The Bread Maker and the Bread Baker

Since society began, stereotypes have been created against men and women categorizing them into two different types of homemakers: the man, who makes the money to put the food on the table and the roof over their heads, and the woman who actually makes the home run by cooking the food, cleaning the house, and raising the children. As the feminist era began to ignite in American society, women found their place in the workforce and began to work side by side next to men. Now, in some cases, women took on the role of both types of homemakers. However as women began to break down societies stereotypical barriers, men remained “turkeys in the kitchen,” unable to transform into the kind of homemaker that had been previously characteristic of the woman. In his essay, “Turkeys in the Kitchen,” Dave Barry effectively acknowledges the behavior of men toward the role of women by providing relatable examples, by sharing real life experiences, and self mockery; allowing the reader to emotionally identify to his views on the stereotypes of men and women.

First Barry calls to mind the familiar scene of Thanksgiving Day. He summons to mind the typical scene of the wife “enshrouded in steam,” slaving away in the kitchen and pulling out “those repulsive organs” inside the turkey while the men can barely complete the simple task of watching their children since they are too engrossed in the football game on TV. This is a scene that most Americans have seen once or twice in their lifetime, giving a plausible example that highlights the said stereotypes. Now the reader is able to relate to the situation at hand, making the essay appeal emotionally to readers. The other thing that Barry does very effectively is put himself on a common ground with his readers, especially leveling himself with his fellow male Americans. He does this successfully by telling about his own “specialty dish,” and sharing his Thanksgiving experiences of finding it difficult to peel his eyes away from the football game to watch his children or offer help to his wife in the kitchen. Barry also makes himself seem more real by telling of the difficulty of a task that seems so trivial: cutting a turnip. He portrays himself as helpless by “rai[sing] many troubling questions” such as “which ones are the turnips?” and “do you have to wash them first?” This puts him on the level of the common people. Barry is able to mock and laugh at himself and his own mistakes which also makes him feel more human to his readers.

Barry is able to appeal to his readers emotions by admitting that he himself, an esteemed columnist and writer, is too “a turkey in the kitchen.”