Kitchenette Building

Kitchenette Building

We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan, Grayed in, and gray. "Dream" mate, a giddy sound, not strong Like "rent", "feeding a wife", "satisfying a man". But could a dream sent up through onion fumes Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes And yesterday's garbage ripening in the hall, Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms, Even if we were willing to let it in, Had time to warm it, keep it very clean, Anticipate a message, let it begin? We wonder. But not well! not for a minute! Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now, We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it. Kitchenette Building by Gwendolyn Brooks deals with the idea or illusion of the American Dream. Brooks takes a more cynical viewpoint, arguing that the dream is "gray," and having a "giddy sound, not strong." She also compares it to the fight between onions and potatoes fried together, competing for flavor. In their competition for flavor, I think Brooks alludes to the idea of appearance versus reality. While the onions have a strong, showy flavor, the potatoes are the bland and gray reality. The next aroma she speaks of is "garbage ripening," again imagery that suggests a negative view, or rather the sad reality, of those who pursue the American Dream.