Look at a Teacup
Look at a Teacup
Summary
The essay, Look at a
Teacup was written by an American writer, Patricia Hampl. In this essay the
writer reflects on the history of her mother Looking at the Teacup given to her
by her mother.
The teacup described in this essay was
first bought by the writer's mother in 1939 when the second World War began
principally between allies and Axis powers. It was also the year when the
writers mother got married with an American-Czech. The teacup was produced in
Czechoslovakia and the writer's mother had bought it as a memory from her
homeland and had given to the writer as a Souvenir. There are images of flowers
printed on the inside wall of the teacup. The flowers are of different types and
colors. They seem to be falling into the bottom from different heights and look
as if they have been caught by camera. In the morning tea, they turn into
violet color. There are blue flowers and green leaves above the tea level.
There is also golden circle round the edge, in the middle and at the bottom.
There is also golden circle round the edge in the saucer because of repeated
use they have been blurred and look like the replica of memory itself.
The teacup reminds the writer of her
mother and many events related to her. She remembers the romantic relationship
between her father and mother. She remembers her mother telling her that family
is more important for a girl than work. She also remembers her mother telling
her about her early school days when she had been asked to write an essay on
the importance of Hitler for Germany. The reference of Hitler reminds her of
the second world war and its devastating consequences. Then she says that many
things fell that year referring to the destruction of human lives, wild lives,
physical infrastructures and traditional values. She also says that the second
World War destroyed virtually everything except the teacup. Though small in
size, it reflects many aspects of Czechoslovakia in particular and that of Europe
in general.
The writer finds many differences between
older generation and newer generation and she thinks that the second World War
is responsible for the differences. The writer's mother is representative of
older generation was quite optimistic towards future. She gave importance to
family and bought what she needed only after her marriage. She regarded
marriage a holy union of two souls and waited for it to have physical
relationship. In contrast, the writer is quite pessimistic. She is buying whatever
she needs before her marriage. She regarded marriage as a tragedy and could not
wait for marriage to have physical relationship.
The writer also talks about mother
daughter relationship. She means to say that a mother has to play three different
roles with her daughter i.e as a mother, teacher and then eliminate friend. A
mother does not only give birth to her daughter she also teaches her family
values and helps her to overcome gender specific problems. Finally, the writer
talks about the importance of the goods like the teacup. She says that hand overring
the goods like the teacup. She says that hand overring the goods like the
teacup to the younger generation helps to keep the history alive. By giving the
teacup to the writer, her mother wanted her to carry on the traditional values.
She wanted her daughter to get married, have children and give importance to
family. But the writer accepted only the teacup because she did not want to
carry on the stale traditional values as her faith on them had already devastated
by the second world war.
Questions
1.
Explain "The Cup is a detail, a small uncharred finger from the mid-century bonfire."
The Tea cup described in the essay, 'Look at a Teacup' was bought by the
writer's mother in 1939 and was given to the writer as a Souvenir. The mid-century
bonfire i.e the second World War destroyed the lives of 55 million people,
similar number of livestock's, physical infrastructures and traditional values.
Metaphorically, it destroyed the whole hand but luckily a small finger i.e the
teacup remind uncharred by the bonfire. Though small in size, the teacup
reflects many aspect of Czechoslovakia in particular and that of Europe in
general. For. Eg It reflects the political social, economic and cultural aspect
of Czechoslovakia. If this small finger was also destroyed along with the whole
hand, we would never know about all these details. So, the teacup is a detail,
a small unburned finger saved from the destructive fire of the second World
War.
2. What do you mean by "Many things
fell that year"?
The statement "Many things fell that year" refers to the
devastation of human lives. Wild lives and physical infrastructures along with
the degeneration of traditional values that took place in the year 1939. When
the second World War started between Allies power and Axis power, bombs fell
onto innocent people. The girls who were going to meet their lovers with
flowers in their hands with devastated with shell. The newly married girls fell
onto their beds paired with their husbands. The soldiers fell onto their death
beds in the battlefield. The war engulfed the lives of 55 million people and
similar number of livestock's. When the people saw one human killing another
human mercilessly, they no longer believed on humanity and brotherhood. When
the newly married girls were separated from their husbands, permanently, they
no longer believed on marriage. As a result, the faith of people on humanity
brotherhood, marriage, God and traditional values was shattered. Thus, the
images of the flowers falling into the teacup, symbolize all those things that
were devastated and degenerated in the year 1939.
3. What is the relationship among
falling flowers and teacups, falling bodies and beds, and the falling of bombs
on to women and falling countries?
This essay has been written by one of the renowned American writer's of
the 21st century Patricia Hampl. She has mostly written about her
community and the issues of women. So, she seems to be a feminist writer. She
has mainly focused her attention on the teacup that was given to her by her
mother. The cup was bought in 1939. The year of her mother marriage. They
contained memories of her mother.
The writer has tried
to establish a relationship among so many factors. First of all she shows how
falling flowers and teacup was related with each other. According to the
description of teacup, there were different colored flowers on the inner wall
of cups. Whenever tea was poured into the cup, the reflection of those colored
flowers could be seen on the surface of the tea. It looked as if the flowers
were floating on the tea. The writer relates the falling of flowers with the
fall of bodies killed in the war. The cup was also bought during the war which
confirms the relationship between the falling flowers and the teacup.
