English B prose review

2021
 The two Grandmothers
Setting: The story opens with a little girl telling her mother about
her experiences with her two grandmothers; grandma Dell and grandma
Elaine a.k.a Towser. Grandma Dell is her ‘country’ grandmother who
lives in rural Jamaica, raises life stock, caters to her community, takes
her granddaughter to church and is enamored by her granddaughter’s
‘pretty’ skin and hair. Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, is her ‘town’
grandmother. She has had multiple marriages, is a socialite who dates
wealthy men, travels, and is very concerned about her physical
appearance. The granddaughter, initially, prefers her country
grandmother, who is very attentive to her needs and loved to ‘show her
off’ to her friends and neighbours. However, as the story progresses, and
the narrator ages and matures, she begins to prefer her town
grandmother, who is more cosmopolitan and appreciative of material
things. With her change in attitude to grandma Dell, however, also
comes a change in attitude to her country friends. They are no longer
figures who inspire awe, but girls to look down on as ‘less than’. The
story closes with the teenage narrator proposing that her family should
spend a day with her country grandmother – then she would be taken
care of until next year – ensuring that they have more time to spend with
Towser (Grandma Elaine) as well as pursue more interesting exploits.

Setting: The story occurs in three places; rural Jamaica, Kingston

and Clearwater in the USA.

Characters: grandma dell (hypocrite, Christian minded, old

fashioned)
Narrator: Narrator (1st person)
• The readers first meets her when she is a little girl.
• She grows and matures as the story progresses, by the end of the story
she appears to be a teenager.
• She initially prefers the company of Grandma Del, but as she grows
up, she begins to show a preference for Touser.
• She reports a lot of sensitive information, for example – the ‘fall’ of
grandma Del, Pearlie’s home situation, Eulalie and Ermandine’s
pregnancies – but does not appear to understand the gravity of the
various situations.
• As she grows up, she appears to become more materialistic in her
desires, she wants to be like every-one else.
• She appears, by the end of the story, to be confused about how to feel
about her physical appearance.
• She cannot be bothered with her country grandmother, grandma Dell,
by the end of the story.
• She begins to appreciate her hip socialite grandma Elaine, aka Touser,
by the end of the story.

Theme: Women in Society

This is a story about women, the values that they pass on, and the way
that they treat each other. There are women of different social status’
and financial backgrounds in the , and all of them contribute to this
theme. Grandma Elaine is of a high social status and she treats grandma
Del, who is of a lower social status, with disdain. Grandma Del, in turn,
treats Eulalie, Ermandine and Pearlie with disdain for being poor, as
well as victims of their financial, and social, circumstances. The narrator
joins this cycle by discriminating against her ‘country’ friends by
viewing herself as better than them. Ironically, she suffers the same
treatment at the hands of her cousin, Maureen, who treats the narrator as
‘less than’ as well. The possible moral of this tale is that women should
try to understand and accept each other.

Emma by Carolyn Cole

Summary: This short story is told from the first person perspective
of a little girl called Dorian York. The focus of her thoughts is her
mother; the games that they play together, and the games that she plays
with her friend, that revolve around her mother. The first person
perspective of the narrative gives the reader an intimate view of how the
little girl sees her mother, as well as how she feels about her. We are
also able to garner information about the people around her from her
innocent narrative, innocent because the little girl does not understand
many of the things that she reports. The reader learns that Emma and
Mr. York have a volatile relationship that is seemingly caused by his
infidelity. This infidelity is initially implied by Emma’s constant
watching of the clock and waiting for her husband to return home, as
well as the fight that Dorian reported. Grandfather’s visit, however,
brings a happy atmosphere to the family unit because daddy starts to do
things with the family, hence they seem more like a conventional happy
family. The audience is given the impression that things go back to
normal after grandfather leaves, however, due to the spectral presence of
the ‘lady at the train station’, as well as Mrs. Robinson’s pointed
discussion about Mr. York’s status as a ‘player’. The narrative climaxes
with the death of Emma at the train station. She saw her husband with
the mysterious lady and runs away, followed closely by Dorian and Jack.
Unfortunately, when Jack caught her by the arm, she ran into the path of
an oncoming vehicle and was killed. Jack and Mrs. Robinson then get
romantically involved, and they send both Maria and Dorian to St.
Agnes, a boarding school, in the country.

