ipl-logo

A Temporary Matter

1162 Words5 Pages

Shukumar began to prepare dinner for the two of them, measuring out cupfuls of rice and spices. He combed through her cookbook, following her penciled instructions to use two teaspoons of ground coriander seeds instead of one, or red lentils instead of yellow. Shukumar enjoyed cooking for Shoba. It was the one thing that made him feel productive. As he prepared chicken with almonds and sultanas, he was reminded of Shoba in the kitchen singing to herself as she pounded garlic and cardamom pods, occasionally stopping to kiss Shukumar on the cheek. But Shoba hadn’t sang in the kitchen in a long time, and Shukumar knew that it if it wasn’t for him, she would eat a bowl of cereal for dinner.
In her short story “A Temporary Matter,” Jhumpa Lahiri details Shoba and Shukumar’s crumbling marriage after the death of their newborn son. Shoba and Shukumar no longer eat together, and Shukumar prepares dinners for Shoba, making certain that Shoba eats the food that she once loved to prepare, even though he knew he could easily resort to serving her microwave dinners and PB&J’s. For Shoba, food evoked memories of happier times. It reminded her of …show more content…

Prior to the stillborn birth of her son, the kitchen was well stocked and Shoba found pleasure in preparing elaborate dinners for her loved ones. Shukumar smiled sadly to himself as he remembered when the pantry was always stocked with extra bottles of olive and corn oil, depending on whether they were cooking Italian or Indian. There were countless boxes of pasta in all shapes and colors, zippered sacks of basmati rice, whole sides of lamb and goats from the Muslim butchers at Haymarket, chopped up and frozen in countless plastic bags. For their first anniversary Shoba had cooked a ten-course dinner just for him. For their most recent anniversary, she had bought him a sweater that he

Show More
Related
582 Words | 3 Pages

He

Read More
1359 Words | 6 Pages

he

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

Dorothy Allison’s purpose in Panacea is to show that insignificant items like food can mean much more than a meal to some people. According to Allison, food can trigger thoughts and emotions in people. She goes about showing this by using imagery and a pathos approach to emotionally link thoughts to food. In the real world, this idea may be seen in a man whose reminiscence of his passed away grandfather is triggered by eating a particular flavor of ice cream.

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

One generally invites one’s friends to dinner, unless one is trying to get on the good side of enemies or employers. We’re quite particular about those with whom we break bread.” (Foster, 9) Through the breaking of bread, or in this case the laborious cleaning, cooking, and finally the eating of chitlins is representative of a communion, between the almost sacred bonds between a mother and her daughter. Throughout the exposition of the short story, we constantly see that the other members of her family reject the chitlins for being “country” or smelling strange.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

In Bradley K. Martin’s novel, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, Martin is on a tour at North Korea with fellow journalists. He tells of his surprising experience with North Korean culture. In the first chapter, “To the City of the God-King,” Martin argues that North Korea depicts their leader to be “God-like.” He goes about describing his surroundings in descriptive detail in attempt to allow the reader to realistically visualize what he encounters. Martin is bothered by the propaganda North Korea uses.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

Article “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” was published in 1999 in the Kenyon Review. The author describes her childhood life growing up with Indian immigrants. She feels a deep separation from not just her parents but her culture as well. Writer Geeta Kothari explores her personal identity through food. Kothari uses unique writing structure and personal stories to form a well-written piece.

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

Choi then quotes the Director of food studies at New York University, providing relevancy and authenticity to her work. The statement also establishes a link between what we eat and how it connects to particular memories and places in our minds. Moving on, the article is divided into six different subheadings. Each subheading explains the origin of indigenous food in different countries and what that denotes particular culture. Broadly speaking, food is necessary for survival, signifies status denotes pleasure, brings communities together and is essential for humanity.

Read More
1223 Words | 5 Pages

Madeleine Thien’s “Simple Recipes” is not mainly about the father cooking food and his treatment towards his son, instead, the author uses food to symbolize the struggles her immigrated family experienced in Canada. While it is possible to only look at the narratives that food symbolizes, the idea is fully expressed when the father is compared with the food. The theme of food and the recipes are able to convey the overall troubles the narrator’s family encountered. Although, food is usually a fulfilling necessity in life, however, Thien uses food to illustrate the struggle, tensions, and downfall of the family. Yet, each food does represent different themes, but the food, fish, is the most intriguing because of the different environment

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Author Erica Funkhouser’s speaker, the child of the farm laborer, sets the tone in “My Father’s Lunch,” through their narrative recount of the lunch traditions set by their father preceding the end of a hard days worth of work. The lunch hour was a reward that the children anticipated; “for now he was ours” (14). The children are pleased by the felicity of the lunch, describing the “old meal / with the patina of a dream” (38-39) and describing their sensibilities as “provisional peace” (45). Overall, the tone of the poem is one of a positive element, reinforced by gratitude.

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

The short and brief sentences give no description and only state the food she is prepared. The passage would be descriptive if the occurrence is more appalling. Passage two is much shorter in length than passage 1 due to the lack of explanation. The sentence structure of passage two reveals the underlying attitude of resentment, gratefulness, and

Read More
1926 Words | 8 Pages

The short story by Andre Dubus follows Louise from age nine up until the time she becomes a mother. It gives insight to the damage that can be done when loved ones force negative body images on young children. Louise’s mother starts her on a self-destructive path, which Louise will never overcome and continually affects her life. This is reinforced by the similar opinions of her relatives and friends who make her feel that she will only be truly loved if she is thin. The prevalent theme of Dubus’ “The Fat Girl” is the destructive way society views food addiction and how it adversely affects women.

Read More
1581 Words | 7 Pages

that he

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

New recipes for hibachi, fondue, quiche, crepes and the most recent addition salsas, were added to her mother’s recipe box. These foods indicate how far she has come from the traditions of her southern hometown. Additionally, she describes how cooking isn’t solely controlled by women but to men as well in the 21st century. The chapter provides a stark between the conventional housewife and the new aged husband who shares the responsibility of cooking. The starts the comparison by describing the image of her mother waiting for her father to come home from work every day.

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

When the argument shifts its setting by moving from the bedroom to the kitchen, Carver’s use of symbolism adds intensity to the story. Too busy with their selfishness, “In the scuffle they knocked down a flowerpot that hung behind the stove” (329). Neither parent stopped to see the broken pot, nor did any of them break focus on their fight with the child. The kitchen is usually a place where a family comes together, but here they were breaking apart at the seams.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

Ruth Younger does the wifely job of making breakfast for her husband and son. “What kind of eggs you want?” (Hansberry 1913). “I feed my son Lena!” (Hansberry 1921).

Read More

More about A Temporary Matter

Related Topics

Open Document