Analyse af 'Rice Cakes and Starbucks' af Esther Freud

Rice Cakes and Starbucks by Esther Freud written in 2009. The genre is family and the American Dream. The story is about a family, the Linders. They’re moving to Los Angeles. Dan and Beth rend a home in the hills and bring their 3 children, Grace, Honey, and Ben. Dan want to pursue a career as an actor in America. Rain pours down for the first week until Dan's first casting with CBS. He puts on his suit and prepares to leave early for the meeting, but Beth insists on accompanying him and the children. They go to Starbucks before he leaves for his meeting. Dan wants to make a good first impression on Pammy, the casting director. He tells Beth that everything went OK, and that he doesn’t think he'll hear from CBS again. Dan's agent calls to say Pammy wants to meet his 7 year old daughter Honey for a casting, but Dan keeps it a secret from Beth.

Dan is a loving parent, but he also has a lot of self-doubt. He aspires to be a successful actor and the greatest parent he can be. He is struggling to support his family while still attempting to earn a living as an actor. At the same time his family also annoys him; ”Dan walked twice round the block to shake all thoughts of his family off”. When they decide to go to L.A, it’s because Beth pushes them in a way to do so. She's a wonderful mother and wife. She believes in her husband and willing to do anything for him. She gave up her own dreams, so that she could watch their children while Dan is trying to achieve his dream. She wants to move to L.A, because she doesn’t want her husband to blame her for holding him back. It seems like if they move to L.A, their problems will go away. Dan on the other hand is also selfish and arrogant. He is so determined to achieve his goals that his family suffers in a way because of his efforts. He doesn't seem to mind that his wife doesn't like the house, he completely ignores her and continues to talk about himself; “She didn't want an argument and they both knew she'd waver if she saw the fury in his face.”. At the end of the story, he turns from joy to being unhappy because his daughter has a big chance. He can't take her achievement, and it shows that he doesn’t care much about her. They lose the ability to think rationally and make hasty judgments without considering the consequences of their actions. The family is affected by both Dan and Beth. There’s not enough communication going through, and in the end, they’ll hurt their children.