Pineapple+Cake

Pineapple Cake Agnes and Alasdair

** Significance of title **

Right from the beginning, the title Pineapple Cake appears as "bait" used on Victor by his mother, "his favourite" (P.50). It is mentioned repetitively throughout the story, especially by Victor's mother, as in "pineapple cake for good boys" (P.50) and "pineapple cake for you" (P.51). There is a sense of the pineapple cake keeping the story going, just as it supposedly keeps Victor going during the wedding ceremony[1], although it does not actually appear until the end of the story, "[the mother] reached out the fork the pineapple cake onto her own plate. She ate it quickly." (P.55) Its final appearance coincides neatly with the ending of the story. The reader is left to ponder its meaning.

The pineapple cake in the story symbolizes the things which people crave for in society, the way they are material-obsessed such that it affects their objectives and priorities, for example, rather than to simply celebrate a relative's wedding, Victor's mother seem to attend it for the sake of having tea at Green's.

Additionally, the pineapple cake is actually interchangeable with any different food, perhaps making it easier to apply to common real life situations.

I think it's quite interesting that it's actually Victor's mother who most likes pineapple cake--and it's also interesting that although he can't eat because of the death of the man, his mother can and does. Any thoughts on this?

**Plot/situation**

The story works simply without suggestion, (meaning?) narrating quite an ordinary event, such it is not traditionally plotted (don't really understand what you mean by this? ) but where the narrative simply follows the incidents happening around the characters, Victor and his mother, and their reactions during the wedding ceremony they attended. Some plot actions are quite unnatural, (in what sense? do you mean they seem 'too coincidental' and therefore rather unconvincing?) including the untimely death of a guest in the wedding. This serves to bring out the author's criticism of her contemporary. [2] of her contemporary what? And what is being criticized?

**Structure**

The story begins with Victor and his mother in the middle of a wedding ceremony, followed by the tea party (i.e. wedding reception). The turning point and also the climax of the story occurred when the man Aubrey suddenly died during the party. The ending coincides as the twist of the story where Victor's mother ate the pineapple cake instead of Victor himself and despite the man who just died. Good to identify the twist. Look forward to your interpretation of this.

The story is chronological, from the afternoon in which the ceremony and party occurred, a continuous description of wedding and tea party with a strong theme emphasised at the end. What strong theme? Make sure you make specific, not vague, claims.

**Characters (characterisation)**

The main characters include Victor and his mother.

**Victor's mother** cares little about her sons thoughts and "[has] the same way of dealing with rebels and nerves." What is this wy? She isn't satisfied about having a son and in fact wants a daughter. Why woudl she want a daughter? She can be considered as a bit too unreasonable about her son's behaviour as well, as in "Yes, 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." (P.51)

Furthermore, she is described as a social climber and cares a lot about her status. She bases her dignity on her social importance. This is shown from how "the party atmosphere began quickly to dissolve in the acid of bad temper and the threat to her dignity" when she realized all the cabs "belonged to the more important members" of the families (P.52), and then how "it was seats at a suitable table that Mrs. Fernandez demanded, could not find, then spotted, was turned away from and, finally, led to two others by a slippery-smooth waiter used to such scenes." (P.54) Good quotations to prove your points. Any thoughts on the latter part of this poem?

She is also rather envious of rich people, and always brags about the posh venue of the party, "she had been saying several times a day for weeks now" of having tea at Green's (P.52). What is Green's, exactly? Her moral values are put under scrutiny based on her apathetic reaction to the death of the man Aubrey. Instead of showing any care for the dead man, she "gave (Victor's arm) an excited tug" and told her son to "take it, take the pineapple cake" which was finally served onto the table, and when Victor did not respond, she just ate it herself before deciding to just leave.

**Victor** is Mrs. Fernandez's son, an average boy aged around 6-7 with no particular distinctive features. The story mostly focuses on his actions and thoughts. He is shown to be quite numb of reality, as he “only followed, disconsolately and confusedly”. When the guest died, he only 'dimly' realised it. He is uncomfortable with fancy clothing and does not understand the social conventions to which the adults adhere. He contrasts with his mother - he has an inner consciousness that is not polluted by the adults' unrefined behaviour. It can be conjectured that Victor yearns for a world without social constraints. At the same time, he has got used to the fact that he needs to abide them.[3] Proof of this claim?

Additionally, there is little characterisation or development, nor is there reference to their backgrounds. The story focuses on their actions and values instead of the characters themselves, such that the story can represent a general phenomenon which? in society and the common set of values of the people at the time. Like what?

You should probably give us a brief list of other characters here.

