Catfish in bathtub

May 18, 2011

“Catfish in the Bathtub” Response Questions

1.      How does Kingston use the five senses to create descriptive imagery? Give examples of her use of sounds, tastes, smells, sights, and feelings. Which do you believe are the most effective?

When reading this story, the description of the story was helping me imagine it in debt. The way she described the story and used the skunk and other animals to cook not only can you imagine the smell, but in the story what they had to smell.  The description gave it a real life description of what it was really like.  Examples in the story of sound is when her mother is explaining the monkey story, she took her hands away from her ears to hear the story.  When her mother was cooking they could hear the shells of the turtles hitting the pan when she was boiling them.  When the mother told them to eat, eat, eat, there was blood pudding on the table and the mother explains that if it taste good then it’s bad for you and if it tastes bad then it’s good for you.  They lived by this motto. The sights they had to see, the different animals in their house, the turtle in the pantry they would eat, the catfish in the bath tub they would eat.  Also, the skunk on the counter that her mother cut up to cook to eat.  The leftovers in the fridge that were five days old with a mass of brown stuff growing on the food, and eating old squid that is too old to eat.  They were given bags of candy to smell, but even the rubbery oder went through the candy bag and could still smell the skunk being cooked.  Also had plants that were tender and soft like flower pedals as well, they cooked these weeds and out them on their skin when they had bruises or sprains.   I believe the most effective of these senses are the smell, taste.  They had to smell it knowing wild rodents are cooked inside their house, also they had to eat it!  I believe that is probably the most effective within the story.

2.      Evaluate the use of dialogue (records of spoken words or conversation) in this essay? What effect does it have on your understanding of Kingston’s main point?

The use of the dialogue in this story is the mother explaining things to her kids.  When she is explaining the monkey story and how the rich people eat in China and they have monkey feasts.  Also when her mother talks about when things taste good, they are bad for you, and when things taste bad they are good for you.  I believe the effect this story has on Kingston’s point is the mother is cooking these animals, because she thinks they are good for them and that the rich eat monkeys.  So if she is cooking these animals she is doing the right thing, because the rich is eating monkeys so they must be good for you.  The point is, I believe she thinks she’s doing the right thing by cooking these animals and because they aren’t rich she believes must eat the leftovers and nothing should be wasted.

3.      Although other incidents or ideas are described rather briefly, Kingston devotes a full, detailed paragraph to a description of the monkey feast…why do you think she does this?

I believe she does this, because she is referring to the rich, and I believe her talking about the story and comparing it to what she is cooking for her family makes her feel like she is doing the right thing, also it gives her the chance to explain that even the rich eat monkeys and have a feast.

4.Throughout the essay, Kingston combines very realistic description (the bear’s claw, the turtles thudding against the pot, the monkey feast) with various similes and metaphors…what figures of speech (see description notes) does Kingston use in the essay?

Besides similes and metaphors I believe Kingston also uses objection description.  It focuses on the actual physical characteristics of an object such as the animals and the descriptions of the sounds and smells, rather than the person’s reactions to it.  It described more of the animals and sounds rather than focusing on the daughter for example getting sick when eating the food or smelling the smells.

5. “Catfish in the Bathtub” opens with a lengthy catalog of foods that Kingston’s mother

prepared,  yet ends with a very brief, simple statement. Why do you think she does this? How effective is this concluding strategy?

I believe it starts out strong so the reader can get a good description and know how the mother is and that she’s going to cook whatever rodent she can and that they are going to eat it and even it if five days later.  I think it starts strong to give the reader a vivid detail and ends on a short note, because the reader gets the idea that by the end of the story they would rather eat plastic then some leftovers with brown mass growing on it.

Cooking-up Ideas: W,W,W,W,W,H?

1.      Who are the cooks in your family? Do individual cooks have specialty dishes?

When we have family get-togethers my aunts are the cooks and usually the older cousins just bring a side dish.

