The Parsley Garden

The Parsley Garden kehful Shaikh When a person has been made to feel humiliated and worthless, they will not rest until that nagging feeling in their heart has felt vengeance. This is the case in the short story The Parsley Garden written by William Saroyan. Saroyan demonstrates Al’s loss of honour through characterization and use of symbols.First, he feels as if he should walk back into the store he stole from and tell off the young man who had caught him or even try and steal the hammer again without getting caught. He then is offered money to pay for the hammer he was originally trying to steal. At last he felt he needed to take matters into his own hand and work for the hammer. Al discovers that there are many ways to find revenge, but very few leave a person truly satisfied. Throughout the story, parsley is a symbol that is alluded to often. Traditionally, this tiny green garnish represents rejuvination. Being a plant that is biennial, it also symbolizes a second chance. Al strives to rejuvinate his honour and get a second chance to show Mr.Clemmer, the owner of the shop, that he is a self-respected young man. When Al got home after his humiliation at the store, "he sat down where the Parsley itself was growing and he pulled a handful of it out and slowly ate it."(pg.3) He did this because he felt as if he needed to refresh himself of the guilt he was feeling by eating the parsley. Al gets his second chance when he goes back to the store and works there along side the fellow who had caught him the previous day. Saroyan shows us that Al has regained his honour when he is told that he can have a job there however Al refuses but he does take the hammer home with him. That evening, "Al Condraj sat on the bench he had made, and smelled the parsley garden and didn't feel humiliated anymore." (pg.5) For Al, parsley signified him being revived and relieved of the humiliation that came