Comparing Caviar 'And All Shook Up'
Katherine Meyer
English 1100 Sec. 131
November 4th, 2008
Indefinitely Infantile Infidelity
As an apparent defiance of one of the Ten Commandments, Adultery, the act of voluntary sexual involvement between a married individual and someone whom is not his or her spouse is a widely frowned upon taboo that disregards social norms. Staying true to his style and content by pushing the envelope on controversial topics such as this in his writing, T.C. Boyle frequently addresses the theme of adultery throughout many of his short stories. Reoccurring in the selections “Caviar” and “All Shook Up” adultery takes on a disturbing component of the stories as the main characters similarly get caught up in the unacceptable. With differing motives, paralleling …show more content…
Trimpie finds himself unable to reproduce with his sterile wife, Marie. Although he is not to blame for the fruitless attempts at an offspring as Boyle describes, “The bad news was that Marie’s ovaries were shot” (109) it is apparent that his own insecurities in addition to other factors brand him vulnerable and susceptible to bad judgment, such as infidelity. This vulnerability presents itself when he frequently references his lack of education and wealth throughout the story as seen here, “I was on the wrong end of the socioeconomic ladder, if you know what I mean” (106). As a surrogate mother is introduced into the picture and becomes pregnant with his natural child, Mr. Trimpie suddenly finds himself hot for the young carrier. The flustered young man expressed, “The thought of it, of my son floating around in his own little sea just behind the sweet bulge of her belly… well, it inflamed me, got me mad with lust and passion and spiritual love too” (114). This reveals that the motivation behind Mr. Trimpie’s act of adultery was not purely the result of meaningless attraction or fragile insecurity though. The feeble father consequently ends up falling in love with the biological mother of his child and is unable to restrain himself. Intercourse with Wendy, the young stand-in mother becomes a frequent occurrence for the covetous husband stigmatizing him a cheater once and for
English 1100 Sec. 131
November 4th, 2008
Indefinitely Infantile Infidelity
As an apparent defiance of one of the Ten Commandments, Adultery, the act of voluntary sexual involvement between a married individual and someone whom is not his or her spouse is a widely frowned upon taboo that disregards social norms. Staying true to his style and content by pushing the envelope on controversial topics such as this in his writing, T.C. Boyle frequently addresses the theme of adultery throughout many of his short stories. Reoccurring in the selections “Caviar” and “All Shook Up” adultery takes on a disturbing component of the stories as the main characters similarly get caught up in the unacceptable. With differing motives, paralleling …show more content…
Trimpie finds himself unable to reproduce with his sterile wife, Marie. Although he is not to blame for the fruitless attempts at an offspring as Boyle describes, “The bad news was that Marie’s ovaries were shot” (109) it is apparent that his own insecurities in addition to other factors brand him vulnerable and susceptible to bad judgment, such as infidelity. This vulnerability presents itself when he frequently references his lack of education and wealth throughout the story as seen here, “I was on the wrong end of the socioeconomic ladder, if you know what I mean” (106). As a surrogate mother is introduced into the picture and becomes pregnant with his natural child, Mr. Trimpie suddenly finds himself hot for the young carrier. The flustered young man expressed, “The thought of it, of my son floating around in his own little sea just behind the sweet bulge of her belly… well, it inflamed me, got me mad with lust and passion and spiritual love too” (114). This reveals that the motivation behind Mr. Trimpie’s act of adultery was not purely the result of meaningless attraction or fragile insecurity though. The feeble father consequently ends up falling in love with the biological mother of his child and is unable to restrain himself. Intercourse with Wendy, the young stand-in mother becomes a frequent occurrence for the covetous husband stigmatizing him a cheater once and for