Setting: The story occurs in three places; the York residence, an

unnamed mall and the old train station. The mood of the story fluctuates
from happiness to sadness.

Characters: Jack York, Emma York, Dorian York, granddaddy,

Ruby, Maria

Theme: Love and family relationship

There are two types of families in this short story, the nuclear family and
the single family unit. Dorian’s family is the nuclear family, consisting
of mother, father and child. This family is a troubled one because the
father is seemingly more absent than present due to an implied ‘other
woman’, who is later confirmed as very real. He also seems
uncomfortable around his only child, as is confirmed by Emma, who
decides to forego having another child because ‘Jack wasn’t ready for
Dori’ (Cole, p.53). Emma, on the other hand, seems to live to please
both her child and husband. She is very affectionate with Dorian, and
this love is returned tenfold, as seen in the adoration that imbues the tone
of the narrator. She is the same with her husband, but the reception is
less enthusiastic. It would be unfair to say that the family is
dysfunctional, because one parent is at least invested in the emotional
happiness of the child, but the family has issues because the head of the
household’s concentration lies elsewhere.

Mrs. Robinson is a single mother, parenting her only child; Maria. She
does not appear to be particularly liked by both girls because no-one
wants to ‘play’ at being her. She aggravates her child constantly and
appears to be unhappy with her life. This family structure can be seen as
dysfunctional because the parent does not seem to devote her energies
toward making her child feel loved and comfortable, which is one of the
primary aims of any family structure.

Innocence
This theme is epitomized by Dorian York. The story is told from her
perspective; therefore, the reader gets a firsthand view of the innocence
behind her misunderstanding of adult conversation and situations. She
senses emotions, but misses a lot of the innuendo, as is seen when she
tells the audience about the fight that her parents had. Her innocence is
also seen in her expectation that her mother would come home after the
accident, but instead, she finds Mrs. Robinson in her mother’s bed. Her
growth, or advancement into maturity, is highlighted in the end of the
short story when Dorian reassures Maria that everything will be ok, they
will play adult games better.

Symbolism: Deck of cards

The deck of cards that Emma carries around in her purse is a powerful
symbol for life. In any card game that is being played, every-one has a
chance at success, or failure, depending on how they play the game.
Mrs. Robinson gives Emma an alternate way to play the game of life,
with success being the joy of keeping her ‘player’ husband. Emma,
however, chooses to play the game in another way, one in which she
attempts to satisfy the needs of both Dorian and Jack. Emma is the loser
in the game, however, because she dies with the joker in her hand. This
signifies that her future could have gone in any direction because the
joker introduces the element of chance to the game; it can be a bonus, a
penalty, or both, depending on how it is used in the game. In the game of
life, Emma lost because she chose to take a chance with pleasing both
members of her family, instead of concentrating solely on her husband,
as Mrs. Robinson suggested. The game of life gives every-one chances
however, just like a card game, and Mrs. Robinson was given a chance
to bag her rich man with Emma’s exit from the game.

