Brian Franklin's 'QUAKA-HADJA'

1155 Words3 Pages

We are all guilty of trying to impress our friends, family, and peers in exchange for their appreciation and approval. Brian Franklin, the author of “QUAKA-HADJA,” elicits this theme in his short story.Throughout the entire novel the protagonist, Lia, is yearning for the attention and appreciation of her father and a centipede. Lia continuously questions her ability to complete tasks as well as compares her skills and physical appearance to magazines. Lia struggles to appreciate and accept herself, therefore she seeks self-gratification through the validation of others. Lia’s insecurities about her physical appearance cause her to seek approval from her father. The first few lines of the short story illustrate this by showing Lia obsessing …show more content…

In Lia’s case, her appearance did not attract the appreciation she was yearning for. Regardless of her attempt to replicate the models, her father did not seem to notice her efforts. In Fact, he ignored her altogether. Lia, still seeking for her father's approval, attempts to grab his attention by making him something to eat. Lia’s father does not approve of her using the stove and warns her several times to stay clear of it “Keep from the oil and fire, you hear me!” When she would ask him why he would reply with “Still half a women.” Attempting to negate her father's conjecture she decides to cook him “hot food” which according to the magazines, are far better than the cold meals she is used to preparing him. In her defense, she believes that if she cooks her father a nice hot meal, then he would appreciate her effort and applaud her for her skills in the kitchen. Unfortunately, because Lia was not accustomed to using the stove she ended up burning herself. This obstacle, however, did not discourage Lia from finishing the hot meal for her father. She was determined to cook something “...bigger, more filling, tastier. Something he couldn't resist” that she was willing to harm herself in the process. Even after all Lias effort, her father continues to ignore her. This causes her to question her worth. Why wasn’t she worthy of the love and appreciation of her father is that she did all that he wanted her to do. Lia places the blame on herself and decides that “she needed to look prettier, that was all. Her arms were to fat. The dark knots in her brown skin unsightly. He’d always say so. None of the women in the magazines had these things.” Lias self-esteem was already low from the beginning of the short story. She did not feel as beautiful and notable as the models in the magazines. Her father ignoring her, and neglecting her efforts re-enforces her feelings of incompetence.

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