Project Mulberry – Chapter Notes Chapter 1 Julia Song is a seventh grade girl who lives with her mother, father, and seven-year-old brother, Kenny. They are a Korean American family, but Julia does not like the traditional Korean dish, Kimchee. Besides the flavor, it has a strong odor, and in the past, Julia’s friends insisted upon playing outdoors to avoid the smell. When her family moved to Plainfield, she met Patrick; he loved the taste and smell of Kimchee. They became fast friends and decided to join the Wiggle (Work-Grow-Give-Live) Club and do a project together.
Tan feels ashamed of herself and her family. She was also so ashamed of looking Chinese that she wished she had a “slim American nose”. Robert, her crush, was over for dinner and Tan was even more embarrassed of the way her family celebrated Christmas because they didn't eat the traditional American dinner. Another embarrassing moment was when her father belched after dinner to show his gratitude towards her mother for cooking. Angelou’s story is about pride.
We have become accustomed to a standard of perfection with how our food looks and tastes that we do not stop for a moment and think of where it comes from, its natural origin. It is to the point where a mere speck of dirt on a vegetable can evoke a sense of disgust from the consumer. In his essay, David Suzuki notes how, collectively, “We have become so used to clean food presented in plastic packages that we no longer think about where it comes from” (308). This jab at first world dependence paints a picture of the way we consume and perceive aesthetics in food, as well as the disconnected relationship between man and nature; “we are no longer of the land” (309). The food we consume is a gift from the Earth, a memento of the precious connection between the natural world around us that is often forgotten.
My family eats out only once or twice a week and the other days we eat home cooked meals. Parents are to blame for childhood obesity because they have the means to teach their children but choose not to because they believe someone else will teach them. It is not the lack of a nutritional guide or large portion sizes at cheap prices it is the irresponsibility of parents that is the cause. If you do not teach your kids who
I asked my mother why it was that we were eating the same thing every night. In response she smiled at me and explained that it would only be for a short while and that that we would enjoy real home-cooked meals soon. I stopped questioning her after that. I realized after seeing my father light up at the sight of his old friend that we simply couldn’t afford home-cooked meals. My brother, mother, and I had just arrived at the States from the Philippines and my father hadn’t found a job yet that could support all of us.
The thoughts of his friends degrading him for eating “Asian” food for lunch dwelled in his subconscious for months, or perhaps even years. Pedro’s solution was simple: get rid of the traditional Asian food and eat whatever everyone else eats, which was Lunchables. He simply wanted to fit in and not be teased anymore. He felt utter humiliation, so refraining himself from bringing what his mom packed him for
Scout has never seen snow before, and when she does, she is afraid. Many six-year-olds see something for the first time and are immediately scared of it. Another example of Scout’s immaturity happens on the first day of school when Scout has Walter Cunningham over for lunch. Scout explains, “Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand. He would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing” (24).
During a graduation dinner from the Hebrew Union College, insensitive lay leaders included four biblically forbidden foods (crabs, shrimp, frog legs and clams) and also mixed meat and dairy. Although the acts were allegedly done out of carelessness, not malice, Jewish traditionalists viewed the banquet as a public insult. Following the treyfa banquet, several congregations resigned from the Hebrew Union College, thus causing a formal break between reform and traditional Judaism. When the shochet told Rachel to cook and eat the Ox, the reader saw Rachel’s paradox, and empathized with the difficult decision she needed to make. Albeit Rachel finally ate the unkosher meat, Abraham’s mother’s reaction to Rachel’s actions mirrored that of the Orthodox Rabbi’s at the treyfa banquet.
Chapter 11 is a crucial point in Ruth’s life it’s about what every girl wants and searches for in life to find true love and even love from family. Ruth finds out that her family dinners are very different from others and she realizes things about her own family that she never knew. Ruth uses food to bring her and her boyfriend together(Doug) and her family more close to one another and even close to Doug and shows how different their families are from one another. Ruth starts this chapter in a state of as being lonely and highlights on the end Ruth’s college career and how her mom wants her to move home but Ruth really wants to finish graduate school but her parents refuse to pay because they don’t want her to. She gets a job to pay for
Tensions arise from the very beginning. The biggest shocker to the family was Wednesday’s apparel, after 18 years of wearing black, Wednesday appears in a bright yellow dress. Pugsley is worried that he will lose Wednesday, that would mean no more torturing. He steals a potion from his grandmother, who may not be, that will show a person’s evil nature. He plans to slip the potion into Wednesdays drink at dinner (“What If?”).