MOTIF
Play
The motif of play appears to be a strong one in this short story, perhaps
due to the fact that the narrator is a young child. The children ‘play’ at
being adults, imitating – and fighting over – their favorite adult. They
also literally see the life of adults as play. Dorian confirms this at the end
of the story when she reassures Maria that ‘I learned a lot about this
game. When it’s our turn to play, we’ll play smarter.’
 Man of the House by Frank O’Connor
Summary:
The story starts with a terrible sound of constant coughing of the sick
mother which wakes up the little boy and he runs downstairs to look into
the matter. There he finds his mother in a critical condition collapsing in
an armchair holding her sides. Totally distressed she was trying to light a
fire to make tea for the boy but the smoke generated by the wet sticks
worsened her cough. Worried son immediately takes charge of
everything. He stops her from going to work and makes her lie in the
bed.
Dutiful Sullivan makes tea and toast for her. He immediately decides
that instead of going to school he would stay at home to look after his
mother and mind home affairs. Systematic boy heats up another kettle of
water and cleans up the breakfast mess. Then he comes to his mother to
make a list to shop for dinner. Caring Sullivan is worried and wants to
call a doctor for his mother but thrifty mother declines his wish as she is
afraid that the doctor would send her to hospital. To cheer up the
frightened son the affectionate mother tries to pretend that she is fit and
fine but their neighbor Miss Minnie Ryan has all the doubts that she
might be suffering from pneumonia. She advises him to give his mother
some hot whiskey mixed with a squeeze of lemon in it to comfort her.
Determined Sullivan goes to the public house for the first time to get
whiskey. Although scared he does not lose courage and overcomes his
fear. Whiskey does not work that well and whole night depressed
Sullivan could not sleep due to the terrible coughing of his mother. She
keeps on rambling badly while talking. In the morning bewildered
Sullivan heads to call the doctor from the distant dispensary. Before that
he goes to get a ticket from the house of a Poor Law Guardian to save
the doctor’s fees. The organized boy tidies the house and keeps ready the
basin of water, soap and a clean towel for the doctor. Much to their relief
the doctor doesn’t advise to hospitalize the mother instead he prescribes
a cough syrup for her.
Reliant Sullivan’s sincerity and concern earns all the praise of Miss
Ryan and the doctor for him. Again, the poor boy sets off with a bottle to
get the medicine from the dispensary situated at a distant place. On the
way he comes across a cathedral. With complete devotion he prays for
his mother’s quick recovery in his heart and makes up his mind to spend
his only penny to light a candle in the church when he would finish his
task. At dispensary he meets a little girl Dooley who has come to get
medicine for her sister. The girl is very clever and talkative. Anguished
Sullivan enjoys her company after going through such terrible times. On
way back the innocent boy spends his penny on sweets which they both
enjoyed. Dooly is a cunning girl. She incites Sullivan to taste the sweet
cough syrup of his mother. Confused boy gives way to temptation. Both
of them relish it immensely. When the entire medicine is consumed
confused Sullivan realizes his fault. He begins to panic and starts crying.
Dooly misleads him to tell a lie that the cork fell out.

Repentant Sullivan is full of remorse and guilt feeling. He fears that

because of his negligence his mother would not get well. Panicked
Sullivan prays the Virgin Mary to do some miracle to save his mother.
He gets back home totally broken and shattered. Mother is alarmed to
see him howl. She hugs and consoles him passionately. Truthful and
honest Sullivan confesses his crime. The forgiving mother shrugs it off.
The tired boy falls fast asleep under the intoxication of the medicine.
With the grace of God, the miracle happens and Sullivan wakes up to
find his mother smiling and recovered.
The Day the World Almost Came to An End
Summary: This short story was told from the perspective of an adult and
chronicles the events behind a child’s (the adult narrator) belief that the world was
about to end. The story is set on a plantation in Louisiana in 1936, where the
church was the axis around which plantation life revolved. Despite this fact, the
narrator was holding on to being a sinner because she believed that she could not
‘live upright’. One day, while she was playing, her cousin Rena informed her that
the world was coming to an end. This was based on a conversation that Rena
overheard, and misunderstood, about the eclipse. The hellfire sermons in church
did not help to stem the narrator’s mounting panic and she worried herself into a
frazzle as a result. She had a conversation with her father about this issue and he
tried to quell her fears, but unfortunately, he only managed to increase it with his
statement that the world could come to an end at any time. The narrator spent the
night conjuring images of dooms day, which led to her overreaction to hearing the
rumblings of an old airplane. She ran out of her house screaming that the world
was coming to an end. Her father caught her on the road and calmed her down. She
appreciated life a lot more after that incident and lived her life to the fullest.

Setting: The story occurs on a plantation in Louisiana in 1936

Characters: daddy, 1 st
person narrator, Rena

Themes: Religion
This is the central theme in this short story. Plantation life was centered
on religion to the extent that even the narrator’s father was a deacon in
the church. Religious fervor, in the form of hellfire preaching, is also the
fuel for the panic that overtakes the narrator/protagonist in this short
story.
Love & Family Relationship:
The love and trust between father and daughter is glaring. When the
narrator/protagonist was worried about the world coming to an end, the
first person that she thought to consult on this issue was her father. His
response to her childish fears, in turn, highlights the easy relationship
between the two. Daddy’s care in covering his daughter after her mad
dash through the turnrow is also an indication of the love that he has for
his child.

