A Comparison Of Grape Sherbet And The Red Convertible

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Jeremy Irons, an actor known for several blockbuster movies, says “We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.” In “Grape Sherbet” the narrator struggles with the missing memory of a traditional ice cream that her face made on Memorial Day. In “Two Kinds” Jing-Mei recollects on her childhood and the quarrels she went through with her mother. Lyman, of “The Red Convertible,” thinks back to the red convertible that he shared with his brother, Henry. The connecting theme of these works is to create happy and meaningful memories with loved ones while they are still here. This is illustrated through characters losing a family member through death or separation and then regretting that they do not spend more time with them.
In “Grape Sherbet” the narrator reflects on a past Memorial Day shared with her father and wishes that she had spent more time with him. “I’ve been trying to remember the taste, but it doesn’t exist... Now I see why you bothered, father” (l 25-30). The narrator wishes they had paid more attention to the flavor of the sherbet the …show more content…

“‘Pleading Child’ was shorter was shorter and slower, ‘Perfectly Contented’ was longer but faster. And after I had played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song” (Tan 6). Throughout Jing-Mei’s childhood she was forced into many different activities so that she could become a prodigy. Jing-Mei finally gave up and refused to be a prodigy any longer. As an adult her mother gifts her the piano that she once suffered over. Jing-Mei begins to play songs that are reminiscent of her childhood. “Pleading Child” was shorter and slower, ‘Perfectly Contented” was longer but faster. And after I had played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song” (Tan

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