The importance of food in this essay is everywhere. The writer finds relief with in food. Although is Mom was unable to cook he cooked for his family. It was a sense of comfort. When the Mom became extremely ill the entire family came together to be by her side. Her family was there for her like they should be. Food was seen as a way of life with in there family. It was a time when everyone could come together and sit around the table and unwind. It was a time to enjoy your family's company and spend time together. I remember when I was younger and with my family at dinnertime my Mother always use to say that we have to sit around the table because it's our bonding time. Although I don't have much time anymore we still try and at least once a week sit down for dinner. When we do have dinner with one another I can feel us all coming together as a family and its really enjoyable.
All the vivid detail shows that the family not only came together as one when it was dinner time but they also praised her cooking. It's something that they all wanted in there day to day lives. When New Years Eve came in 1990 it was there final holiday together. They new that this might be the last time they spent a holiday together so the family came together and wanted to prepare some of her favorite foods. Although the mom could not eat she wanted the children to understand she appreciated the food so she told them it tasted good. She didn't want the children to see there mother, the person they praised and loved in pain. She wanted it to be hidden from reality.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI like your point that "the writer finds relief with food...It was a sense of comfort." It's insightful. I know what it's like to watch a loved one go through cancer, but I don't know what it's like to be in one's early twenties and have to watch your mother die. I imagine it is debilitating and fosters a sense of helplessness. "Relief" and "comfort" are not easy to come by while grieving, but that's just what he finds by cooking his mother's dishes and by being in her kitchen. He literally and symbolically surrounds himself with his mother.
Thanks for your insights.
Take care,
Lauren
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing the many different ways families can bond together, wether it's sitting at the kitchen table, or at a sports game, or watching a child's dance recital. The family bonds at any event that makes them happy, or where they feel love from people they respect.
Many cultures in this world connect to their families through food, it seems to be magical string tying everyone together. And even though Lee's mother knew how to cook American food, ultimately is was the Korean food that bonded them closest.
Thanks,
Carrie Mac
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I believe that this was there bonding time as well, it was the one time in the day where there family could shit down and be together. Food was always all around them and it was almost like an outlet for them, they knew that it was always going to bring them together at the end of the day, and I think that the son wanted to make sure that his mother was aware that just because she was sick and could not cook any longer that he was going to make sure that they were still going to gather at the end of the day to eat and be able to be together, I think that because of there bond and all she possible lived a little longer life, she held on to what her family gave her at the end of her live, which was reassurance that they were a tight knit family and that they stuck together no matter how sick she was.
Thanks,
Emily
Hello Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your analogy regarding family bonding time situated around the dinner table. As a child, my family would always have dinner together and talk about the day. It kept the communication open between us all and there was a sense of closeness that was shared. Later as a teenager after my older sister had moved out of the house, the dinners together with my parents ceased. This is where I believe the communication and division between my parents and I deteriorated.
I enjoyed reading your response and believe that food definitely played in comforting this family as they had to deal with watching the last days of their mother and wife pass by.
Mandy Ericson
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you position on food being a major factor to bring a family closer to each other. I also wrote about this topic and I must say that some of the greatest times with my family have been spent at the dinner table. This family made sacrifices to make the mother happy because they knew it was close to being her last meal. Families always make sacrifices for each other, and food is definitely a major factor in these situations. It is a sense of comfort and brings people together.