Berry by Langston Hughes

Summary: Berry is about a young black man called Millberry
Jones who is employed at Dr. Renfield’s Home for Crippled Children.
He was reluctantly employed by Mrs. Osborn, the housekeeper, because
the Scandinavian kitchen boy had left without notice, leaving her no
choice in hiring Berry. Her reluctance to hire Berry stemmed from his
race, which initiated questions such as where he would sleep, as well as
how the other employees would react to the presence of a Negro. She
had a meeting with Dr. Renfield and they decided to hire Millberry on a
reduced salary. He was overworked and underpaid, but took solace in
the children whom he loved. An unfortunate incident occurred, however,
where a child fell from his wheelchair while in the care of Berry. The
result was that Berry was fired and given no salary for the week that he
had worked.

Characters: Millberry Jones(berry), Mrs. Osborn, Dr. Renfield

Themes: Racism
This theme is apparent when Berry was being considered for
employment at the Home. Mrs. Osborn was concerned about where
Berry would sleep, implying that he could not sleep with the white
servants because he was considered to be beneath them. His salary was
also cut due to his race, and he was overworked, with no discussions of
days off, ‘everybody was imposing on him in that taken-for-granted way
white folks do with Negro help.’ (Hughes, 162). Even more importantly,
when the unfortunate accident occurred with the child, there was no
attempt at discerning what led to the incident, but blame was laid on the
obvious person – Berry. As a result, he was relieved of his job in a hail
of racist slurs. The students will be placed in their peer groups to analyze
various aspects of the story.
 Mom Luby and the Social Worker by
Kristin Hunter
Summary:
Characters: Mom Luby, Miss Rushmore, Elijah (narrator) &
Puddin

Setting: The United States of America between 1920-1933, during

the time of the Prohibition in the United States

Themes: Love and Family Relationship

The love that Mom Luby has for her two young charges is apparent by
her simple act of fostering them. She is a poor, older woman who runs a
speakeasy to survive. This is not the profile of someone who should be
willing to take care of two young children, as well as a whole
community, yet she does. The act of visiting the Social Security Office
is a testament to her commitment to taking care of the two children. The
great irony in this short story is that a poor, older lady, is able to take
better care of two little children than the State agency that is assigned to
do so. This is because she can get more accomplished in two hours, to
benefit them, than the agency can accomplish in two years with their
most motivated agent.

Devices: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to

expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the
context of…a play, novel, film, or other work that uses satire.
Satire is a literary device that uses wit or irony to expose and ridicule a
human weakness. The inefficiency of bureaucratic procedures is
satirized in this story.
Irony usually signals a difference between the appearance of things and
reality. For instance, an “Ironic statements (verbal irony) often convey a
meaning exactly opposite from their literal meaning. In ironic situations
(situational irony), actions often have an effect exactly opposite from
what is intended.”

To Da-duh, in Memoriam by Paule Marshall

Summary: This short story is about a young girl’s visit, from New
York, to the island of Barbados. The protagonist, along with her sister
and mother, visit Dah-Duh. The visit is an interesting one in which Dah-
Duh and the protagonist develop a caring, yet competitive, relationship.
Dah-Duh introduces her to the riches of Barbados (nature), while the
protagonist introduces her grandmother to the steel and concrete world
of New York (industrialism). There is a competitive edge to their
conversations because they each try to outdo each other on the merits of
their separate homes. Dah-Duh, however, is dealt a blow when she
learns of the existence of the Empire State building, which was many
stories taller than the highest thing she had ever laid her eyes on –
Bissex Hill. She lost a little bit of her spark that day and was not given a
chance to rebound because the protagonist left for New York shortly
after. The story progresses with the death of Dah-Duh during the famous
’37 strike. She had refused to leave her home and was later found dead,
on a Berbice chair, by her window. The protagonist spent a brief period
in penance, living as an artist and painting landscapes that were
reminiscent of Barbados .
Setting: The story is set in Barbados, in the 1930’s.
Characters: Dah-duh
Themes: Race
This theme is apparent when Dah-Duh and the protagonist discuss the
fact that she ‘beat up a white girl’ in her class. Dah-Duh is quiet shocked
at this and exclaims that the world has changed so much that she cannot
recognize it. This highlights their contrasting experiences of race. Dah-
Duh’s experience of race relations is viewing the white ‘massa’ as
superior, as well as viewing all things white as best. This is corroborated
at the beginning of the story when it was revealed that Dah-Duh liked
her grandchildren to be white, and in fact had grandchildren from the
illegitimate children of white estate managers. Therefore, a white person
was some-one to be respected, while for the protagonist, white people
were an integral part of her world, and she viewed herself as their equal.

