"Star Food"
By: Ethan Canin
Interpretive Questions
1.) Why does Dade spend so much time on the roof of the store?
Dade cleans the star and is avoiding work. He is avoiding the responsibilities he has. Also, Dade is daydreaming on what he wants while looking at the buildings, cars, etc. For example, "On the other hand, if I spent Saturday afternoon on the roof of my parents' grocery store staring up at the clouds instead of counting cracker cartons in the stockroom, my father took me to the back to talk about work and discipline, and my mother told me later to keep looking for things that no one else saw." (Page 129)
2.) Why does Dade try to confuse his father by looking at the clouds when his father speaks to him about his future?
It looks like Dade is making a decision by looking at the clouds. Also, Dade is avoiding the question. He doesn't know the answer to the question. For example, "'You're going to end up on one of those curbs,' my father told me. Usually I stared farther into the clouds when he said something like that." (Page 131)
3.) Why does Dade think that the discovery of what he wants will come to him when he is on the roof?
Dade thinks that the stars and the universe will give him answers. The title of the story is "Star Food". That is the title of the grocery store. Also, it implies that the stars are prompting him to think about his future. The stars are giving him food for his thoughts. For example, "The air around me was as cool as water, the lighted swimming pools like pieces of the daytime sky. An important moment seemed to be rushing up. 'Tell me what I want,' I said again.
4.) Why does Dade finally tell his mother, “I’m not sure what my dreams are,…And I’m never going to discover anything”? (p. 147)
Dade is kind of losing hope in himself. He is spending all this time going to the roof and looking at the stars, which was his mother's suggestion. But, he realizes that he is not going to do something awesome when he grows up. For example, "'All I've ever done on the roof is look at the clouds.'"
5.) Why does Dade feel “alone in the world” at the end of the story? (p. 150)
Dade feels alone because he feels he has to please his mom and his dad and also himself. This feeling makes him feel alone. For example, "I felt alone in the world, in the way that makes me aware of sound and temperature." (Page 150)
6.) Why does Dade let the woman go after they go into the stockroom?
Dade lets the woman go because he doesn't know what to say. He had finally convinced himself to bring the shoplifter to justice. But, he sort of panics and doesn't know what to say. Dade just lets her go from there. For example, "Still we didn't say anything to each other. We kept walking beneath the pale violet of the lamps, and after a few more blocks I just stopped at one corner. She went on, crossed the street, and I lost sight of her." (Page 149)
7.) Why does Dade feel that the woman who is shoplifting knows something about him?
Dade pities the woman because he understands that she is not stealing to be cruel and for fun, she is stealing for survival. There is an unspoken trust and unspoken bond in between the two. For example, "She went right to the standup display of cut-price, nearly expired breads and crackers, where she took a loaf of rye from the shelf. Then she turned and looked me in the eye. We were looking into each other's eyes when she walked out the front door." (Pages 134-135)
8.) After he sees the air force jets, why does Dade decide that he wants the woman to be caught?
Maybe, the jets symbolize justice. Dade takes the jets as a sign to take action. That action is to catch the woman. For example, "I stood there while they turned again behind me and lifted back toward the hills, trailing threads of vapor, and by the time their booms subsided I knew I wanted the woman to be caught. I had see a sign." (Page 146)
9.) Why does Dade feel “strong and good” when he catches the woman but then feel “flushed…with remorse”? (p. 148)
Dade is having a moral dilemna. His moral dilemna is doing the right thing and the wrong thing. The right thing is to catch the woman, and the wrong thing is to let her go. He is questioning himself if he should follow Dad and call the police or follow Mom and let the woman go. For example, "When I thought of this and the woman I was sad. It seemed you never really know another person." (Page 150)
10.) Why does Dade walk with the woman after he lets her go?
Dade walks with the woman after he lets her go because he just wants answers and information from the woman. Dade wants to get to know about the woman and her story. For example, "We walked fast and stayed behind cars, and when we had gone a distance I turned and looked back....It seemed we would be capable of a great communication now, but as we walked I realized I didn't know what to say to her." (Page 149)
Dade cleans the star and is avoiding work. He is avoiding the responsibilities he has. Also, Dade is daydreaming on what he wants while looking at the buildings, cars, etc. For example, "On the other hand, if I spent Saturday afternoon on the roof of my parents' grocery store staring up at the clouds instead of counting cracker cartons in the stockroom, my father took me to the back to talk about work and discipline, and my mother told me later to keep looking for things that no one else saw." (Page 129)
2.) Why does Dade try to confuse his father by looking at the clouds when his father speaks to him about his future?
