ipl-logo

Chef's House Short Story

938 Words4 Pages

The short story, Chef’s house, is written by Raymond Carver in 1983. This essay will include an analysis of the short story, a summary but mainly focus on the themes in the text, the style of writing and the effect it has. In the short story, we are introduced to Wes, a middle-aged man, and he has rented a house from another man called Chef. Wes – the main character, is a recovering alcoholic. He separated from his wife, Edna, and goes to live by the ocean, in a house he has rented from another recovered alcoholic, Chef. Wes then calls his wife and asks her if she can come and live with him. “He said he was on the wagon”, this is usually a phrase for a recovering alcoholic or the sober period for the alcoholic. She agrees to come and live …show more content…

The author doesn’t include any inverted commas in this story, which is ironically full of direct speech. At first, it can confuse the reader, but the writer may have done this to show a vulnerability. One of the biggest themes in this story is alcoholism, and the writer is taking away the inverted commas, something we readers are used to see. Just like Chef takes away Wes’ happy place, the house, the writer is taking something away from the reader. This gives the reader an effect of not having any control, which might be how an alcoholic feel when they are intoxicated – having no …show more content…

Being parents at a very young age, which was fairly normal back then must be a very hard role to take on. Being thrown into adulthood is a tough and difficult, and it might lead to things like alcoholism. Wes could have been depressed over not having truly discovered who he was as a person, and when he was drinking all his troubles and reasonability as a father went away. He found his identity when he was drunk, but it was all soon over when he got sober again. However, Edna might have found her identity in the fact that she’s a married woman. She didn’t call her boyfriend a boyfriend, but just a friend. She took her ring back on when she was at the house with Wes because she’s identifying herself ad Wes’ wife

Show More
Related

Francis Aloysius Phelan In William Kennedy's Ironweed

1453 Words | 6 Pages

While it is easy to live in an era of economic stability and beat down somebody for wanting to escape the harsh reality around them, the fact remains that alcohol is the primary reason for Francis living as a bum. His problems with alcohol are first highlighted by Helen who says, “Francis wouldn’t stop drinking and then we couldn’t pay the rent” (53). This rare glimpse into a time in Francis’ life when times were prosperous for himself shows he drinks whether things are going good or bad. Nobody is a better character witness to Francis than the woman he has been friends with for nine years who has seen him at his highest and lowest points in his life, the time when the true character shines through. Or in Francis’ case, flees.

Read More

Analysis: The Impossible Knife Of Memory

1127 Words | 5 Pages

He took her home because he was worried about her and she was shaking. Later on after Finn and Hayley had started dating she asked him to help her pick up her dad. Andy had made a scene at the bar and was too drunk to find where he had parked the car. Finn took her without saying much after their phone call.

Read More

An Essay On The Other Wes Moore

929 Words | 4 Pages

If it wasn’t for your mother, Joy, you could have end up like the other Wes Moore. You started to change when your mother took on multiple job to save enough money to sent you to Valley Forge Military Academy. Before that, you and the other Wes Moore were pretty similar. Both of you were involved with drugs. The other Wes Moore also had family influence but, it was weaker and his brother, Tony, even though he told Wes to stay out of drugs, had a bad influence on Wes because Tony was drug dealer.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Lost In The Kitchen By Dave Barry

1029 Words | 5 Pages

In the conclusion paragraph, Barry talks about the point of view of his wife, that before womens liberation, men took care of cars and the women took care of the kitchen. Women had a more womanly jobs, while the men had the more manly jobs. The stereotypes of women having a job of working in the kitchen and doing all the chores in the house, make men believe nowadays that it’s okay for women to do all the work and that men don’t need to do as much as they have to in the kitchen. In conclusion “Lost in the Kitchen” portrays a story that focuses on the food of Thanksgiving, football, and the inability for men to multi task.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Turkeys In The Kitchen

726 Words | 3 Pages

The one thing that any author must do when writing any sort of essay is to make it comprehensible to the reader. In order to achieve this, the author must utilize anything to get their point across or else the writing would be futile. In Turkeys in the Kitchen , Dave Barry gives his own personal stories about his Thanksgiving and how he feels that men aren’t as useful as women in the terms of the culinary arts (kitchen), Barry’s flippant tone and his use of rhetorical devices such as similes and irony bring forth a light hearted explanation of stereotypes between men and women as well as describing how men are useless in the kitchen. The uses of similes throughout the essay give purpose by showing how men are useless.