Symbolism
Paule Marshall’s work is replete with a richness of literary devices like
symbolism, imagery and metaphors. Describing the foreboding character
of death, the narrator feels that the planes that bring death to the little
village are “swooping and screaming…monstrous birds”. The
sugarcanes that grow in the village are Da-Duh’s delight and also the
reason for the exploitation in the village. The pride of Da-Duh, the
sugarcanes appear threatening to the narrator she feels that the canes are
“clashing like swords above my cowering head”. This is a description of
the duality of life. Where there is joy, there is pain and when there is
life, death is bound to follow.

Imagery
The life-death antithesis is depicted in the closing lines of the book
where the narrator paints “seas of sugar-cane and huge swirling Van
Gogh suns and palm trees [in] a tropical landscape . . .while the
thunderous tread of the machines downstairs jarred the floor beneath my
easel.’’ Light is identified by the surrounding darkness and life, by death
that eventually follows. The transient nature of life is evidenced by the
changes that happen over a period of time.
Death’s morbidity invades the colorful mind. The narrator imbues the
reader’s mind with images that allude to this dark reality. “All these
trees….Well, they’d be bare. No leaves, no fruit, nothing. They’d be
covered in snow. You see your canes. They’d be buried under tons of
snow.”

Metaphor
With a judicious use of metaphors, the narrator has drawn us to the
reality of inevitable changes that our lives are subject to. Again, the
sugarcanes are metaphorically perceived as the ominous danger that “…
would close in on us and run us through with their stiletto blades.” Later,
the planes that cause the death of her grandmother are visualized by the
narrator as “the hardback beetles which hurled themselves with suicidal
force against the walls of the house at night.” She points at our
dogmatism in accepting the fact that the world is constantly changing.
Those who fail to see this at first, experience it the hard way later.

Blackout by Roger Mais

Summary: Blackout’ is a short story by Roger Mais. It is set in
Jamaica and is about racism and the contrast of two different races,
sexes and cultures. The story starts off explaining the blackout in the city
and the general atmosphere of uncomfortable and tense over the city. At
this point the story builds an expectation of some sort of conflict. An
American woman was waiting at a bus stop. Surprisingly she was not
bothered by the darkness, and she was not nervous.
A black man slowly approaches her and asks for a light for his cigarette.
as she does not have matches, she offers her cigarette and as he thanks
her, she flicks the cigarette away. she does that because she is disgusted
that a black man touched her cigarette and therefore, she doesn’t want to
smoke it anymore. after the flicking, there’s a moment of discomfort and
she asks him why he was still there. he replies with an apology as a
comment on her action. he stays and keeps talking about her apparent
wealth and as he talks, she becomes more uncomfortable.
The conversation between the two then focuses on gender and race. At
that moment the reader can sense that actually the woman is interested in
the current situation and she might actually be looking for an adventure,
but he tells her that she is not his type of women which undermines her.
during the conversation the reader can also see that the woman has some
very racist thoughts. after a while he sees the bus coming and points at
it. she gets on the bus and as it starts moving, she urges herself to look
back at him and challenge her prejudices, but thinking of the society and
worrying about how unacceptable it would seem she can’t succeed and
doesn’t look back while the man picks up the cigarette from the gutter.
During this short story there is always this feeling of menace and some
kind of threat which is created by the blackout and the odd conversation
between the two. this feeling is created especially at the beginning,
introduction of the story when the blackout and the loneliness were
being described by Mais. He used words and phrases such as; wave of
panic, bands of hooligans roaming the streets after dark and assaulting
unprotected women, slinking black shadow, to reinforce his point.
Setting: Set in Jamaica
Characters: The man is a poor black Jamaican, and the woman is
a wealthy white American

