Essay about The Symbolism of the Bowl in Janus by Ann Beattie

The narrator of the poem views the young man partly with a maternal eye, but this changes throughout the poem 'who has never wished to put a stone through a great, clear, shining pane of glass' this shows there is also a sense of desire for the clean, unbroken youth rather than the narrator being in love with the young man. The tensions are entirely within the speaker’s emotions, as she knows that she would not be good for the young man, and would be a "parasite" on him, this portrays she realise that she cannot rely on him, if she did that would only harm the young man's unbroken youth, so it is better to separate from him before any harm is done. The narrator shows her maturity and loses her innocence at the end ' give her a smile, glass of light, and stay clear' this implies She knows both the source of her own desire which means she knows the consequences of that desire and decides to stay away from the young man which will benefit both the narrator and the young man.

Stanza three opens with relating “menthol” and “eggshell” (9). Other than what “menthol” actually is, the reader is obligated to figure out its characteristics (9). I would say its traits are minty and fresh. And how would one define “eggshell” (9)? What’s leftover? This could easily be an argument stating that he is original and new, while she is always a little more bland and derivative. The next sentence states that while the bride is “atrocious”, he is equivalent to “spellcheck” (10). This is a statement that means that whenever

At the beginning of the story, Brush describes the couple as “unmistakably married,” and the woman is described as being “fadingly pretty.” Although it is clear that the two are indeed in a relationship, the description of the woman reveals that she once was beautiful, but now in a much more lackluster way; a way that Brush implies may have been more vibrant in the past. Despite the fact that there is no doubt the couple is married, Brush draws a subtle parallel between the woman’s faded appearance and her relationship with her husband, insinuating that it is time-worn and only bound to grow weaker in the future. In addition to this description, Brush also vividly depicts the actions of the husband to further develop her commentary. Once the birthday cake surprise is brought out for him, he is “hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him.” Through this repetitive indication of embarrassment and the evident

One of the most noticeable elements of this novel is within the structure and plot in which Janie goes on a quest to find herself as a person. Through Janie's struggles and happy moments throughout this story with numerous relationships, Janie grows as a woman and learns something new within each marriage. The third person narrator allows the reader to follow not only Janie's interpretation certain situations, but the thought process of the other characters too.

The narrator was very absurd in the way she wrote. She lost touch with the outer world. At this point, she was faced with relationships, objects and situations that seem innocent and natural, but in actuality, it was very bizarre. From the beginning, the readers sees that the narrator is imaginative and a highly expressive women. She remembered that she frightened

In the beginning of the story the reader is introduced to the male dominant dynamics between the woman and her husband John. In fact, the woman is never given a name in the story, unlike John, signifying the denial of her importance. Furthermore, there is an immediate juxtaposition of characteristics, “John is practical…He has no patience…John laughs at me”

Ever since Janie was a young girl, she longed for love and intimacy. While lying under the pear tree, she would often think about her future and the love she would experience, “the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic

     Since the narrator is limited to the same room day after day, she starts to study the wallpaper. "I determine for the thousandth time that I will follow that pointless pattern to some sort of conclusion." She refers to the pattern as the control that men had over women. During that time, a woman was the property of her father until she was married. She was then under the control of her husband with no rights. Her husband made her decisions and basically took over her life. As time goes on, her mental illness gets worse. She starts to get paranoid about her husband and Jennie. "The fact is, I am getting a little afraid of John. He seems very queer sometimes and even Jennie has an inexplicable look." In her mind she starts to actually see the woman from the

Cooking is one of the things that keeps Tita to go on with life, it is her passion. When Tita was going through dramatic situations in her life she used cooking as one her strengths to help her to be strong. In the article “Feminism in Like Water for Chocolate” it states, it is through food that Tita both compares and understands her own emotional and physical state. This statement explains to the readers that Tita can only figure out her emotions when it comes to the kitchen and cooking. Cooking to Tita is important because she entered the world right there on the kitchen table amid the smells of simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves, and cilantro. Cooking become a huge impact on Tita life because she felt like she can only express herself when it came to cooking. Just in the same way, Tita had another strength that attributed toward her which includes, the long-lasting love she has for people. In the novel, the author Laura Esquivel explains how Tita is a person who is nurturing and self-sacrificing. For examples, in the novel she states,” the baby’s cries filled all the empty space in Tita’s heart. She realized that she was feeling a new love; for life, for this

She speaks of a time when she simply feels like making quiches many times in one week and so her husband simply suggests something that would have been better then quiche and so an inner battle begins to take place in her mind. For her cooking is what she takes the most pride in and so what her first instinct is is to punish her husband by giving him the silent treatment. However she remembers what they had

It was when she had made this realization and voiced it to Jody that she had learned that this wasn’t the life she had wanted for herself either, and she has begun to find a voice within herself as a strong woman. It was because she had been the ideal picture of what Jody had wanted in a wife to a mayor that he wanted her, and not for the love that Janie had wanted and initially thought. He had controlled and kept her beauty hidden from others out of fear of losing a woman that symbolized his power over the rest of the town. After Jody’s death, it had been apparent that her true personality was still somewhat dormant, but definitely growing stronger. After some time she meets her third husband, Tea Cake, that had opened her eyes to what love had really been, as he is the only man she’d met that had ever treated her as an equal. Out of their relationship she had learned what love was really like. It “is lak de sea. It’s a movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different from every shore.” (191). She had not been dependent on him and managed to live on as he would have wanted for her, and it is him who makes her personality eventually come through and make her shine as a truly beautiful woman who can manage on her own. She had found her creative mind and her very tenacious personality through him and his encouragement. He had uncovered her true

"Snow" is a short story in which Ann Beattie, the author, presents an often unheard of view of her lover. The main character, experiences the heart warming of love towards her lover rather than the desolation of loneliness after her lover doesn’t come back. Later, when the lady learns that her lover is still out there, she knows that all hope of her lover coming back is still there. The crushing disappointment kills her that her lover just left her out there all alone for the winter. Published in the earlier where love was so true and courageous, the oppressive narrated nature of love in "Snow" may well be a reflection of their love to each other.

She saw a dust bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation. Then Janie felt a pain remorseless that left her feeling limp and languid (15).

It describes a poetic feel, like how the bowl deals with a romantic affair connecting to Andrea, who uses the bowl as a trick to persuade the buyer. Andrea tricks the buyer to devote themselves to the house with the guidance of the bowl. Similar for Andrea, she feels counseled by the presence of the bowl for her secret lover whom awards her with the craving of love she pleases.

In contrast to her children, who simply “growl” at her when they are hungry, the ingredients in the kitchen actually assist her in making the “soup.” The “salt” is particularly important, as we only notice it when it is absent from food rather than when it is present. When it is not in the food, its omission is strongly reflected in the taste of the food. Hence, it is taken for granted. Similarly, this housewife is criminally underappreciated and if she was not around, her family would instantly feel her absence from the household. She also compares herself to “the celery and the parsnip”, who are regularly “forgotten” and seen as “bit players.” The housewife knows “exactly” this feeling, as she is similarly overlooked and seen as playing a more minor role in the household than the man, who is traditionally the breadwinner. Overall, although the poem is essentially a parody and uses plenty of humour, there is an overbearing feeling of underappreciation, loneliness and frustration towards her family on the part of the speaker. While at the beginning of the poem the speaker’s tone is mocking towards her family for having many expectations of her yet taking her for granted, at the end of the poem there is a sense of isolation, as the only “applause” she gets is the “blue” flame of the stove.