Simple Recipies Flashcards
Summary of the plot Short story named: Simple Recipies
The narrator reflects on a recipe that their father taught them when they were young. They call it simple, yet strugled to do it alone, the rice would come out mushy and not apetizing.
One day the father brings home a fish to eat and there’s a whole bunch of stuff here literally but it’s a bit complicated / confusing and Ms. Flinterman says that the rice is a better thing to go with
The narrator and the father are quite close and they spend a lot of time together.
The narrator and their brother are first generation Canadians, with their parents having immigrated from Malaysia. The brother resents their parents for not being ‘western’ and doing things that his friends’s families do. It is implied that he may be getting teased due to his herritage.
The brother acts out, sayng he does not want to eat the fish, and calls his father a slur. His father beats him and the narrator struggles to reconcile the anger their dad shows to the love that he gives the narrator.
The father cooks French toast as a symbol of western culture and apology, but the brother is messed up and doesn’t wanna eat.
The narrator in the current time does not really practice malaysian culture, and struggles to reconcile with her father because of his actions.
Text type
Anthology of Short stories
Format
There are two different types of breaks in the story
One that is a few lines of blank, and another that has a symbol to declare the break
Main characters’ names
Father
Mother
Brother
Genderless unnamed Protagonist
Purpose
to explore themes of childhood abuse and the effect of having two identities
Context
The flashback takes place in the 1980’s or 1990’s in Vancouver
The child is 6, the older version is an adult
Audience
First Generation immigrant Canadians / those who immigrated to Canada
Tone
melancholic, reflective, and unsure
Author and publication info
published in 2001
Written by Madeleine Thien