Theme: Racism
The story is set in Jamaica and is about racism. It contrasts two races,
sexes, classes and cultures. There are two characters in the story-a
female American and a Black Jamaican man. The conversation,
between the two, shows the difference between two races, genders
and cultures. The woman is full of racial biasness. She considers Blacks
as untouchables. When the man lights his cigarette from her cigarette,
instead of smoking again, she flicks it away. She does so because she
was disgusted that a Black man had touched the cigarette. When the man
apologizes for her action, she feels indecent talking to a Black man.
Then the conversation focuses on gender and race which shows that
the woman had the racist thoughts. She is also proud of her class.
The American woman is rich whereas the man is poor. The man
was smoking half of the cigarette and the other half was preserved
for future consumption. When the man regrets to make her waste the
whole cigarette, she answers that she has plenty more where that
came from, which shows her social status. In terms of gender, one is a
man the other a woman. Both are proud of their genders. The woman
was proud of her being an American woman whereas the man
was proud of his male strength. At the end of the story, they start
reacting to each other as ‘any man any woman’. The story also denotes
the difference between the two cultures. In America, a Black person
can’t approach a white woman nonchalantly but in West Indies, as the
man tells her, there are only men and women in this country. There was
no segregation and all were treated equally.
 Blood Brothers by John Wickham
In Blood Brothers by John Wickham, we have the theme of hate,
discontent, connection, jealousy, fear, independence and confidence.
Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realizes
after reading the story that Wickham may be exploring the theme of
hate. Paul is uncomfortable with his relationship with his twin brother
Benjy. He dislikes the fact that Benjy appears to be able to do things that
Paul himself cannot do. Paul also dislikes not being as brave as Benjy
and in many ways uses Benjy as his benchmark for doing things. This
may be important as Wickham may be suggesting that Paul compares
himself to Benjy. When the reality is he has no need to. If anything,
Benjy’s influence on Paul affects Paul’s confidence and his belief in
himself. Which may be the point that Wickham is attempting to make.
He may be suggesting that should a person continually compare
themselves to another person they will inevitably be unhappy.
Something which is very much the case when it comes to Paul. He is an
unhappy child based solely on what he perceives are his inadequacies.
At no stage does Paul think of the things that he is good at rather his
main focus is on how he is not as good as Benjy at things.
There is also a sense that Paul is afraid of failure or at least what he
perceives to be failure. The walk at night time with his father and Benjy
being an example. Yet at the same time Paul wants to make a connection
with Benjy. Even if it means that he feels as though he is second best to
Benjy. This too may be important as Wickham could be highlighting
how deep and strong the bond is between Paul and Benjy. Though Paul
may hate Benjy. He still wants to be his friend. He wants to have a
loving relationship with his brother. Benjy’s character is also interesting
as he appears to be completely secure within himself and free of other
people’s opinion of him. Unlike Paul who seems to judge himself based
solely on Benjy’s actions. If anything, Paul lacks the independence to be
his own person and some critics might suggest that Paul is jealous of
Benjy’s abilities. If this is the case then Paul will never be happy as he
will always be looking to see if he can better Benjy rather than living
each day as it comes.
There is also some symbolism in the story which may be important. The
casuarina tree and the appearance it takes on at both night and day time
in many ways mirrors Paul’s change in mood when he and Benjy are at
Mac’s. The angelic appearance of the tree during the day in many ways
mirrors how Paul lives his life. However, the appearance that the tree
takes on in the evening when it is dark also mirrors Paul’s reaction to
Benjy when Benjy asks him to play with him. The leather that Paul is
punching holes into may also have some symbolic significance as the
reader is aware that the leather in Mac’s shop is used to make and repair
shoes. By having Paul playing with the leather Wickham could be
symbolically suggesting that Paul is making a new pair of shoes to walk
in. Something that is clearer to the reader when Paul attacks Benjy. The
fact that Mac is unaware of what is happening and thinks that both boys
are playing may also be important as it could suggest that the battle that
Paul feels he is facing with Benjy is not a public battle but a personal
battle.
The end of the story is also interesting as Wickham appears to be
exploring the theme of fear. Benjy is afraid of Paul after he threatens
him with the sharp awl. For the first time in the story Benjy shows fear.
This may be important as it is through showing fear that the reader
suspects that Benjy may now have an understanding for how Paul feels.
In reality the attack connects both Paul and Benjy. Though at the time
neither boy would be aware of this. It is also possible that through the
experience of the attack both Paul and Benjy will become closer to one
another. With Benjy probably knowing or understanding how Paul feels.
If anything, their relationship will grow and prosper. Paul has stood up
for himself and by doing so has defined himself. Whether he meant to do
so is another thing but the important thing is that he has done it. He has
stood on his own two feet and not let Benjy get the better of him. Which
may leave some readers to suggest that Benjy will treat Paul as an equal
rather than as somebody that he can taunt and use for his own
amusement.
Setting:
Characters:
 The boy who loved ice-cream by Olive
Senior
Summary: n this particular story it is the loss of an object which a
young boy named Benjy cared for. This object was ice cream. Although
one would think that this object should not hold such a great connotation
in the child's life, it was the world to Benjy at the age he was in the
story. He loved ice cream before he had even experienced it, both in
sight and taste. It was a mental picture he had created in his brain of
everything that was perfect in life. "Ice Cream! The very words
conveyed to him the sound in his life that he had always wanted, always
longed for, but could not give a name to. He had never tasted ice cream.

