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summary of story
“You didn’t chew it hence, if you had held it in your tongue long enough it vanished leaving an after trace that lingered and lingered like a beautiful dream.” The story of the boy who loved ice cream by Olive Senior highlights a little boy called Benji who had a crazy obsession over ice cream. He has never tasted or saw it before; he only got a vivid imagination of what it would be like by his sister Elsa. She told him he could get ice cream at an annual Harvest festival sale that he was so eager to go to in hopes of finally getting ice cream to try for the first time. His family was of a lower background so this opportunity he could not miss out on. When the day had finally arrived, Benji was super exited. After a full day of anticipation, Benji got his ice cream in the night which unfortunately fell out of his hand because of his father suspected his mother of cheating and pulled him behind when he saw her talking to another man. When the ice cream fell Benji’s day was shattered.

Throughout the novel the reader came across several terms that were reflected such as: Patriarchy, womanhood, manhood, femininity, masculinity and language. According to the Merriam Webster's dictionary defines Patriarchy as the social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence on the wives and children and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line. Womanhood can be defined as the distinguishing character or qualities of a woman while manhood refers to the state or period of being a man rather than a child. Masculinity is defined as the quality or nature of the male sex; the quality, state, or degree of being masculine or manly whereas femininity can be defined as the quality or nature of the female sex; the quality, state, or degree of being feminine or womanly. The term language refers to the words, their pronunciation and the methods of combining them used and understood by community.

Prominent Themes
The story evoked various themes that has appeal to the readers interest and making the story intriguing to read. They include: Coming of age, jealousy, poverty and desire. Mr. Seeter is Benji’s father who had the occupation of a farmer. He conveys a jealous personality as it relates to his wife. He was of the impression that she is cheating on him and denies Benji as his biological son and for this reason treats him badly.

Jealousy
The theme jealousy was evidently portrayed when the family went to the Harvest festival. Mr. Seeter kept a close eye on his wife for the entire day. While he suspected she was cheating, he saw her talking to another man which confirmed his suspicion. After seeing his wife speaking to another man, he pulled Benji with so much aggression. “Maybe is only because she seemed to him so beautiful, so womanly he had the first twinges of jealousy.”

=== Coming of age this theme stemmed out from Benji's reaction to the mishap. Benji has come to a realization with life after seeing his ice cream falling to the ground. Something that he has been waiting for, yearning and visualized. The theme coming of age was drawn out of this scene because Benji has experienced a loss for something he loved and it has changed him so much that even the surrounding felt different.

Desire
Additional to this another theme was displayed throughout the entire story was that of Desire. The character Benji had a main goal which was to taste ice cream for the first time, while his father too had a desire of his own which was to find out the man that his wife has been cheating on him with and hopes on seeing this man at the festival. The desires of the two characters were both strong and, in the end, emerged to one big finish. “Torn between hope and desire.” The family was extremely poor and had to use most of their time to try and make ends meet.

Poverty
The theme of poverty came out when the novel explains their garments and not having the best lifestyle. “His mother rubbed him down with an old cloth and put on his new clothes of which he was extremely proud, not noticing that the black serge was stitched very badly with white thread and three buttons sewed down the front.”

Patriarchy
Patriarchy examines society giving men the power over women in every aspect. Whether in the working world or in homes. This was displayed in the novel where Mr. Seeter (father) took on the responsibility of being the bread winner in the family by working and proving for his family financially. A natural feature of the society is the "deep love for children" shared by both men and women. Men will, as a matter of course "care for all the children of a woman with whom they may be living, to the best of their ability"; settle down in a stable relationship, if his circumstances allow; or send home remittances for the upkeep of his children if he is forced to find work away from them. Simey (1946). He was more reserved than the mother and would prefer a more predicted lifestyle. “She loved every opportunity to go out, (mother).” However, it was a challenge for the father, because he had to take on the responsibility of a father figure for a child ‘Benji’ who he thought was not his biological son. “Papa also said that it was his fault. But then his father blamed him for a lot of things, even when he was not to be blamed. The boy wasn’t sure why his father was sometimes so irritable towards him, and lived in a constant state of suspense over what his father’s response to him was likely to be.”

