Pineapple Cake Anita Desai free essay sample

They had a way of getting postponed or cancelled on account of some small accidental lapse on his part. †We can see from this line that Mrs. Fernandez has let Victor down before and though her promise is as simple as giving him a pineapple cake, she cannot do so. REPUTATION Mrs. Fernandez has shown from the beginning that she is embarrassed by her son. â€Å"†¦ Mrs Fernandez sighed to think how much easier it would have been if she had had a daughter instead. † We can see that Mrs. Fernandez is quite fixed on what other people view of her family as she â€Å"had the boy dressed in his new frilled shirt and purple velvet shorts and new shoes that bit his toes and had him sitting quietly in church right through the long ceremony. † We can see here that Mrs Fernandez is more fixed on how her son looks, as opposed to his comfort. We will write a custom essay sample on Pineapple Cake Anita Desai or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"†¦the collar of the frilled shirt was a bit tight and the church was airless and stuffy but it wasn’t very refined of him to sweat so. † Even though the church is stuffy, Mrs Fernandez blames her son for sweating and ruining how he looks in public. She ate it quickly. Wiping her mouth primly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Everything for her has to be in a well-behaved manner. We can assume that the reason why she ate the pineapple cake was because she couldn’t have her son just staring down at a pastry, it would be rude. We see now that Mrs Fernandez treasures reputation over her son. CENTRE OF ATTENTION Throughout the entire story, we get the feeling that Mrs Fernandez thinks that she is of importance. â€Å"†¦ his mother was making a din about finding a vehicle to take them to the reception at Green’s. When Mrs Fernandez realizes that a whole line of cabs at the curb belonged to more ‘important’ members of the family, she â€Å"set her lips together and looked dangerously wrathful, and the party atmosphere began quickly to dissolve in the acid of bad temper and the threat to her dignity. † This can be linked in with the theme of: dominance. Because of her attitude towards life, Victor sometimes has crazy fantasies where he dreams of getting away from her, this shows how uncaring his mom is towards him. CULTURE Of course all the little boys in her row seemed to be in the same state – each one threatened or bribed into docility, their silence straining in their chests, soundless clamouring. Their eyes were the eyes of prisoners†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ev en though Mrs Fernandez is obsessed with the way her family appears in public, we see now that it is a custom. All the boys in her row were forced against their will, probably bribed like Victor was. This can be linked to the next theme: dominance. DOMINANCE We can see from the start of the story that Victor’s mom holds a lot of power in the household. It could be because of the Indian culture as: â€Å"all the little boys in her row†¦. each one threatened or bribed into docility†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . However, it could also be because of Victor’s love for pineapple cakes. Mrs Fernandez talks to him like he is a rebellious young boy and bribes him into doing what she wants: â€Å"You like pineapple cake, don’t you? Well, come along get dressed quickly†¦pineapple cake for good boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  WE can tell that Mrs Fernandez immediately thinks the worse of her son: â€Å"Don’t you go and wet your pants, man. â€Å"Sit down, man. † After the shock of seeing a corpse in a wedding, Victor just stared down at the pastry dish. Instead of comforting her child, she reaches out her fork and eats the pineapple cake quickly. We can now see why Victor doesn’t have faith in his mother’s promises. Description SIMILE: â€Å"†¦little girls can be dressed in can-can petticoats and frocks like cr epe-paper bells of pink and orange†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦like some underground creature, an infant mole†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"his shoes dangling like stuffed paper bags. ALLITERATION: â€Å"dim and dusty† PERSONIFICATION: â€Å"a silver bell breathless in the turgid air† METAPHOR: â€Å"Their eyes were the eyes of prisoners†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"the frog in his throat gurgled to itself. † â€Å"as of a choked drain being forced. † USE OF STRONG VERBS: â€Å"his mother was digging him in the ribs, shoving him out, hurrying him by running into his heels, and now they were streaming out with the tide. † Vocabulary Crepitating: to make a crackling sound Perspiring: to secrete a salty, watery fluid from the sweat glands of the skin Docility: easily managed or handled, teachable Clamouring: a loud uproar from a crowd of peopleI Gnominy: disgrace, dishonour Relenting: to soften in feeling or temper, become more forgiving Sonorous: loud, deep, resonant (echoing) sound Padre: father (usually a priest)Stolidly: unemotional, not easily stirred or moved mentally Disconsolately: without consolation or solace, hopelessly unhappy Enticing: to lead on by excitement, hope or desire Fanatic: a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm (zeal) in politics or religion Din: a loud, confused noise (tumultuous)Wherewithal: means or supplies for the purpose or need Impeccably.