It looks like Dade is making a decision by looking at the clouds. Also, Dade is avoiding the question. He doesn't know the answer to the question. For example, "'You're going to end up on one of those curbs,' my father told me. Usually I stared farther into the clouds when he said something like that." (Page 131)
3.) Why does Dade think that the discovery of what he wants will come to him when he is on the roof?
Dade thinks that the stars and the universe will give him answers. The title of the story is "Star Food". That is the title of the grocery store. Also, it implies that the stars are prompting him to think about his future. The stars are giving him food for his thoughts. For example, "The air around me was as cool as water, the lighted swimming pools like pieces of the daytime sky. An important moment seemed to be rushing up. 'Tell me what I want,' I said again.
4.) Why does Dade finally tell his mother, “I’m not sure what my dreams are,…And I’m never going to discover anything”? (p. 147)
Dade is kind of losing hope in himself. He is spending all this time going to the roof and looking at the stars, which was his mother's suggestion. But, he realizes that he is not going to do something awesome when he grows up. For example, "'All I've ever done on the roof is look at the clouds.'"
5.) Why does Dade feel “alone in the world” at the end of the story? (p. 150)
Dade feels alone because he feels he has to please his mom and his dad and also himself. This feeling makes him feel alone. For example, "I felt alone in the world, in the way that makes me aware of sound and temperature." (Page 150)
6.) Why does Dade let the woman go after they go into the stockroom?
Dade lets the woman go because he doesn't know what to say. He had finally convinced himself to bring the shoplifter to justice. But, he sort of panics and doesn't know what to say. Dade just lets her go from there. For example, "Still we didn't say anything to each other. We kept walking beneath the pale violet of the lamps, and after a few more blocks I just stopped at one corner. She went on, crossed the street, and I lost sight of her." (Page 149)
7.) Why does Dade feel that the woman who is shoplifting knows something about him?
Dade pities the woman because he understands that she is not stealing to be cruel and for fun, she is stealing for survival. There is an unspoken trust and unspoken bond in between the two. For example, "She went right to the standup display of cut-price, nearly expired breads and crackers, where she took a loaf of rye from the shelf. Then she turned and looked me in the eye. We were looking into each other's eyes when she walked out the front door." (Pages 134-135)
8.) After he sees the air force jets, why does Dade decide that he wants the woman to be caught?
Maybe, the jets symbolize justice. Dade takes the jets as a sign to take action. That action is to catch the woman. For example, "I stood there while they turned again behind me and lifted back toward the hills, trailing threads of vapor, and by the time their booms subsided I knew I wanted the woman to be caught. I had see a sign." (Page 146)
9.) Why does Dade feel “strong and good” when he catches the woman but then feel “flushed…with remorse”? (p. 148)
Dade is having a moral dilemna. His moral dilemna is doing the right thing and the wrong thing. The right thing is to catch the woman, and the wrong thing is to let her go. He is questioning himself if he should follow Dad and call the police or follow Mom and let the woman go. For example, "When I thought of this and the woman I was sad. It seemed you never really know another person." (Page 150)
10.) Why does Dade walk with the woman after he lets her go?
Dade walks with the woman after he lets her go because he just wants answers and information from the woman. Dade wants to get to know about the woman and her story. For example, "We walked fast and stayed behind cars, and when we had gone a distance I turned and looked back....It seemed we would be capable of a great communication now, but as we walked I realized I didn't know what to say to her." (Page 149)
Vocabulary In Context
1.) Appease (p. 134)
Quote: "To appease my father I cleaned the electric star, and though he often came outside to sweep, he stopped telling me to come down." (Page 134)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): satisfy someone by performing their requests; to make someone happy
Synonym: please
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): To appease my mother, I cleaned my room.
2.) Competence (p. 137)
Quote: "For years my father had been trying to teach me competence and industry." (Page 137)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): to be able to do something successfully
Synonym: ability
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Competence can be important in life.
3.) Retrospect (p. 148)
Quote: "I was standing in front of the counter, hands in my pockets, my mother's eyes watering over, the guard looking out the window at a couple of girls, everything revolving around the point of calm that, in retrospect, precedes surprises." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): looking back
Synonym: hindsight
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): In retrospect, I should've ordered a hamburger instead of the hot dog I ordered.
