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mint tea - Literature Notes
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Christine Craig is a Jamaican short story writer and poet who spent much of her early years in rural St. Elizabeth. She attended the University of the West Indies, where she later tutored students in English Literature. She lives in Florida.
https://www.peepaltreepress.com/authors/christine-craig |
PLOT
Florence is a retired teacher who, initially, remembers her life with her family fondly. This fondness is complicated by the arrival of Esmie Grant, a young lady who aged out of the Haven Home at eighteen years old. Esmie knocked at Florence's gate, looking for work, and was rebuffed. Florence took pity on Esmie, however, and invited her to sit on the verandah and rest. She heard the sad details of Esmie's life and called the home in order to register her disapproval of Esmie's abrupt expulsion. The matron assured her that there was nothing to be done, so, out of pity for Esmie, she offered her lodgings and food for a few days until she found work. Florence concluded, upon interacting with Esmie, that she suffered from 'Institution life' because while Esmie was neat, tidy, and dutiful, she was also uneducated and would only respond to direct questions. Esmie ended up staying with Florence, who tried to help Esmie. Florence eventually discovered that Esmie could sing, but she was unwilling to do so in public. Florence went as far as to fix her piano and practice a song with Esmie, who still refused to sing. Florence lapsed into lethargy, based on Esmie's stubbornness, and Esmie tried, several times, to pull her out of her despondency by offering her mint tea. Esmie had an accident in the kitchen, while making mint tea, and she revealed a lost memory to Florence. She recalled the night that both her parents burnt in a fire. Esmie revealed that she used to have bad dreams, implying that the memory was unclear until that day. This incident made Florence think back on her own memories about her family, and she discovered that she too had been selective in what she chose to remember.
Florence is a retired teacher who, initially, remembers her life with her family fondly. This fondness is complicated by the arrival of Esmie Grant, a young lady who aged out of the Haven Home at eighteen years old. Esmie knocked at Florence's gate, looking for work, and was rebuffed. Florence took pity on Esmie, however, and invited her to sit on the verandah and rest. She heard the sad details of Esmie's life and called the home in order to register her disapproval of Esmie's abrupt expulsion. The matron assured her that there was nothing to be done, so, out of pity for Esmie, she offered her lodgings and food for a few days until she found work. Florence concluded, upon interacting with Esmie, that she suffered from 'Institution life' because while Esmie was neat, tidy, and dutiful, she was also uneducated and would only respond to direct questions. Esmie ended up staying with Florence, who tried to help Esmie. Florence eventually discovered that Esmie could sing, but she was unwilling to do so in public. Florence went as far as to fix her piano and practice a song with Esmie, who still refused to sing. Florence lapsed into lethargy, based on Esmie's stubbornness, and Esmie tried, several times, to pull her out of her despondency by offering her mint tea. Esmie had an accident in the kitchen, while making mint tea, and she revealed a lost memory to Florence. She recalled the night that both her parents burnt in a fire. Esmie revealed that she used to have bad dreams, implying that the memory was unclear until that day. This incident made Florence think back on her own memories about her family, and she discovered that she too had been selective in what she chose to remember.
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SETTING
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CONFLICT
Both Esme and Florence are conflicted with self. Both are literally hiding from traumas in their youth, which manifests in the form of selective memory. They both deliberately forget the traumas, and when the memories re-emerge, they disrupt their present experiences.
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CHARACTERS
Florence
Esmie Grant
Florence
- A retired school teacher.
- She is a kind soul who takes in a stranger, down on her luck.
- She is also a determined individual who tries to ensure that her charge lives up to her potential.
- She is nostalgic about her past and later realizes that there were dark events that she chose to forget
Esmie Grant
- An eighteen-year-old young lady who ages out of Haven Home.
- She suffers from 'Institution life', according to Esme, because she only responded to direct questions.
- She uses mint tea as a cure-all for all things bad and uncomfortable.
- She recalled a traumatic event, her parent's death in a fire, at the end of the story.
THEMATIC TABLE
THEMES
Trauma
This story is about buried trauma. Esmie has buried the traumatic events that surrounded her parent's death, and it leaked into her life through bad dreams. Florence too has buried traumatic events in her life. The short story opens with a flashback of the perfect family heading to an event, enjoying it, and returning home. However, at the end of the short story, Florence recalls that her sister had run away with an American geologist who was studying in the hills. She admits that 'after that evening at the concert she found she had to choose her memories more carefully." (Craig, 172).
Trauma
This story is about buried trauma. Esmie has buried the traumatic events that surrounded her parent's death, and it leaked into her life through bad dreams. Florence too has buried traumatic events in her life. The short story opens with a flashback of the perfect family heading to an event, enjoying it, and returning home. However, at the end of the short story, Florence recalls that her sister had run away with an American geologist who was studying in the hills. She admits that 'after that evening at the concert she found she had to choose her memories more carefully." (Craig, 172).
TECHNIQUES
Situational Irony - Both Esmie and Florence's traumatic experiences highlight that no one is immune from having bad things happen to them. As human beings, we sometimes think that a person's station in life, retired teacher versus orphan, either excludes or precludes the type of life that one leads. So the irony lies in the fact that both women, despite their stations in life, have suffered great loss.
Situational Irony - Both Esmie and Florence's traumatic experiences highlight that no one is immune from having bad things happen to them. As human beings, we sometimes think that a person's station in life, retired teacher versus orphan, either excludes or precludes the type of life that one leads. So the irony lies in the fact that both women, despite their stations in life, have suffered great loss.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Provide evidence that the story is a flashback.
2. Why was Florence sad?
3. What interrupted Florence's musings on her verandah?
4. Why was Esme seeking a job?
5. How did Florence treat Esme? Provide evidence.
6. What were some observations that Florence made about Esme? How did Florence try to help?
7. How did Esme respond to the help that she received from Florence? Why?
8. What was Florence's fear and what did she do to stem this?
9. Why was Florence irritated with Esme, at times?
10. What was Esme's talent?
11. Why did Florence fix the piano?
12. What did Florence want Esme, and herself, want to do in church on Sunday?
13. How did Florence react to the rejection?
14. What did Esme think would help Florence to feel better?
15. What happened to Esme's parents?
16. What is Florence's trauma and what is the result of that trauma?
1. Provide evidence that the story is a flashback.
2. Why was Florence sad?
3. What interrupted Florence's musings on her verandah?
4. Why was Esme seeking a job?
5. How did Florence treat Esme? Provide evidence.
6. What were some observations that Florence made about Esme? How did Florence try to help?
7. How did Esme respond to the help that she received from Florence? Why?
8. What was Florence's fear and what did she do to stem this?
9. Why was Florence irritated with Esme, at times?
10. What was Esme's talent?
11. Why did Florence fix the piano?
12. What did Florence want Esme, and herself, want to do in church on Sunday?
13. How did Florence react to the rejection?
14. What did Esme think would help Florence to feel better?
15. What happened to Esme's parents?
16. What is Florence's trauma and what is the result of that trauma?
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Clarke, Austin C, 'Mint Tea ' in A World of Prose, edited by David Williams and Hazel Simmons-McDonald. (Harlow, Essex) Pearson Education, 2005.
https://www.peepaltreepress.com/authors/christine-craig
Clarke, Austin C, 'Mint Tea ' in A World of Prose, edited by David Williams and Hazel Simmons-McDonald. (Harlow, Essex) Pearson Education, 2005.
https://www.peepaltreepress.com/authors/christine-craig
