THE FRUITCAK E SPECIAL

Frank Brenna

By

THE AUTHOR - Frank Brenna

in Cambridge English Reader series : - Three Tomorrows Author of 5 collections of short stories

- Circle Games - Tales of the Supernatural - Windows of the Mind - The Fruitcake Special Wrote a collection of stories based on a particular theme exp . discovery in The Fruitcake Collection so that he can present a

TITLE A fruitcake plays an important role in the story The story evolves

around this special fruitcake & how in an instant it can change :

- Their emotion
Their reaction to others

SETTING
WORKPLACE Amos Cosmetic factory in New Jersey, USA

Place where perfumes are designed by chemistsAnna, the main character,

works here & she travels to work by bus

HOME Anna lives at home with her mother

Her Aunt Mimi is the frequent visitor to the house

THEME
TRUE LOVE SUPERFICIAL LOVE Old lady had 7 Armstrong fell in love husbands with Anna not because of the fruitcake perfume Fully rely on the Anna was patient fruitcake enough to wait & she got something priceless at the end

POINT OF VIEW
Written in the 1st person point of view because the word I is uses Readers see the action of the story through the eyes of the main character Anna

LANGUAGE
Simple Whole story written in a hilarious manner Many comic situations that can make people laugh The scene at the restaurant David declares his love for Anna, waiter sings his heart out, & during

CHARACTE RS IN THE STORY

ANNA
Works as a chemist in Amos Cosmetics factory in New Jersey USA

ANNA
Job to design new perfumes

Single & lives with her mother Her mother and Aunt Mimi is worried that she is

not getting married She knows that David Amos is not possibly in love with her nor is the

at the restaurant She recognizes that it is the result of the powerful perfume she has

DAVID AMOS Owner of

Amos Cosmetics Dark, handsome and

DAVID AMOS Often seen with

beautiful women He appears polite but actually does

DAVID AMOS think much of

his workers

Pleasant but she also likes to mind other peoples business

AUNT MIMI

Constantly trying to find a suitable partner for her niece

AUNT MIMI

She gives some fruitcake to Anna

AUNT MIMI

SABINA A beautiful young model Davids girlfriend Looks down on

SABINA
Furious when David professes his love for an ordinary and plain-looking girl

SABINA She and David offer compensation to Anna in the form of

SABINA whole incident at the French restaurant

ARMSTRON G Pizza delivery

boy Totally different than David Amos

Through effort and determination, grows from mere pizza delivery man to become the

owner of the pizza company

Wants to make a success of himself before he declares his love for

ANNAS

MOTHER Naturally
anxious that her daughter is still single

Right from the beginning she suggested that Armstrong, the pizza delivery man, would make a good

for Anna. This turned to be right, in the end

WAITER
Works in a French restaurant Adds humour and comedy to the story

by the way he behaves towards Anna when he was under the spell of the fruitcake

OLD WOMAN Used to sell fruitcakes in the market Nobody knows

much about her except for Aunt Mimi Had 7 husbands who ate her

Seems to have been able to read peoples mind Offered the cake to Aunt Mimi for her

niece Dies early in the story

SYNOPSIS
1.Anna is a chemist in the Amos Cosmetics factory. One day while designing a new perfume, she throws in a piece of fruitcake. She bottles the perfume she had made and puts a few drops on herself.

2. David Amos, gets a whiff of the perfume and complements her, something he rarely does. He invites her out on a dinner date. Anna accepts his invitation.

3. Anna goes home. Her mother and Aunt Mimi are worried that Anna is still single. Her mother mentions about Armstrong, the pizza delivery man, as a potential husband. Anna tells them about her date with her boss.

4. Anna doesnt like her boss but she wants to find out the real reason of his unusual behavior. She gets ready and puts on her usual perfume Intrigue and not the new fruitcake perfume.

5. On the way to an expensive French restaurant, David says very little to Anna. It is a great change from his charming behavior in the office earlier in the day. At the restaurant, Anna feels like he regrets coming out with her. Anna goes to the ladies room

6. Anna puts on the new fruitcake perfume. While walking back to the table, a nearby waiter , gets affected and knocks down a table. David Amos now acts as if he is madly in love with her. Anna realizes the power of the fruitcake perfume

7. Anna goes to answer a phone call in the lounge and again encounters the waiter. He declares his love for her and wants to see her again. Anna, is very amused and tells him to look to his duties as a waiter.

8. She meets Sabina, Davids current and arrogant girlfriend. David professes his love for Anna meanwhile the waiter sings a love song to her. The angry Sabrina punches David. A fight breaks out between Sabina, David, the waiter & the others. It is a chaos. After that

9. Anna visits Aunt Mimi to find out what she has put into the fruitcake. Aunt Mimi had actually bought the cake from an old woman who has 7 husbands. Unfortunately the old lady had passed away.

10. After 2 days, she sees David in his room and Sabina is with him. David has a black eye. He had calmed things down at the restaurant by paying out money. The police were not called.

11. David apologies for his unusual behaviour. Sabina says David is not interested in Anna. Irritated with this, Anna takes out the bottle of perfume and pours it on Sabinas dress. She knows that David will go crazy over her and so will the other men nearby. Anna leaves Amos Cosmetics

 12. She gets a new job at the perfume factory that makes Intrigue. Armstrong, the pizza delivery man, is now the owner of it. One day, he visits Anna and confesses that he fell in love with her at the 1st sight but wanted to wait till he had made success of himself before asking her out.
TRUE LOVE WINS THE DAY

THE PLOT ***refer to excel file**

MORAL OF STORY True love is born

from the heart Hard work always pays off.

Observation of people around us to discriminate the true from the false.

Physical looks do not guarantee true love (Always look beyond physical appearances)

Be realistic in our expectations

Be determined and work hard to achieve our dreams ( Be diligent )

Be brave to try out new things

LITERARY DEVICES SIMILES -Its like fresh bread and flowers

together (pg32) -their eyes and mouths wide open like a couple of fish (pg37)

-he looked like a dog who had just found a bone (pg41) -His words were

bad movie (pg42) - Why did everybody sound like bad movies tonight?

-Sabina said my name as if it were a dirty word (pg45)

ACTIVITIES
Discuss about character traits compare & contrast between characters exp : Anna vs Sabina David Amos vs Armstrong Match the characters with their qualities Arrange the events of the story according to the correct sequence. Write a letter for any of the characters exp : Sabina advice her to change her attitude Role-play

THANK YOU