“Birthday Party” by Katherine Brush Essay

In the Birthday Party, Katherine clangour portrays what at first glance seems to be an innocent dinner in the midst of a merrily married couple however, when viewed closer is obviously a dinner gone wrong. Her use of metaphor, along with other literary devices, garter show how things arent always as they seem. The story starts off in a happy, light-hearted manner, describing a charming married couple. The detail of the round, self-satisfied await of the man and the fadingly pretty woman help describe their attitudes and mannerisms. The self-satisfied scene of the man gives off an impression of arrogance, which makes the reader dislike him. The woman on the other hand, pulls the reader in. Her great hat a metaphor for her big heart. The first paragraph is also where Brush introduces the growing contrast between big and short(p), which is carried on throughout the story. The lowly narrow restaurant in which the unmistakably married couple dined at conveys just how simple the hear was suppose to be by emphasizing how dwarfish it was.Brush refers to the well-read atmosphere when she describes that the couple sat opposite of us, which makes the reader feel as if he/she were also in the narrow restaurant about to regard the scene unfold. The word little is repeated again when Brush depicts the little wonder the wife had set up for her economise to again fulfill upon how small the gesture was. The cake is portrayed to be small provided glossy, which adds to the littleness of the surprise and how low key is was meant to be. Just a little reminder of her feelings towards her preserve. When the orchestra played happy birthday to you, the wife beamed with shy arrogance over her little surprise. The wife beaming over her little surprise is paralleled with the one pink candle burning on the cake, representing the wifes loneliness even though she is in a relationship.It is obvious that the wifes little surprise was taken out of hand when the fountain ex plains that help was needed in order to calm the husband down. This conveys how disquieted he was, and how he didnt appreciate his wifes kind, little gesture for him. The author brings the intimate elements back around when she adds that you looked at him, and you apothegm this and you thought. The repetition of you emphasizes the intimate atmosphere, making the reader feel as if she/he were experiencing this with the onlooker. Everyone around them sensed the tension and the anger felt by the husband towards his wife. Brush uses cacophony when describing thequick and kurt and unkind comment the husband make to his wife in order to show how bitter and angry the husband was.We see just how upset the wife is because, even after the bystander waited for kind of a long time before looking, she was still crying. She cries all to herself, showing the loneliness under the gay big brim of her best hat, which is happily hiding her from the terrible remarks of her selfish, rude husband. Th e intimate mood of the restaurant is curb through with the harsh diction of Brushs word alternative and the nasty remarks made by the husband. The couple that seemed so perfect in the beginning is now torn apart and weeping. The simple surprise that the wife made is ruined leaving her feel lonely even though she is in a relationship.