Secondly, the
writer refers to the falling bodies and beds. The 2nd WW begun in
1939, had caused a huge and wide spread devastation. Millions of people were
killed whereas property worth trillions and trillions was destroyed. On the
other hand so many women had got married during the war and their bodies had
fallen on beds. The writer relates both these references with destruction and
loss.
Finally, the essay depicts the
falling of bombs onto women and falling countries. She talks about the falling
of bombshells onto women only which confirms her feminist ideology. She talks
about the women only also because of her belief that innocent women were never
involved in the war, neither they looked for it. So, many women were killed
which suggests to the fall of countries as well. The killing of women means
that there would be very few children born in future. The killing of women also
suggests the decline of a country. However, the writer tends to suggest that so
many countries were losing the lives of their citizens and property as well.
Thus, we see that
Patricia Hampl has tried to establish a relationship among falling flowers and
teacup, falling bodies and beds and the falling of bombs on to women and
falling countries.
4. Discovering meaning of this essay
depends on discovering a thread of associations. Discuss.
The essay rather complicates in its
structure. The writer begins her essay by mentioning the year 1939 i.e one end
of the thread. As we keep on reading the essay we find that many events related
to the 1939 were mentioned here in essay like the writer's mother marriage that
took place in 1939. The writer's mother bought a teacup in 1939. The writer
remembers her mother seeing teacups. Her mother used to talk about the Hitler
and his importance in second World War. She also talks about the devastation;
destruction fell in that year. As the teacup is the small uncharred finger from
the mid-century bonfire. It also tells the difference between the older and
younger generation. There is a thread in the essay that is connected to 1939.
In order to understand the essay we have to develop or know the threads related
to essay.
5. How does Hampl see herself and her
mother connected by the teacup?
The teacup was given by the writer's mother as
a Souvenir to the writer. So naturally when the writer sees the teacup she is
reminded of her mother are brought into the mind of writer by the teacup. The
teacup is the bridge to make a connection with the older and new generation. It
symbolizes the difference between before and after the second world war. Tea
cup is the legacy that was inherited from the older generation. So the teacup
is the medium through which the writer's mother wants to transfer the
traditional values which was important in her time. But the writer feels only
connected to the mother by teacup, no any kind of connection to the traditional
values and faith. It is not only the writer connected to the teacup the whole
generation after the second world war are connected to the teacup. It gives the
information about the topics related to the second world war.
6.
How can writing sharpen an image that is only dimly recalled?
Success in any business enterprises, comes through regular practice so
the case of writing. Writing requires a lot of meditation and reflection on the
past events. But once the past events are translated in the concrete form of
writing then they become permanent no one can change it. As we reflect more an
event or circumstances that event gradually becomes more cleaner likes as in
the beginning of the essay the writer says that the flowers of the teacup
replica of memory itself. But when she goes on writing she gradually remembers
all those events happened in the year.
7.
What does this essay/story tell us about marriage? About mother-daughter
relationship? About the importance of family/ About women?
The essay "Look at a Teacup' presents two different prospective
about marriage. The people before second world war regarded marriage as most
important event of their life. The regard marriage as a holy union of male and
female. After the marriage both couple can have conjugal life happy and
peaceful. Particularly women want to buy all the thing that they need after the
marriage and have the physical relation after marriage. But the generation
after second generation regarded as a tragedy. They thought that the marriage
as the end of the life or end of the happiness because many young girls become
widow because their husband died in the war during fight. Their life long
pleasure ended with the marriage. Neither they can marry again nor start their
life again. So they started buying the things they needed before marriage and
started to have physical relation before marriage. In this way, this essay
presents two prospective about marriage.
The story or essay print out
three different roles of mother, she has to give birth to the child, feed her
children, look after them. So, first she had to carry the motherly duty. Mother
should also play a role of teacher. As it is said that family is the first
school of life so as mother is the first teacher. The traditional values,
thoughts and cultures can only be taught by the mother not by the school or any
institute. Thirdly a mother should play the role of intimate friend. It is the
only mother who had passed already from the same stage of daughter so she can
easily understand the gender related problems. So a mother has a very close
relation with her daughter.
Again the essay presents
two different prospective towards family. People before second world war gives
more importance than their career and work to the family. If a girl is married
to the secured family or concerned family then the fortune of the girl would
secure. This is the thought of people before second world war. They so thought that the primary duty of a girls
to love her family. Women get happier only when family gets happy. But after the
second world war the concept change. Girls started to remain unmarried and
doesn’t gave importance to their family but to the work and their career. They
thought that if there will be no marriage then there will be no family, no kind
of burden to them.
This essay present two different
figures of women. The women before second world war used to get married,
sacrifice their happiness for their family, when they have some time they used
to smoke and talk with their friends. They don’t understand the work of art.
But the women after the second world war they give more importance to their
career and work not to the marriage and family. They were not satisfied with
the old thoughts, traditional values so they start a new prospective in their
life and became a independent women.
8. What does the story tell us about
being a woman?
Being a woman before 1939 was totally
different from the women after 1939. Before second world war being a woman is
meant getting married, bearing children, raising children, sacrifice their
happiness for the shake of their family. The women were enclosed inside the
four walls of the room. After 1939 being a woman meant being unmarried,
creating a kind of new identify of their own. Developing awareness towards the
health and conditions. They stand on their feet, become independent, live like
a legend and don’t sacrifice all the pleasure for others who don’t think you
anything. Enjoying all personal pleasure of life.
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