Cinnamon Peeler And His Wife example essay topic

"I am the cinnamon peeler's wife. Smell me" (ll. 45-46). "The Cinnamon Peeler", written by Michael Ondaatje, is a story of the relationship between a cinnamon peeler and his wife. Ondaatje uses excessive imagery as to allow his readers to visualize the interactions between this husband and wife. In the first few stanzas off the poem, Ondaatje conveys to his audience the power that this said cinnamon smell can hold.

Towards the middle of the poem, the nuisance of such a fragrant smell is expressed. At the conclusion of his poem, Ondaatje shows the importance and need for the cinnamon smell to exist in this couple's relationship. "You will be known among strangers as the cinnamon peeler's wife" (ll. 17-18). The very first stanza of this poem represents the cinnamon smell the peeler carries with him wherever he goes. There is a yellow bark dust that he carries with him and leaves some on his wifes pillow (ll.

3-4). In the next stanza, the reader is introduced to the peeler's wife, no name is given and she is known strictly as the cinnamon peeler's wife. She has absorbed the fragrance of cinnamon from her husband and cannot rid herself of the scent, not even in a monsoon (l. 11). Even strangers, along with the blind, know by her smell she is the wife of the cinnamon peeler (ll. 8 & 17).

The odour of cinnamon is strong and powerful. It is difficult to lessen the smell, even in the slightest. "I could hardly glance at you before marriage, never touch you" (ll. 19-21). Before marriage to his wife, the cinnamon peeler had to be extremly cautious around her as to not allow her to absorb the smell. Her "keen-nosed mother" and "rough brothers" (l.

22), would surely smell the spice and have no doubt in their minds who it was that had been near thei daughter and sister. The peeler would attempt to disguise the scent by burying his hands in saffron or over top of smoking tar (ll. 24-25). At last, they discovered a place where they could be together and there would not be that powerful, lingering cinnamon smell. "I touched you in water and our bodies remained free, you could hold me and be blind of smell" (ll. 28-30).

The peeler's wife soon asked him if he had been doing this all along with other women, much less likely to be caught in the act of cheating when his scent could be disguised (ll. 32-33). At times, this cinnamon smell would become bothersome. "And you searched your arms for the missing perfume, and knew, what good is it to be the lime burner's daughter, left with no trace, as if not spoken to in the act of love, as if wounded without the pleasure of a scar" (ll. 37-41).

The peeler's wife enjoys their love as a marriage, represented and presented for the whole world to smell in the fragrance of cinnamon they both carry with them. Like an animal that would mark its territory, the peeler's wife carries a strong scent that shows she shares a life with that of the peeler. She appreciates the odour only for the fact that it represents the love they share. This telling of a cinnamon peeler and his wife indeed conveys the strength, the nuisance and the importance of the cinnamon scent in these two people's lives. More so, Michael Ondaatje wanted to tell more then a story about a cinnamon peeler, he wanted to tell a story of a loving relationship. He wanted to talk about the strength of love, the nuisance of love, and the importance of love.

Ondaatje wanted to show that love is not always perfect. Love is a powerful, complex emotion fully able to take on the scent of cinnamon. Smell me" (ll. 45-46).