4.) Precedes (p. 148)
Quote: "I was standing in front of the counter, hands in my pockets, my mother's eyes watering over, the guard looking out the window at a couple of girls, everything revolving around the point of calm that, in retrospect, precedes surprises." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): come before in time
Synonym: anticipates
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): The weather forecaster on television precedes that the weather tomorrow in Los Angeles will be warm and sunny.
5.) Remorse (p. 148)
Quote: "This flushed me with remorse." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): guilt
Synonym: regret
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): I felt remorse for breaking the glass vase in my neighbor's house.
Quote: "To appease my father I cleaned the electric star, and though he often came outside to sweep, he stopped telling me to come down." (Page 134)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): satisfy someone by performing their requests; to make someone happy
Synonym: please
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): To appease my mother, I cleaned my room.
2.) Competence (p. 137)
Quote: "For years my father had been trying to teach me competence and industry." (Page 137)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): to be able to do something successfully
Synonym: ability
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Competence can be important in life.
3.) Retrospect (p. 148)
Quote: "I was standing in front of the counter, hands in my pockets, my mother's eyes watering over, the guard looking out the window at a couple of girls, everything revolving around the point of calm that, in retrospect, precedes surprises." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): looking back
Synonym: hindsight
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): In retrospect, I should've ordered a hamburger instead of the hot dog I ordered.
4.) Precedes (p. 148)
Quote: "I was standing in front of the counter, hands in my pockets, my mother's eyes watering over, the guard looking out the window at a couple of girls, everything revolving around the point of calm that, in retrospect, precedes surprises." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): come before in time
Synonym: anticipates
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): The weather forecaster on television precedes that the weather tomorrow in Los Angeles will be warm and sunny.
5.) Remorse (p. 148)
Quote: "This flushed me with remorse." (Page 148)
Definition (based on context/in your own words): guilt
Synonym: regret
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): I felt remorse for breaking the glass vase in my neighbor's house.
Thinking Map
Examples of when Dade is doing something to please himself:
1. Dade pleases himself by going up to the roof and staring at the stars in the sky. For example, "I spent Saturday afternoons on the roof of my parents' grocery store staring up at the clouds instead of counting cracker cartons in the stockroom." (Page 129) 2. Dade pleases himself by letting the woman, the shoplifter of his parents' grocery store "Starfood", go. For example, "We kept walking beneath the pale violet of the lamps, and after a few more blocks I just stopped at one corner. She went on, crossed the street, and I lost sight of her." (Page 149) He feels like he is not pressured anymore. He feels good about letting the woman go. 3. Dade pleases himself by avoiding work by going up on the roof and staring at the stars and cleans the electric star of the grocery store. For example, "To appease my father I cleaned the electric star, and though he often came outside to sweep, he stopped telling me to come down." (Page 134) 4. Dade pleases himself by not letting him feel guilty about the woman. By doing that, he lets go of the woman. For example, "When I thought of this and the woman I was sad. It seemed you could never really know another person." (Page 150) 5. Dade pleases himself by going to play broom hockey instead of going to school when he was a child. For example, "As a child, if i played broom hockey instead of going to school, my mother wept and my father took me outside later to find out how many goals I had scored." (Page 129) |
Examples of when Dade is doing something to please others:
1. Dade pleases his mother by staying on the roof and looking for a discovery. For example, "in the afternoons I went upstairs and watched. The sky was a changing thing, I found out. It was more than blue sheet. Twirling with pollen and sunlight, it began to transform itself." (Page 132) 2. Dade pleases his father by working in the store. For example, "Since I was nine I had been squeeze-drying mops before returning them to the closet, double-counting change, sweeping under the lip of the vegetable bins even if the dirt there was invisible to customers." (Page 138) 3. Dade pleases his mother when he lets the shoplifter, the woman, go. For example, "She went on, crossed the street, and I lost sight of her." (Page 149) 4. Dade pleases his father by catching the kids who stole from the grocery store. For example, "I chased them up the aisle and out the door, then to the corner and around it while ahead of me they tried to toss whatever it was–Twinkies, freeze-pops–into the sidewalk ledges." (Page 135) 5. Dade pleases the woman by letting her go and understanding her. For example, "When I thought of this and the woman I was sad. It seemed you could never really know another person." (Page 150) |