Read More

After Childhood In The Other, By Wes Moore

1148 Words | 5 Pages

In a person’s childhood, most of their major decisions that they are faced with in life are made by their parents or guardians. Parents make the decisions for them because they want the best for their children, and want them to have a good chance to survive in the real world when they reach adulthood. After childhood however, they must make decisions for themselves, which will eventually lead them towards their dreams or the life their parents were afraid of. In the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the decisions that were made for the author Wes Moore, led him away from living the life of a criminal, to living the life of a very successful man. In his life, Wes’s mom (Joy) made most of the important decisions that led him to success.

Read More

How Does Louis Zamperini's Character Change

727 Words | 3 Pages

Soon Louie became so traumatized by the events of War World II, he became an alcoholic. Once Louie’s friends and family realized how bad his drinking habit was they begged him to stop, but their words were not convincing enough. Then one day Louie turned to God and stopped drinking. Hillenbrand wrote “ When they entered the apartment, Louie went straight to his cache of liquor. It was the time of night when they usually took hold of him, but for the first time in years, Louie had no desire to drink”(383).

Read More

Cultural Symbolism In Madeleine Thien's Simple Recipes

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

Prune Analysis

1117 Words | 5 Pages

Without support from her family, Hamilton has always longed for a sense of family in her life—even just a glimpse. Due to this longing, “[Hamilton] spend[s] a lot of energy in [her] restaurant trying to create an atmosphere in which [she] wish [she] had grown up” (“Gabrielle Hamilton”). By owning Prune, Hamilton fulfills the missing part of her life that consists of one thing: family. The staff at Prune has become an indispensable part of Hamilton’s family—more than her blood related family. This creates a welcoming environment for all; which is why “…the food at Prune is often described as comfort food” (“Gabrielle Hamilton”).

Read More

The Night Waitress Analysis

1041 Words | 5 Pages

In the "Night Waitress  by Lynda Hull, the narrator has a lot of concern about her life that she expresses by describing her night at work and the people she encounters while she is there at work. She explores feelings about her appearance, her desires, and her loneliness. The speaker daydreams her way through another monotonous working shift, which reflects on her lower-caste and a disgrace to her employment. Hull analyzes the waitress' performance as disheartening which leads to her desire in a relationship and a materialistic world in which she gets delighted.

Read More

Scott Sanders Under The Influence Summary

906 Words | 4 Pages

Alcoholics are often used in stories as comic relief, which to a person who grew up under the shadow of alcoholism, isn’t very funny at all. This point was to illustrate that people really don’t understand alcoholism for what it really is: a disease that has devastating effects on families for generations. Instead of directly countering those misconceptions, Sanders describes his upbringing in vivid detail. He describes his father’s behavior in a way that makes the reader appreciate that there comes a point where alcoholism is not really a matter of a person having a moral weakness, a lack of self-control, or is weak-willed. It’s a disease that robs people of their lives and of themselves.

Read More

Examples Of Family Systems Theory

1589 Words | 7 Pages

It is indicated that he already convinced himself, and was trying to convince others that alcoholism is just a foolish habit and he can stop it anytime he wished. The analysis of those around him, the places he visits, how he relates with his family members and the people at work brought out facts about his real life. This convinced him to attend the AA program. His brothers had also given up on him, and they did not care about him so long as he was employed and was not causing trouble at home. After and involvement with the researchers of the AA program, the brothers accepted that alcoholism is a disease, and that their brother needed

Read More

Lee Smith's Recipe Box

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

Popular Mechanics By Raymond Carver Essay

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

Kitchen Best Case Study

1000 Words | 4 Pages

Kitchen Best Appliance Company Ltd (Kitchen Best) recently faced with some management issues. As there was a lack of an enforceable and systematic management system, opportunities were discovered for bribery and nepotism. Moreover, quality control was found to be ineffective and losing the major customer became possible for the company. As these issues hindered the development of Kitchen Best, rectifications are needed. The following report will comprehensively investigate the major problems of Kitchen Best under the current management style and propose the recommendations to solve the problem which needs immediate attention and correction.

Read More

More about Chef's House Short Story

Related Topics

Open Document