The Fruitcake SpecialBy: Frank Brennan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6IR7iuae3s

Frank Brennan- The Author

THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

Frank Brennan hails from the North West of England and is a graduate of the University of Wales. He was an actor and writer in a theatre group for schools and has taught English and Drama in secondary schools both in the UK and in Singapore. He has experienced editing books of short stories and plays. He has published original short stories and plays and written literature guide books for secondary students. Currently, he is working on a new collection of short stories. His interests include music, especially jazz and roots music, and history.

The Synopsis

The Fruitcake Special is a story of how Anna, a chemist creates a potent perfume with a piece of fruitcake. The perfume has a capability to mesmerise men and make them fall in love with the wearer. When her boss , Mr. Amos, gets a whiff of the perfume, he becomes enthralled with Anna and declared his love for her. This incurs the wrath of Sabrina, Mr. Amos’s girlfriend. The perfume also casts its spell on a waiter and a hilarious situation ensues with both Mr. Amos and the waiter competing for Anna’s affection.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaeS4TVEpWE

Continue synopsis

Anna then tries to find out the secret ingredient in the fruitcake , but fails. Two days later she goes back to work. She is summoned to Mr. Amos’s office where she is humiliated by Sabrina. She is further insulted when Mr. Amos offers her monetary compensation to make up for his atrocious behaviour. In fit of rage she throws the remaining of the fruitcake perfume on Sabrina. She then resigns from her job and join a competitor. The story ends with a hint of romance blossoming between Anna and Armstrong , the pizza delivery boy, who is now the owner of his own pizza company.

Setting

The story take place over a few days. There are three main locations:• The Amos Cosmetics Factory in New Jersey – where

Anna works as a chemist. The first effects of the perfume are seen here.

• The French restaurant- where we witness the full effects of the perfume. Anna’s boss, Mr. Amos and a waiter fight after both declare their love for Anna

• Anna’s home- where Anna’s mother and Aunt Mimi pressure Anna to get married.

Plot- Exposition

• Anna accidentally invents a perfume that can make men fall in love with her. The first person to fall in love is her boss, Mr. Amos, who takes her out for dinner.

Plot- Conflict

• During dinner, Mr. Amos behaves coldly and tries to end the date early. Anna excuses herself, goes to the restroom and angrily dabs on the perfume.

Plot- Climax

• The perfume casts its spell on a waiter and on Mr. Amos once again. Both men declare their love for Anna and get into a fight. Anna runs away in embarrassment.

Plot-Falling Action

• Anna learnt from Aunt Mimi that the fruit cake was made by a strange lady who used a special ingredient. However, Anna is unable to learnt the secret ingredient as the lady passed away recently.

Plot-Resolution

• Anna returns to the office after two days only to be humiliated further by Sabrina and Mr. Amos. In a fit of rage, Anna throws the perfume on Sabrina. She then resigns from the company and join a competitor. The story ends with Armstrong, now the owner of his own pizza company, declaring his love for Anna.

Plot

Climax

Falling Action

ResolutionExposition

Con

flict

Characters

• Anna• Mr. David Amos• Sabrina• Anna’s mother• Aunt Mimi• Armstrong• The Waiter at the French Restaurant

Anna

• Resourceful and adventurous- invents potent perfume which can mesmerise men

• Modest- fells uncomfortable with the sudden attention from her boss

• Insightful- I curious to find out why she has suddenly become attractive to the opposite sex

• Realistic - is aware that she is average-looking and therefore feels unworthy of her boss’s attention

• Strong-willed- is able to withstand intimidation from Sabrina

• Modern-resists the matchmaking efforts of her mother and aunt

• Proud- does not take kindly to being offered money as compensation for her boss’s atrocious behaviour

Mr. David Amos

• Weak – allows himself to be manipulated by his girlfriend• Ungentlemanly – tries to abruptly end the dinner date because he

is no longer attracted to Anna• Unprofessional – makes inappropriate advances towards Anna at

the workplace• Cowardly – does not defend Ann when Sabrina insults and

humiliates Anna in his office• Manipulative – uses money to buy his way out of uncomfortable

situations• Shallow – likes to be surrounded by beautiful women even though

he knows that they are only interested in his looks and wealth

Sabrina

• Haughty and condescending – looks down on Anna• Domineering – controls and manipulates Mr. Amos,

undermines his authority in the office• Violent – strikes Mr. Amos when he declares his love for

