The American Dream is unattainable for women, just as it is for racial minorities. The author uses these issues within the poem to spark inspiration to change how society views

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