“Birthday Party” by Katherine Brush Essay

In the Birthday Party, Katherine Brush portrays what at first glance seems to be an innocent dinner amid a happily married couple however, when viewed closer is obviously a dinner gone wrong. Her use of metaphor, along with other literary devices, help press out 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 face of the man and the fadingly charming woman help describe their attitudes and mannerisms. The self-satisfied face 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 sizable hat a metaphor for her big heart. The first paragraph is also where Brush introduces the growing contrast between big and wee, which is carried on throughout the story. The secondary narrow restaurant in which the unmistakably married couple dined at conveys just how simple the date was suppo se to be by emphasizing how little it was.Brush refers to the intimate atmosphere when she describes that the couple sat opposite of us, which makes the reader notice as if he/she were also in the narrow restaurant round to watch the scene unfold. The word little is repeated again when Brush depicts the little surprise the wife had set up for her husband to again satisfy upon how small the gesture was. The cake is portrayed to be small but glossy, which adds to the littleness of the surprise and how low key is was meant to be. Just a little monitor of her feelings towards her husband. When the orchestra played happy birthday to you, the wife beamed with shy pride over her little surprise. The wife beaming over her little surprise is paralleled with the one knock 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 author explains that help was needed in or der to calm the husband down. This conveys how mad he was, and how he didnt care for 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 saw 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 instead 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 privacy her from the terrible remarks of her selfish, rude husband. The intimate mood of the restaurant is cut throug h with the harsh diction of Brushs word choice 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 go away her feel lonely even though she is in a relationship.