Seven impossible things before breakfast, or is it six?

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver    
Chapter 9: Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast


     In Chapter Nine, "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast" in Barbara Kingsolver's novel Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (2007), Kingsolver articulates the significance of cooking to the daily life of humans  and connects it to being able to perform difficult tasks or the impossible. The chapter begins with examples expressing how Kingsolver chooses to spend her time in comparison to that of other Americans by depicting the lack of time that most spend cooking or in the kitchen in contrast to the central role that it plays not in only in her life, but in that of her family as well. Kingsolver then transitions to the need to understand food as more that just a product but also a process which leads to an anecdote about the making of cheese, an unusual occurrence in majority of households because it can been seen as more trouble than it's worth. She concludes by continuing the theme that things that are homemade, which may take more time and initially seem like a waste of time, are the ones that are better in the end. Kingsolver continues to differentiate between fast, processed foods and the affect that they have on human life specifically family interactions and food that comes from the kitchen. The audience is people that have any type of interest in organic homemade food instead of food from factories.


Vocabulary:
sublime- to elevate or exalt especially in dignity or honor
quotidian- occurring every day
legions- a very large number
symbiosis- a cooperative relationship
remuneration-payment equivalent for a service, loss, or expense


Tone:
Concerned, Sarcastic


Rhetorical Strategies:
Analogy: " But kitchens where food is cooked and eaten, those were really a good idea. We threw that baby out with the bathwater"(128).
Syntax (telegraphic) - "It really is" (129).
Rhetorical Question :"By taking the faster drive, what did we save?" (130)
Anecdote- "When I went to see Ricki, it was equal parts admiration and curiosity" (132).
Statistical Facts- "Only about 10 percent of Asian Americans can digest milk as adults..."(137).


Discussion Questions:
1. Does Kingsolver believe that homecooking will assist in solving family issues and values?
2. How does Kingsolver's use of sarcasm or satire affect the novel?
3. What could society gain and lose by switching to more organic, healthy foods?


"It's easy for any of us to claim no time for cooking; harder to look at what we're doing instead and why every bit of it is presumed more worthy" (128).

Stop Mooching ! It's Annoying.

      In Chapter five, "Molly Mooching" of the novel Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Kingsolver articulates the importance of tobacco to the South and while it may be unhealthy for the human body, it plays a significant role in the lives of farmers of that area. Kingsolver begans the chapter by providing a description of the southern dependance on the crop, leading up to the concept that many people believe that its production should be slowly eradicated, failing to realize the affect that that could potentially have on tobacco farmers. She then gives facts and examples of the pros and cons as to whether experiments attempting to rule out tobacco are effective and aren't going greatly affect the tobacco farmers. Kingsolver concludes with anecdotes that explain how her family's patience and tender care when growing vegetables that can last in cold weather. Kingsolver's purpose was to illustrate that while many southern farmers can't see past tobacco, her family is producing organic vegetables that may not seem as profitable initially but with the proper upkeep payoff eventually. Her audience is primarily adults, organic eaters, farmers, and even chefs.

Vocabulary:

• trifoliate-having three leaflets
• balmy- mild or pleasant
• commodity-an agricultural item or good that is in high demand
• indelible-can not be removed or erased
• infrastructure- the basic structure of features of a system or organization
• paradigm-a general belief of how the world works; common sense
• elicit-to evoke, generate, educe or obtain an answer or response
• morel-any of various edible mushrooms of the genus Morchella having a brownish spongelike cap

Tone:

Concerned, Ironic


Rhetorical Strategies:
Analogy- "...farmer was widely presumed synonymous with hee-haw, and tobacco was the new smallpox"(74).
Listing- "We have the Garden Road, the Woods Road, the Paw-Paw Cemetery, and the New Orchard"(72).
Anecdote- "On our farm, we could have walked the woods for the rest of our lives without finding one, because they don't grow near our roads or trails..." (78).
Syntax(telegraphic)- "Don't blink. You'll miss us"(82).
Humor- "Give me this deprivation, any old day of the week" (80).


Discussion Questions:
1. When Kingsolver refers to Old Charley's Lot is tobacco or mushrooms grown there?
2. At the end of almost every break, why does she use a humorous yet sarcastic remark?
3. How could the erradication of tobacco positively affect the nation and could it lead to people accepting organic vegetables more?


"Tobacco is slowly going extinct as a U.S. crop, and that is probably a sign of good civic sense , but it's also a cultural death when all those who grew it must pack up , go find an apartment somewhere, and work in a factory" (74).