Summary Of The Short Story Spilled Salt

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Summary of the Short story “Spilled Salt” The America short story “Spilled Salt”, published in 1990, is about Myrna and her son Kenny. Kenny has just been released from prison, where he was in because he raped a girl four years ago. Myrna wasn't happy about when he arrives at home, because she doesn’t want him to stay at her house after the incident. She doesn't want to lose her dear memories of the boy he once was. She loves the boy he was four years ago and not the man who's standing in front of her. They nearly lost contact in those years, but Myrna wrote letters to him. She pretended being ill, so she didn’t have to visit him. She can't handle the situation. She's afraid of the neighbours' reaction if they find out that she has a son…show more content…
This is a situation no one would wish for himself or herself. In the short story “Spilled Salt” the woman Myrna is in a situation like this. Her son Kenny did what is not to be name: He raped a girl. The protagonist Myrna is middle-age, which I can say because she has a grown-up son. When Kenny was six, she'd found the courage to leave her husband and raise her son alone because Kenny's father beat her. Myrna is the main character in the story because the reader follows her thoughts. Kenny is about 25 years old, perhaps a bit younger. He grew up with a violent father, which had a big influence on his life, and it is maybe one of reasons why he committed this awful thing. He seemed like a friendly and nice boy until he committed this crime. Myrna couldn't understand why her lovely son had done such a terrible thing. The story is told from Myrna's point of view. The reader is supposed to see that not only the victim is affected but also the family of the…show more content…
The title “Spilled Salt” is only mentioned in a short part of the text, where Kenny spilled the salt and at the place: “A woman – and now he'd come back to spill salt in her kitchen.” (p.6/ll 1-2) That refers to the European superstition that spilling salt is an evil omen. This means that Myrna thinks that her son will bring misfortune over her home. The themes in the text are the family relationship between Myrna and Kenny, crime and punishment, forgiveness or not forgiveness and violence, both Kenny is violence against the girl he raped and Kenny's father is violence against Myrna. Another big theme is religion. It plays a big role in the story because that is the point where Myra wants to find confidence. When she thinks that what Kenny did was God's will, she doesn't feel so confused and sad because in that case Myrna and Kenny wouldn't be guilty. If it wasn't the will of God and just Kenny's decision, they need to take responsibility. That's a very naive thinking, but probably the only way Myrna was able to cope with that

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