The first area to analyze is the setting of the story. The story takes place in the state of California, specifically Los Angeles. Albert and Esene lived in a small duplex perhaps near Albert’s parents. The neighborhood …show more content…
The main character is Esene. She was thirty-five years old when she married Albert, and she was married to him for sixty-two years. Esene is a patient, quiet, honest, and a wise woman. She also plays cards and does crocheting. Albert’s sisters thinks that she is “spoiled”, because Albert’s gives her everything she want without arguing with Esene.
Another key character in the story is Albert’s character. Albert is responsible, kind, loving man, who is passionate for teaching and learning. He owns an Arabic grocery shop at the neighborhood where they live; furthermore, he is a good husband, son and …show more content…
The story start when Safiyah and Amelia comes to comfort Esene for the death of her husband Albert. They were mumbling about Safiyah’s driving, while Esene was preparing coffee. She never paid attention to his gossiping sisters; it was Albert’s advice for his beloved wife. For Albert’s family Esene was the “silent child” they described her as an “empty head”. In addition, Albert and Esene have not had children, which made Esene heartbroken. Moreover, Albert has decided to teach Esene how to write in English, so she can write Christmas and Easter cards for the family. Furthermore, Esene at first faced him with rejection because she wanted to spend more time with her friends’ playing cards and listening to the radio. Albert told Esene not to mention that he was teaching her how to write, either in front of his sisters, or in front of even his mother because he wanted it to be a surprise. While Amelia argues with her husband all day; on the other hand, Safiyah was who was rich by marriage and foolish. One day, when they were all walking on the street – Albert’s family– they got lost. When everybody was argue and murmur about which way they should go, Esene pointed at the street sign. Everyone was shocked until Albert told his family it was a surprise. After that, Esene told Albert that she wants to have a library card, in order to learn more and defend her point of view. Besides, Albert took Esene to American cooking classes.