Wednesday, April 13, 2011

SHORT STORIES FORM 4 : FRUITCAKE SPECIALS - Literary Analysis



SYNOPSIS


The Fruitcake Special is the  story if the effects of a perfume on men. It was accidentally created by Anna, a chemist. When Mr Amos gets a whiff of the perfume he feels he is in love with Anna and so invites her out for dinner. He does not behave like a man in love and Anna is surprised and upset. When she wears the Fruitcake perfume again, Mr Amos and a waiter become enticed and both make declarations of love to her. The situation become chaotic when a fight ensues between two men.

THEMES
  • Illusion vs Reality
  • Be realistic in life
  • Appearances can be misleading
MORAL VALUES

  • We should not be taken in flattery.
  • We must not be too proud of our looks.
  • We must not belittle other people.
PLOT

  • EXPOSITION – Anna creates a Fruitcake perfume and dabs on it. Mr Amos becomes intoxicated with her when he gets a whiff of it. Anna is very surprise with this sudden interest.
  • CONFLICT – During dinner, Mr Amos is not as attentive as he was in the morning. Anna dabs on the Fruitcake perfume in the ladies room.
  • CLIMAX – Mr Amos becomes enamoured and makes declarations of love to her. A waiter also makes love declarations to her. A fight starts between Mr Amos, the waiter and Sabrina, Mr Amos’ girlfriend. Anna realises it is the effects of the fruitcake perfume.
  • FALLING ACTION – Anna wants to find the ‘special something’ in the fruitcake but is unable to.
  • RESOLUTION – Anna resigns from Amos Cosmetics and she settles for the pizza delivery man, Armstrong, who has his own pizza company.
CHARACTERS

  • Main characters
  1. Anna, the narrator
  2. David Amos, owner of Amos Cosmetics
  • Minor characters
  1. Narrator’s mother
  2. Narrator’s Aunt Mimi
  3. Waiter at restaurant
  4. Sabina, David Amos’ girlfriend
  5. Armstrong, the pizza delivery man
POINT OF VIEW

  • First person point of view
TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

  • Light-hearted and humorous
  • Comedic and entertaining
LANGUAGE AND STYLE

  • Simple and easy to understand the language

2 comments: