Journal #10 A Small Good Thing Response

Although the short story ‘A Small, Good Thing’ by Raymond Carver may not revolve around food, he incorporates several ways food and nourishment can connect us to others. The story begins with a mother placing an order for a birthday cake to commemorate her son’s eighth birthday. This birthday cake is a significant symbol, representing the joy and celebration that her son creates in her life. A birthday cake is deeply integrated into our culture as a sign of happiness, reflecting a joyful time for both children and adults. Cake is something mostly everyone can relate to as being wholesome and important in a person’s childhood, as evidenced by the woman assuming that the baker ‘must have children who’s gone through this special time of cakes and birthday parties’ (Carver 204).  She assumes this because the cake is significant to her, as she takes a great deal of time to explain exactly how it should look like to the baker, and the baker allows her to ‘take her time’ (Carver 204), realizing that this was a special event for the woman. However, the cake is not important during troubling times, as the woman quickly forgets about picking up her order when the boy is taken to the hospital after being hit by a car. During this time, the parents mention often that they were having trouble eating, with Ann describing herself as feeling ‘sick to her stomach’ and that ‘she would have to make herself eat.’ (Carver 210). The lack of appetite reflects how food is mostly enjoyed when all is well in a person’s life. When something is wrong, food turns into a chore, just sustenance to get them through the day. After the child dies, the parents confront the baker who harasses them through the phone about their forgotten cake order. Although the baker has no children and tells the parents that he ‘only imagine what you must be feeling’ (Carver 217), he understands that the gift of fresh baked cinnamon rolls might make them feel better, if only for a moment. With the connection of food between them, the parents and the baker could talk together about their grief and loneliness, bonded over their common human appreciation of good food.