Birthday Party Essay

416 Words2 Pages
AP lit MR Rich Yibo zhao The Birthday Party Free write The first time I read this story I was lost about the development of plot. I thought it should be a happy ending when I finished reading the beginning part of this essay , however it wasn't . I didn't realize this until I read it times by times. I think "Birthday Party" reveals how unpleasant a marriage can be even more worse when spouses are lack of thought and there was some hints in the essay. The man is plain looking, almost no special exterior, except for author's hint that he has a "self-satisfied face" (Line 3)---he is pretty confident about himself, but even more importantly with where he stands as man of the family. And also author ironically reveals that it is the husband's birthday and that the wife has pulled together a "little surprise" (line 6) for him, demeaning the wife's plans by calling them little. From these two hint I started to understand why this story did not have a happy ending. The description of the next scene explores the difference between the wife's behavior and her husband's. The wife has a certain amount of youthful spirit to her---like a child, she still feels happy about planing a surprise and keeping the secret. However, it is hard for the husband to consider the "small but glossy birthday cake" (line 7) as cute or loveable. Maybe the single candle on the tiny cake is representative of the couple's romance, but instead of lighting with passion and intensity, the candle presents the husband's timid flame. In order to save the marriage's romance, the wife hired a violin-and-piano "orchestra"to play the "Happy Birthday" song, but, again, her husband fails to enjoy the moment. He disagree about his wife's efforts to ingratiate him. And people also in the restaurant give a polite and almost desperate applause, but the husband is "hotly embarrassed" (line 12)
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