Red Spoon

When I read "A Red Spoon for the Nameless," the first thing that came to mind was it's correlation with the summer reading project: "The Namesake." The author's mother reminded me of Gogol's mother and her expectations of her son. Just like Gogol's mother, the author's mother wanted him to marry as soon as possible and start a fruitful life in the traditions of his ancestry. Although the author's mother hints to him in subtle ways of her plans and expectations for him, it is obvious that she is very firm and quite demanding.

I knew the author was a homosexual as soon as he mentioned the name Stephen with such importance. The man in the story hints that Stephen is important because he is worried about something is little as Stephen finding out that his mother cuts his hair. The author is a homosexual but his preference has led him to be lonely. He misses Stephen, but he has never had the key component of happiness in his life in general. He feels like an outcast; his lifestyle is far from what his mother hoped it would be. He feels that even though his mother does not know the truth, he has been a bad son. The author truly feels that he has failed and he feels empty because he cannot be honest with his own mother about himself.

When the author brought Stephen to dinner, Stephen was given the red spoon. This spoon is symbolic of his differences; the spoon is a mark of sin more or less. Although the author's parents do not confront him as a homosexual, they surely look at Stephen in disgust and it is obvious they wonder about thier own son. At the story's conclusion, the author sees himself ending up just like the man his mother spoke of who apparently wasn't a "real" man at all. The author eats dinner with his mother at the essay's end. Considering his failure and his choices that shame his family, he feels at that point that he deserves to use the red spoon. He ends the story at a point in his life where he is unable to find a true identity for himself.

1. Is it possible that the main character's conscience is the producer of his emptyness or is it more just his inability to find the right companion?

2. Is it possible that the main character's mother cut his ear out of frustration?