Conflicts
Individual vs. Self (Don vs. Don)
As the day before the food presentation comes to an end, Don begins to doubt himself and whether he can actually trick everyone into thinking that he has cooked fried brains. You can see this throughout the entire story. In the beginning when he first lies to Doughnut, Don is confident and has no concerns about whether he can confuse Doughnut. However, when he gets home he begins to widen his view and think about every aspect of the brains. Such as what he would use to make it and whether or not he can trick the entire class, including the teacher. I believe this conflict was incorporated into the story because it shows the insight of the narrator and what is going on in his head while he overcomes other materialistic obstacles. This conflict also builds suspense during the rising action because it has the ability to increase tension during the story (Doubt can start off small but build as the Don begins to recognize other concerns)
Individual vs. Individual (Don vs. Doughnut)
This is the very first conflict that is seen in the story. In the beginning of the story, Don meets Doughnut, and they begin discussing the foods that they are bringing the next day. After taking years of bullying, Don naively decides to tell Doughnut that he is bringing brains to school the next day. Doughnut then threatens to beat him up if he is lying to him. Later that night, Don imagines the consequences of being caught by Doughnut. This conflict contributes to the conflict of individual vs. self.
Individual vs. Non-living objects (Don vs. Supplies)
Don must gather all the supplies necessary to make fried brains. However, no brains are sold in central Wisconsin. To solve this problem, he makes the ‘brains’ with fried spaghetti, dipped in oil. Over time, Don begins to second-guess himself and wonders if he can truly trick his entire class and teacher into believing that he actually fried real brains and not spaghetti. This conflict also adds tension to the conflict of individual vs. self.
Figurative Language
“Well, she thinks you’re like a baboon!” (47)
In this simile, Carter compares Doughnut to a baboon. The comparison is intended to help readers grasp an understanding of what Doughnut is like in person. In this context, baboons are seen as annoying, ugly creatures that seem to be up to no good. This simile lets readers understand that Don insists Doughnut is an annoying bully that is no good to the world at all. Since Don says, "she," it implies that another person thinks Doughnut is a bully.
“He stared at me for a long minute, his hand slowly kneaded my shoulder.” (48)
In this dead metaphor, the action of Doughnut's hand is compared to the action of squeezing dough. The comparison is intended to help readers understand what Doughnut's hand was doing to Don's shoulder. The kneading of dough is like forcefully squeezing and pressing together to mix the dough. This metaphor lets readers know that Doughnut's hand firmly pressed Don's shoulders to the point where it felt like Doughnut was 'mixing' Don's shoulder. It also shows that Don's shoulder felt like it was slowly beginning to break apart under the tremendous pressure of Doughnut's hand.
“The metal resonated like a kettle drum…” (56)
In this simile, Carter compares the noise caused by Doughnut throwing up to the sound caused by the beating of a kettle drum. The comparison is intended to help readers recognize the intensity of the noise of throwing up. The noise of a kettle drum is loud and the sound reverberates off the walls. This simile lets readers know that the sound caused by Doughnut throwing up was very loud and that the sound vibrated against the walls, creating a stunning sound. This simile is important because it also signified the turning point in the story, or the climax.
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