Womanhood and Manhood
most Caribbean women are naturally capable of having multiple children, thus putting them above the poverty line. According to Murdock (1949), historical events have shaped our society, there was the emergence of another family type. This was the matrifocal family, A matrifocal family structure is one where mothers head families and fathers play a less important role in the home and in bringing up children, or female-headed household which became ingrained in the very fabric of Caribbean culture. Caribbean women struggle with their children to make a living each day with or without the help of father’s being present in the home. On the other hand, some father’s take on their responsibilities and fend for their child/children. In the novel, Benji's mother, took on her role as her qualities considered her to be a natural characteristic of a woman. Caribbean representation of womanhood explains them to be the cornerstone of the family, which includes staying at home with the children providing for them emotionally. “But the minute she had come back from spending three weeks in Springville that time her mother was dying, from then on he had had the feeling that something had happened.” This evidence from the novel displays how the roles and responsibilities of a mother is taking on many tasks at hand by being a care giver, having that tender love and compassion to devote her self to her children and through her taking care of her mother. Although it is the woman who keeps the family together, it is the man who rules; if a man establishes himself as a householder, he becomes as a matter of course the possessor of arbitrary authority from the point of view of the children, the mother is dependable; the father is not. The father is feared; the mother is loved. (Schwartz Research group by Timothy T. Schwartz, PhD published on December 19,2016).

“His heart quickened as he saw her anew, not as the young girl he had from her mother’s house so many years before, not as the gentle good- natured mother of his children but as a woman he suddenly perceived as being attractive to other men.” This quote from the story shows how Mr. Seeter saw his wife as that ideal woman at some point which highlights her womanhood. She did not take a firm standing like Mr. Seeter as a parent for they saw life from different views. Murdock (1949) posited that the nuclear family type was the ideal family structure since it was able to fulfill the functions of reproduction, satisfaction, economic cooperation and socialization all necessary for the group to remain functional in society. Mr. Seeter would have imagined that he and his wife would be that of a nuclear family raising their child under the same roof. His mind might have strayed after a few gestures he saw from her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrifocal_family

Being a man means standing up for himself, family and his wife. Mr. Setter stood firmly for his family and would do anything to secure his marriage. Being a man, he took all the necessary precautions in keep his family and marriage strong. He ensures that his family has all that he could provide. Through these actions he has shown manhood. When Mr. Seeter realize that his wife went away, he started to raise some suspicion and through this it displays his manhood by noticing certain activities done by his woman. Manhood was also shown when the family was gathered at the harvest sale and Mr. Seeter (father) saw his wife talking to a handsome man wearing a purple shirt. “But the moment of softness, of sentiment, quickly passed for his attention became focused on one man in black pants and a purple shirt and wearing a grey felt hat. The man was tall, brown skinned and good looking with dark, curly hair.” He couldn’t tell why this specific man had caught his attention out of all the men attending the festival.

“Inasmuch as masculinity has to do with how men become conscious of themselves culturally, it is not merely limited to behavior’s designed to win the approval of other men. Masculinity also has much to do with men's relationships to women. There is a sense in which men in society collectively define masculinity for themselves but they are always cognizant of the way women influence the trajectory of their identity, validating it, interrogating it or rebuffing some or all aspects of its practice. In short, women help to shape the general terrain of masculinity at some level. Hence, at the level of performativity therefore, masculinity has as much to do with seeking the approval of men, as it is to do with obtaining the approval of women. Bourdieu argued very provocatively: Manliness can be seen as an eminently relational notion, constructed in front of and for other men and against femininity, in a kind of fear of the female, firstly in oneself” (2001).

Gender Theory and Language
Language has improved the contemporary beliefs of masculinity and femininity in the Caribbean region through norms and practices done by each gender. Certain phrases that were used can determine the roles being displayed in the household. This is evident where fathers would say “I am the man of the house,” signifying the firm stance he takes on in the family or being the man in house and what he demands should be adhere to by everyone. “Now see here. A bawl yu wan’ bawl? Doh mek me give yu something fe bawl fah, yuh hear me bwoy. Hm anyway a doh know if there is money for foolishness like ice cream, (mother).” In society we know how parents are strict and do not invest their money in things like they think is “Foolishness'” as the novel would put it. Both fathers and mothers in society say certain things to get across their demands and commands to their children. Language is used here to identify Benji as having a weak personality and not that of being a man. The tone in which Mr. Seeter spoke to Benji, the reader would get that he does not like the fact that Benji is literally crying for the ice-cream and not understand that a cone of ice-cream might not be as necessary because there is not enough money. Patriarchy in society places men on higher grounds than women, thus leading to uncertainty and inequality between the two sexes. The desire Benji had for a cone of ice-cream, something he had never tasted before and upon finally getting his wish, was not what he was looking forward to. The fact that Benji broke down in tears, this has proved his upbringing as a male and his manhood or masculinity overlooked because men and women are expected to have different gendered norms.

==citations==

Simey 1946 men as care givers to their children

Murdock 1949 matrifocal family

Simey 2001 masculinity