'Rice Cakes and Starbucks' af Esther Freud, analyse

In the English story Rice Cakes and Starbucks by Esther Freud, we are introduced to the Lindens a family who arrives to Los Angeles. Dan and Beth have rented a house in the hills and they are bringing three children Grace, Honey and Ben. Dan wants to pursue a career as an actor in America and therefore the whole family moves to the States. The house is okay and there is a swimming pool. The first week rain is pouring down until the day Dan has his first casting with CBS. Dan puts on his suit and wants to leave early for the meeting but Beth wants her and the children to come with him. They went to Starbucks and Dan leaves to go to the meeting with CBS. Dan tries to make a good impression on the casting woman Pammy. Afterwards he tells Beth that everything went all right but he does not believe he would ever hear from CBS again. Dan`s agent Finola calls to tell that Pammy wants to see his seven-years-old daughter Honey about a casting but Dan does not tell Beth about it.

188 ord.

B2.

Dan worries about how he should be able to make it as an actor when he also got a family to provide for. He is mostly controlled by his superego, which you see in the way he is thinking about his family. He is unable to meet them at their level, for example when he is going to the meeting with CBS and he had left his family at Starbuck: “Dan walked twice round the block to shake all thoughts of his family off” Yet his empathy and his id tells him that he should stay passive when Beth wants the family to come with him. He finds it very difficult to combine his biggest dreams with the love to his family. He does not want the children to touch him when he got the fine suit on but when the meeting is finished he wants to play with them again.