Anna

Anna’s Mother

• Astute – is aware that the pizza delivery boy has a crush on Anna

• Over- enthusiastic and impulsive – starts making wedding plans the moment she hears of Anna’s date

• Caring and loving – is concerned that Anna is still unmarried

Aunt Mimi

• Meddlesome – is constantly interfering in other people’s affairs

• Caring – is concerned about trying to find a suitor for Anna

• Traditional – strongly believes that a woman should not be ambitious

• Honest – always speaks her mind• Conniving – agrees to give Anna information about the

fruitcake in exchange for gossip about Anna’s date

Armstrong

• Ambitious – is successful in setting up his own pizza company

• Gentlemanly – treats Anna with respect• Patient – waits for the right time to declare his love for

Anna

The Waiter at the French Restaurant

• Impulsive – cannot wait to declare his love to Anna and interrupts her with a phone call during dinner

• Competitive – competes with Mr. Amos

for Anna’s attention

Point of View

• The writer tells the story from the first person point of view, that is through the eyes of the main character, Anna. Anna is able to describe her own thoughts and feelings but is not privy to what the other characters are thinking and feelings.

Tone, Mood and Atmosphere

• The tone of the story is light-hearted and humorous. It creates a pleasant and enjoyable mood for the readers. The atmosphere is exciting as Anna realises the potency of the perfume. It changes to a comical situation bordering on a ridiculous when both Mr. Amos and the waiter declare their love for Anna in the presence of haughty Sabrina. The story ends on a happy not hen Anna joins a competitor and sees the possibility of starting a relationship with Armstrong.

Language and Style

• The language used is narrative and easy to understand. It is told in chronological order, starting with the discovery of the perfume, its effects on men and finally the confrontation between Anna and her boss in his office.

Themes

• It is important to trust our own instincts.• Love makes people behave in strange ways.• It is important to maintain our decorum when faced with

difficult situations.• Supernatural forces can influence people to do things

against their will.• One must be creative and unconventional when

experimenting with new things.• The norms of society can sometimes place unnecessary

pressure on people

Moral Values

• We must not be taken in by flattery and sweet talk.• We must not compromise our dignity when dealing with

difficult people/situations• We must work hard to achieve our dreams and ambition• We must not look down upon those less fortunate than

ourselves• We must not abuse our authority when dealing with

others who are lower-ranked.

Literary Divices

Imagery• ‘he’s still got his won hair’, ‘big smiles on their faces’,

‘quieter than before and looking down the floor’, ‘like a dog who has just found his bone, his eyes shone, … his face would break into two’, ‘ with a stupid look on his face’

Symbol• The perfume is a symbol as the fragrance of the perfume

is alluring and enticing and Mr. Amos is enticed by the fruitcake perfume.

Alliteration• ‘you mean so much more than trust that to me…”

Irony • It is ironical that the ‘special something’ in the fruitcake,

if taken by Anna, would mean her finding a husband ‘problems would be over’ but instead it landed her in the embarrassing situation of two men fighting over her.

PRACTICE 1Read the extract from the short story “FRUITCAKE SPECIAL” below and answer the questions that follow.

‘I dreamt that I was being awful to you, treating you as if you were just someone who worked for me. The truth is that you mean so much more than that to me …’I wondered what he meant. Was he going to raise my pay? He went on. ‘You must realise that I’m crazy about you, darling.’ He was calling me darling again. He was being serious. I have to say that at this point I was feeling very confused. Five minutes ago my boss didn’t want to be seen with me. Now he was saying he was crazy about me! What could be making him behave like this? Then, all at once, I realised it was the fruitcake special! Intrigue might smell great, but it didn’t make a girl attractive to men. But my fruitcake perfume did.

a. What does the word ‘crazy’ imply?

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b. Why was the writer confused?

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c. What is “Intrigue’ in the context of the story?

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d. Describe the behaviour of the writer’s boss and why he behaved in such a way.

