The Role of Food in Chang-Rae Lee's "Magical Dinners"
The short story by Chang-Rae Lee is a narration where the author describes the story around his family's ordeal as immigrants. The focus is set on the reality that it is difficult to settle in a new place especially when one is not family with the culture in the new environment as it would require that one adjusts to the foreign place. Lee experiences a scenario where his mother is challenged to prepare an America meal that she is less conversant in and which causes her to be anxious about the whole idea. Overall, the element of food forms the center-stage upon which the story is described. Chang-Rae Lee's "Magical Dinners" focuses on the theme of the role of food in driving the plot by creating doubt and expressing love while still functioning as a binding construct of culture regarding social roles.
The Tension and Conflict Surrounding Food
Food primarily relates to the tension in the story because it is depicted as the central foundation upon which there is conflict. While it could be argued that the author does not outrightly identify what the focus on the story is, it is clear that that the preparation of the turkey creates the conflict upon which the main characters share their experiences. It is noted that even though the other was in a foreign land, she still desired to impress her son and she could only do it by making him good food. She realizes, however, that it would mean that she has to follow the preparation of English dishes. The author writes "Yet my mother desperately peers in at the bird, the tendrils of her hair stuck against her temples, biting her lower lip, as she does whenever she's frustrated or unsure of herself" (Lee 272). The conflict results from the apprehension that amid her desperation to make great food, there is no one to help her out because her husband is not bothers and the Churchill's had also left for a holiday. The narrator's mother thus grows weary and desperately tries to make the best dish she could. It thus underscores the fact that the food preparation process formed the source of tension.
Food as a Link in Social Dynamics
A further effect that food creates in Lee's short story is that it is designed in a way that it defines the relationship that exists between the virus characters. The social dynamic of the novel is based on the way the varied members interact with each other, and the food aspect appears to be the link between different characters. For instance, it is noted that despite the fact that Mrs. Churchill and her family were on holiday, their position is felt because Mrs. Churchill had prepared the instruction that would be used for making the dish. It is thus assumed that the Churchill were Americans because the stated dish was a foreign one to the narrator's family, and implies that the food acted as a link. Furthermore, it is clear that through the way they are behaving in food preparation setting, social dynamics regarding the roles of the different family members are outlined. The mother is responsible for the food preparation because the appears to be the most concerned about getting it ready and using it as an expression of love. The author states," It's how she shapes our days and masters us and shows us her displeasure, her weariness, her love" (Lee 275). Thus, it enables the reader to determine the way the mother and the father associate in the house because considering the distinct nature of the definition of family roles, the two parents do not assist each other in performing the house chores. Thus the food creates drama between the different characters as noted in the way the mother relates to the Churchill's and her husband in the house.
Food as Symbolism for Desires and Emotions
Furthermore, food is used to depict symbolism through describing the emotional quality of the scenes. While food is depicted in its physical nature, it appears that it is what enables the mother to develop the desire to meet her son's wishes. The author writes, "More than what he is told to do, more than what he is trained to do. Even more than what his family wants him to do. It is what he hungers for" (Lee 276). It follows that just as in the typical setting, everyone has something that they desire to achieve and in the short story, it is described in the perspective of what one hungers for to satisfy. The relevance of this observation is that it would enable the reader to apprehend the mother desire to express her desire to express her unconditional love for her son made her develop hunger. However, the hunger is more abstract in nature as opposed to that which is satisfied by food because it is implied in the context of what one desires to do. The other way of perceiving this concept is by factoring the son's hunger that develops one's he developed the desire to leave all the typical and familiar life and embrace a new lifestyle. In both cases, hunger, which is a construct of food is made to appear emotional in nature and relates by affirming the undying desire that the characters have to live their individual lives or impress hose they love.
The Significance of Food in the Story
It is clear that the role that food play in the short story is so critical that it is difficult to imagine the plot without it because the author centers all the events and happenings around it. From the title of the story, it is clear that the food is made a critical feature upon which the bearing of the scenes is established based both on the psychical and non-physical. Starting with the nature of relationships between the different characters, the foundation for the establishment of conflict, and acting as a symbolic representation of unsatisfied wishes, the idea of food becomes the turning point of Lee's narration. Overall, food appears to contribute to the theme of love and affection, unfulfilled desires, and conflict that overall enable the reader to develop the meaning of the story.
Word Count: 1011 words
Works Cited
Lee, Chang-Rae. “Magical Dinners.” The New Yorker (2011): n. pag. Print.