** Setting **

Regarding the time, the story is set in the afternoon in the situation of a relative's Do we know this? wedding party, a relatively modern wedding as shown in attire of guests and activities and rituals held during the wedding and music played (Sound of Music This allusion should probably be developed in a 'style' section ), at least not before the 1970s. The wedding took place in a "dim and dusty" Catholic Church then there was the reception, the tea party, at Green's which is presented as a posh and classy venue with very professional service. Many relatives are brought together at this party. What seems to be the primary purpose of bringing people together in two such venues. Esp the church?

** Social climate **

The social climate is within the two families involved in the wedding, expression is difficult to follow where there are some who are "more important". There is also much attention on having tea at Green's because of how it shows "the De Mellos must have money". page number A modern society with emphasis on status and materialistic views where people jockey for positions in the hierarchy is presented. excellent--concise and accurate interpretive claim This is seen from how Mrs. Fernandez base her dignity on whether she has an important status in the family. status demonstrated how?

** Themes **

The story explores the relationship between mother and child. There is at the same time a sense of trust and distrust between the mother and her son. Victor 'hadn't much faith in his mother's promises' as they often get postponed or cancelled with excuses made up by his mother. On the other hand, Victor would reach for his mother for security, as seen from (P. 53) 'Let out of the taxi... instinctively he put out his hand to find his mother's'. This shows that the maternal relationship has many levels and is more than seen from surface, more than just a mother trying hard to make her son behave in public. You might wish to explore how she seems to regard her son as a reflection of herself.

Apart from that, the twist at the end of the story, where Victor's mother eats the pineapple cake herself after all, is significant in the way the mother seems to have projected her desire for pineapple cake onto her son. And not only does it signify that desires and preferences are imposed upon the child, it also conveys a sense of forced values on the younger generation. Just as his mother is totally unaffected by the sudden death during the wedding, Victor appears to not understand or even already felt numb to the death. He "dimly" realised it, and only hoped "he would see the hearse arrive".[4] (P.55) There seems to be a callousness here, doesn't there? Are we so driven by our materialistic goals that we have lost part of our humanity?

The story also explores the over-importance of social status to people. It satirises the prioritising of social status by pointing out the extreme consequences. This can be seen from the death of Aubrey, the man who had trouble swallowing. His wearing of formal attire indirectly contributed to his death in that this worsened his throat problem, so that the fancy clothing can be seen as a visual metaphor representing the constraints society imposes on people. As the man's Adam’s apple "struggled to rise", the author suggests that this restraint is not only on the action of breathing, but embedded holistically in her contemporary. excellent thus far but the latter phrase isn't clear. The author shows that this misplaced priority is a general phenomenon. The fact that the waiters are near professional in handling embarrassing situations like Mrs. Fernandez's search for good seats epitomises that this is an everyday scene. [5] Lovely commentary in the above paragraph.

The author also satirises how the society judges people by their outward appearance by noting when the elders got off the taxi, they “tried to be polite and yet not pay the taxi”. In truth, they simply aren't what they pretend to be. They end up being deceiving, and from the reader's point of view, a farce. Interesting.

Relationships between relatives are also looked into. The reader cannot seem to find any sign of genuine intimacy or closeness between Mrs. Fernandez and her relatives. Throughout the whole ceremony there is a lack of interaction between Mrs. Fernandez and other guests. Even though the couple in the taxi was the only people she talked to, she didn't give much attention to the death of the husband. Yes... But what exactly is her relationship to the wedding party and the man and his wife?

** Mood/atmosphere **

At the beginning the mood is confined, uncomfortable, suffocating, as if claustrophobic proof? . Then the mood began to turn sour/tense as Mrs. Fernandez was rejected at cabs and tables. Proof? The mood uplifts again as the wedding reaches the pinnacle of excitement, ie. bride cutting the wedding cake. The story ends with a chaotic atmosphere as the man dies suddenly. Effect?

** Point of View **

The story is in 3rd person narration, (Yes, but we don't say 'in third person narration'... Find out what we do say) where the narrator is relatively omniscient, giving us the thoughts from both Victor and his mother. examples? Through them, we may have a deeper psychological analysis of characters (especially at the beginning). The theme is also brought up through the insecurities of the characters, such as Victor's mistrust in his mother or her concern over her social status.

However, the narration seems to actually shift more towards the viewpoint of Victor, as it feels very passive, especially when following the flow of events happening. As a little boy, Victor is uninterested in the wedding and even a little intimidated by the crowds and atmosphere. He is passive the whole time, led and even pushed on by his mother throughout the ceremony, vaguely aware of what was happening around him. This can be shown in "So it had gone all afternoon" and "Then the ceremony came to an end" at the start of paragraphs, and from how Victor's mother "was digging him in the ribs, shoving him out, hurrying him by running into his heels" or "caught him by the collar and led him into the hotel." [6] So what is significant about this?

**Purpose**

Desai's purpose is to satirise moral values of people at the time. This is clearly shown in the ending of the story where the man who had trouble swallowing suddenly died and by the apathetic responses of the other guests around him: a woman exclaiming and wishing he had died another day as if to not disrupt the wedding, the bride sobbing "frightenedly", someone simply carrying the dead man away, Victor moving towards the balcony hoping to see the hearse arrive, and especially Victor's mother, who seems totally unaffected by the death, focusing on eating the pineapple cake before just leaving. A nice series of examples. Give us the page numbers, please.

** Style **

Desai herself once said, 'My style of writing is to allow the story to unfold on its own. I try not to structure my work too rigidly.' [7] This is true for Pineapple Cake. The author follows a light narration what is a 'light narration', exactly? that allows lots of twists and variation to come easily. Do we have more than one twist, really? The death of Aurbrey should come as an unexpected twist, but the unperturbed narration made it very easily accepted. Why do you describe it as 'unperturbed'. What is the tone, and how exactly is it maintained? The same goes for the ending of the story -- when it is the mother but not the child who has the pineapple cake -- it comes so seamlessly that the reader wonders for a moment before he realises the irony behind.

The writer describes the psychology of characters in subtle detail. Our knowledge of the characters comes as much from their behaviour as from their thoughts, which are revealed to us through the account of the narration. For example, we know more about Mrs Fernandez's view towards her children not from her actions. How many children? Instead her thoughts are read loud expression by the narrator during the ceremony in church. As for Victor, the only way he communicates to the readers is by the quantifying of his observation through the words of narration. I don't know what this means. In that, the readers follow the stream of consciousness of the characters. Is it really stream of consciousness? Quite a few language issues here and elsewhere. A more accurate/precise register needed.

** Tone (feeling) **

The tone in this piece is strongly satirical. The author pokes fun generally at the pretentious behaviour of adults, most of which coming from the misplaced importance on what is socially expected of them. second line here a bit unclear thought he point is good.

For example, she uses the perspective of a child to show how comical and ungraceful the 'elders' actually looked 'while the elders tried to be polite and yet not pay the taxi.' (P. 53) Does the child see the comic nature of this, or is it just the reader because we get the mimetic perspective of the child?

Another example would be in the description of the behaviour of young waiters. They seem to be very experienced in dealing with various situations; the author makes fun of the vanity of young people who think '[they] knew all there was to know...' (P. 55) Is this a quotation in relation to the waiters?

**Additional Notes**

Some may find the absence of Victor's father interesting. He was only mentioned when Victor thought about his father bringing him out "on a Sunday outing, with a ferry boat ride and a fresh coconut drink for treats." There is no background or any clues of particular, significant reasons for why he was not there with them at the wedding. We believe this is just so the story can focus more intently on the relationship between mother and son, instead of that between husband and wife. Of course, we an only guess about this. What is interesting is the contrast between father and mother, isn't it?

<span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Points to think about**

The author uses imagery in several occasions, especially describing Aubrey (eg. 'his head hanging over the back in a curiously unhinged way, as though dangling at the end of a rope', 'but the frog in his throat gurgled to itself'). Is that only for ornamental effect or does it have a higher purpose? Is this 'ornamental'?

** Endnotes **

­1, 3, 5, 6 Arthur Lo, "Class Comments", __Wikispaces__, 16th Oct 2010, 17th Oct 2010, <http://enga1s1012tracesgames.wikispaces.com/Pineapple+Cake>

­2, 4 Vincent Wong, "Class Comments", __Wikispaces__, 15th Oct 2010, 17th Oct 2010, <http://enga1s1012tracesgames.wikispaces.com/Pineapple+Cake>

7 Anita Desai, "Class Interview with Anita Desai", __Baruch College - The City University of New York (CUNY)__, ed. Ivette Santos, Kathryn Ricker, Linda Chin, Alexandrea Iwanicki, David Kwang and Linda Fung, Spring 2003, Baruch College, 18th Oct 2010, <http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/wsas/academics/writer_in_residence/desaiinterview.htm>

You have missed referencing me in your ADDITIONAL NOTES session. Benedict Please include them. []

Much good comment here. Two major things to work on --clear expression. Referencing between sections (e.g. "see 'X' for further discussion of the significance of this"). Some points requiring evidence and/or analysis.