He had learned of ice cream from his sister who had tried it at the annual
Harvest Festival Sale. She described it to him as the best dream he ever
had. Once she told him this, he knew he had to have it. He waited two
years in anticipation for the day to come that he could taste it at the
Harvest Festival Sale. When the day finally arrived, he was
overwhelmed with excitement. Throughout the wait of the day, Benjy
goes through multiple occasions of emotional outbreaks while waiting
for his Dad to purchase the ice cream for fear of loss that he will never
get the chance to experience his most excellent dream. It was not till the
end of the day, when the sale was almost over, that Benjy actually got
the chance to have ice cream.

In spite of all his misconceptions he does get ice cream. His father had to
buy it for him and he did not get around to it until the sale was almost
over that night. This was due to the fact that he was busy observing his
wife to ensure that she was not proving his assumption of her cheating
on him correct. When Benjy receives the ice cream from his Dad he is
taken aghast be it and just marvels at the aurora that surrounds it. He
finally is holding his most treasured thought in life. Before Benjy has the
chance to taste the ice cream it is flung from his hand as his father runs
towards his mother dragging Benjy behind. The father has spotted the
mother talking to another man, while poor Benjy is distraught by the fact
that his ice cream is gone

Theme: loss/desire
The Boy Who Loved Ice Cream. by Olive Senior. In this particular story
it is the loss of an object which a young boy named Benjy cared for.
This object was ice cream. Although one would think that this object
should not hold such a great connotation in the child's life, it was the
world to Benjy at the age he was in the story. He loved ice cream before
he had even experienced it, both in sight and taste. It was a mental
picture he had created in his brain of everything that was perfect in life.
"Ice Cream! The very words conveyed to him the sound in his life that
he had always wanted, always longed for, but could not give a name to.
He had never tasted ice cream. He had learned of ice cream from his
sister who had tried it at the annual Harvest Festival Sale. She described
it to him as the best dream he ever had. Once she told him this he knew
he had to have it. He waited two years in anticipation for the day to
come that he could taste it at the Harvest Festival Sale. When the day
finally arrived he was overwhelmed with excitement. Throughout the
wait of the day, Benjy goes through multiple occasions of emotional
outbreaks while waiting for his Dad to purchase the ice cream for fear of
loss that he will never get the chance to experience his most excellent
dream. It was not till the end of the day, when the sale was almost over,
that Benjy actually got the chance to have ice cream. In spite of all his
misconceptions he does get ice cream. His father had to buy it for him
and he did not get around to it until the sale was almost over that night.
This was due to the fact that he was busy observing his wife to ensure
that she was not proving his assumption of her cheating on him correct.
When Benjy receives the ice cream from his Dad he is taken aghast be it
and just marvels at the aurora that surrounds it. He finally is holding his
most treasured thought in life. Before Benjy has the chance to taste the
ice cream it is flung from his hand as his father runs towards his mother
dragging Benjy behind. The father has spotted the mother talking to
another man, while poor Benjy is distraught by the fact that his ice
cream is gone. "Mama isn't laughing anymore and why is everyone
rushing about and why he has only this little tip of come in his hand and
there is no ice cream and he cannot understand why the sky which just a
minute ago was pink and mauve just like the ice cream is now
swimming in his vision like one swollen blanket of rain. He has lost the
opportunity to try something he has always wanted.
Characters: Benjy papa mama Elsa
Setting: The story occurs in the small town of Springville in rural
Jamaica.