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PRACTICE 2Read the extract from the short story “FRUITCAKE SPECIAL” below and answer the questions that follow.

Momma and Aunt Mini were very pleased, of course. They went off together to plan the wedding and left me to get ready for the man they hoped would be my future husband. I was beginning to wish I hadn’t told them. After all, I had no idea why my boss had behaved towards me in that way. He had never even noticed me before now. However, he had noticed the perfume I had been wearing. Lately I had been wearing a perfume called intrigue. It was made by another company and I actually preferred it to the perfumes we made. Mr. Amos did have a very good nose for perfumes. Perhaps Intrigue was so good he just couldn’t stop himself. Who knows? Anyway, I had to get ready for my evening out. Although I couldn’t explain why Mr. Amos had suddenly found me attractive, I really wanted to find out. In my own way I’m as bad as my Aunt Mimi, I guess.

a. Whose wedding is being planned? Name the bride and groom to be.

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b. Why did the writer say “wish I hadn’t told them”?

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c. Why was the writer’s plan for the night?

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d. Do you think the boss was attracted to the writer because of the perfume?

Give a reason for your answer.

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PRACTICE 3Read the extract from the short story “FRUITCAKE SPEACIAL” below and answer the questions that follow.

Momma seemed satisfied with my explanation that things had just not worked out between me and Mr. Amos, although she thought it a wasted opportunity she wanted me to have a rich husband. Still, happiness is what really counts, she said, with a note of sadness in her voice. When I finally got back to the factory there was a message left on my desk – could I see Mr. Amos as soon as I got in. As I walked towards David Amos’s office I felt like a schoolgirl who had to go to see the head teacher. I was sure that the fruitcake special would not still be working by now – after all, he had not seen me for a few days. I knocked on his door. Mr. Amos was sitting behind his big desk with a large black eye.

a. Describe the ‘opportunity’ as in the context of the story?

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b. Why was the ‘opportunity’ considered as wasted?

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c. Why did the writer feel ‘like a schoolgirl who had to go to see the head teacher’?

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d. Do you think Mr. Amos was angry at the writer? Give a reason.

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PRACTICE 4Read the extract from the short story “FRUITCAKE SPECIAL” below and answer the questions that follow.

‘Momma,’ I said, ‘if it’s Aunt Mimi with news of another “perfect boy” for me, tell her I’m not interested.’ ‘It’s not Aunt Mimi, dear,’ said Momma.‘Who is it?’ I asked. ‘I think you’d better come see for yourself ’ Momma said.I went to the front door. It was Armstrong, the pizza delivery man. He was holding up a pizza box which had ‘Armstrong’s Peachy Pizzas’ in big letters on the front.Armstrong now owned the pizza company. He explained that he’d fallen in love with me when he first delivered pizza to us, but he wanted to be a success before asking me out. He said I deserved no less. Then he gave me some flowers. I never really noticed before, but Armstrong is quite good looking: a bit short maybe, a little thin on top –but nobody’s perfect.

a. State one characteristic of a ‘perfect boy” in Aunt Mimi’s opinion.

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b. What is the name of Armstrong’s company?

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c. What does Armstrong mean when he said “ … deserved no less’?

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d. Would you marry someone like Armstrong? Give a reason.

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Answers

Practice 1

a. not normalb. confused at how the feelings of her boss towards her changes abruptly.c. Name of the perfume.d. The boss took a liking of her when he was not interested at all a little while ago. Perhaps it is the work of the perfume.

Practice 2a. Mr Amos and Annab. She is actually not interested in Mr Amos.c. She wants to find out why Mr Amos was attracted to her.d. Any logical answer.Practice 3a. an opportunity to marry a rich manb. the marriage did not take placec. She did not know how to answer or react to Mr Amos who is her boss.d. No, he was not. He was not aware of what had actually happened.

Practice 4a. wealthyb. ‘Armstrong’s Peachy Pizzas’c. She is a fine person and she should get someone who is capable of looking after her and care for her financially.d. Any logical answer.

With love always…

Yours, Po Po Tun

Hope you enjoy reading the short story, “The Fruitcake Special”.