2.      What are some of the dishes/meals they make? What are your favorites? Are there any you don’t like?

We always have some kind of meats, hamburgers hot dogs brauts, ham, turkey pulled pork ribs.  Side dishes we have relish tray chips, green beans, corn, pasta salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cheesy potatoes, macaroni, deviled eggs,  pies, cake, cookies.  We have a huge family so lots of food is always there.  My favorite is cheesy potatoes and the desserts and my least favorite is sweet potatoes

3.      When are these items served: reunions, vacations, celebrations, parties, weekends?

These are usually served when we have a family reunions, also each holiday, or just a fall or spring cook out.

4.      Where do these get-togethers take place? Does the menu change according to the host or location?

Yes, each holiday or cook out we take turns a lot are at my parents house, and then also at my aunts houses.

5.      Why are these dishes so good or important to you? What memories do associate with these meals?

When my grandparents were living we would always go to their house every Sunday after church and have fried chicken with many of the sides I mentioned  it reminds me of my family.  For example, my aunt always makes deviled eggs and sweet potatoes and one of the gets spilled before she gets it to where it needs to be, it never fails!

6.      How are these items or meals prepared? How have your family get-togethers changed over the years? Are recipes passed from one generation to the next?

We either cook them at whatever house we are at or bring them from home.  Family get-togethers have changes a lot, we are getting older and the kids are growing up with their own families now, and since my grandparents have passed we don’t eat together after church every Sunday like we used to.

ESSAY

My family is very big on my mom’s side.  We have many cousins and a lot of little cousins as well.  We don’t really have a family food tree; the only thing I can think that has been passed down is my grandma’s homemade pecan pie.  When we have family get-togethers we usually just eat a country meal we don’t really have an ethnic or cultural linage. 

Every Sunday when we grandkids were younger we would go to my grandparent’s house after church and play outside and eat lunch.  We wouldn’t have a simple lunch it would be the whole deal, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, and desserts.  This was our tradition up until my grandparents started getting sick and then passed away.  When my grandparents were still living and healthy, we would have all the holiday dinners at their house no questions about it.  They wanted the family there and they always wanted to host the get-togethers.  Every holiday we would go to their house and everyone would bring a side, and the aunts would make the big items at my grandparent’s house.  We would have mostly fried chicken, ham, or turkey.  Some of the sides consisted of mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, bakes beans, slaw, potato salad, regular green salad, sweet potatoes, relish tray to pick on before dinner was served, chips and dip, and many desserts as well.  There was always plenty and always leftovers to take home.

Times and things started changing we are getting older and my grandparents are passed away and traditions have changed.  We still get together, not every Sunday, but always for holidays. We take turns between my aunts who as the dinners for what holidays. If someone has a birthday we tend to go out to eat rather than have a cooked meal at someone’s house.  We still have get-togethers especially during the holidays.  When we do have get-togethers it is mostly around having lunch, and enjoying time together as a family.  I believe that my family has the same taste inheritance.  We always grew up around vegetables and not so much junk food and we are pretty healthy.  Now that we are growing older I believe our choices are healthier and wiser.  I believe that our tastes and choices my family makes are about the same as to what my parents and I choose.  For example, on my mom’s side they aren’t into eating salt and pepper as much as my dad’s side of the family.  That is definitely an inheritance for me; I am a salt and pepper lover.  My whole dad’s side is the same and I believe they picked this up from my grandparents and they picked it up by their parents and growing up on salt and pepper and raising your children on salt and pepper is something to easily get addicted to, especially if that is what your family is used to having.  I can remember and still do this to this day, when we get the first round of red tomatoes we would go pick them off the vine wash them off and sit on the back patio and eat them like an apple and pour salt on them.  We would also cut up a watermelon and eat it outside and pour the salt onto it.  Its habits and inheritance that we pick up from our family and they mold us to what we eat and how we eat, and what we like and dislike today.  Growing up I was always raised on vegetables and meats and eating those kinds of foods when I was younger. I grew up not being a picky eater and enjoying eating vegetables and being healthy and I believe it all started with the way my parents were raised, along with how their parents were raised.  Its passed down generation to generation and how and what you choose to eat.