The Heart of the Artichoke by Herbert Gold
*The Heart of the Artichoke* by Herbert Gold is a coming-of-age narrative that explores the complexities of familial relationships, adolescence, and self-identity through the eyes of a young boy named Daniel. Set against the backdrop of a grocery store owned by his father, the story delves into Daniel's struggles with his father's expectations and his own feelings of inadequacy. The narrative unfolds through a series of vignettes that highlight significant moments with his father, emphasizing the themes of pride, ambition, and generational conflict.
As Daniel grapples with his budding crush on a classmate, Pattie Donahue, he finds himself caught between the carefree lives of his peers and his responsibilities at the family store. The emotional turmoil escalates as he faces the challenges of adolescence, including the desire for acceptance and the longing for independence. The story culminates in a confrontation between father and son, reflecting a profound moment of tension that disrupts their bond and leaves Daniel questioning his place in the world. Through rich imagery and poignant reflections, Gold captures the bittersweet essence of growing up and the intricate ties that bind families together.
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The Heart of the Artichoke by Herbert Gold
First published: 1951
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: Probably the mid-1930's
Locale: Unspecified, but apparently the Northeastern United States
Principal Characters:
Daniel Berman , a twelve-year-old boy, the eldest son of a working-class familyJake (Jack) , his immigrant fatherRose , his motherPattie Donahue , his well-to-do classmate
The Story
Now an adult, the narrator remembers conflicts he had with his parents, mainly his father, when he was twelve years old. The story begins with three quick vignettes of his father: striking a kitchen match with one hand to light his cigar; talking about his first job in America, selling water to men building skyscrapers; and peeling an artichoke "with both hands simultaneously . . . until with a groan that was the trumpet of all satisfaction he attained the heart." Interspersed with general anecdotes about his family, most of which involve food, the narrator reveals his adolescent crush on Pattie Donahue, a patrician classmate. As he attempts telepathically to turn Pattie's disinterest into a devotion to match his own, his parents decide that he should begin working in his father's grocery store.
Daniel envies his carefree classmates but is forced to follow his cousins' examples and spend his Saturdays working. He is embarrassed to be working while his friends play, and even more so when Pattie comes in to shop with her mother. He is also embarrassed by his father's job; he wants him to "commute instead of work, like the others." He resents his father's wanting to mold him in his own fashion: "The constant pouring of commands from a triumphant father shivered and shattered my sense for work; he wanted me by his side, proud of an eldest son, any eldest son. . . . he had been poor, he wanted me to see what he had done for himself and for us all." At the same time, he loves and admires his father tremendously; when he is invited to join his father for lunch, he is proud. Having the "Business Men's special" with Dad in a restaurant is one of the compensations; he sees choosing food as the act of a god—"only gods and businessmen don't have mothers to tell them what to eat."
A crisis does not come immediately. Some months later, Daniel enters junior high and is taking social dancing, while artichokes are coming back into season. Jake tries to interest Daniel in the store, even asking his son to write copy for a newspaper advertisement. A devotee of Edgar Allan Poe, Daniel patterns his copy after "The Raven." His efforts, however, are rejected by the shortening manufacturer who is paying half the cost of the ad. Still resentful of his duties at the store, Daniel consistently pretends to be asleep when it is time to go to work. His mother pleads for him against his father's irritation, reminding Jake that growing boys need their sleep, then chastises Daniel angrily when he finally rises.
One day, Daniel sneaks out early to see a gangster movie with his best friend. Arriving home after his parents have gone to bed, he must crawl into the house from its basement, from which he has no access to the upstairs. Filled with angst, he alternately believes that the gas stove has leaked and that his parents have died in their beds. He also envisions the basement crawling with huge Paris sewer rats and fantasizes that the water pipes will break and that he will drown. Finally, he decides that he surely will get consumption from sleeping in the damp basement before he finally curls up on a pile of dirty laundry and goes to sleep.
The next Saturday, after Daniel works diligently at the store all day, he discusses the business with his parents and enjoys having his opinion solicited on the various types of canned goods displays. He views this as a real truce but wonders if anything has been altered. Within days, the equilibrium is threatened by an opportunity to go on a field trip that is scheduled for one of the store's busiest days of the year. After hearing that Pattie Donahue is going, Daniel decides to sneak away before noon in order to join the field trip.
At first, it seems that his dreams of Pattie will be fulfilled. Seeing that he has no lunch, she shares hers with him, and afterward lets him walk her home and buy her ice cream. However, when he opens up to tell her he likes her and ask if she likes him, she replies, "Sure I like you but . . . you're just a grocery boy, you."
Daniel morosely returns home. The story concludes with the emotional conflict between Daniel and his father escalating into physical confrontation, shattering both Daniel's and his father's sense of security.