THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

by Frank Brennan

SYNOPSIS

The Fruitcake Special is the  story if the effects of a perfume on men. It was accidentally created by Anna, a chemist. When Mr Amos gets a whiff of the perfume he feels he is in love with Anna and so invites her out for dinner. He does not behave like a man in love and Anna is surprised and upset. When she wears the Fruitcake perfume again, Mr Amos and a waiter become enticed and both make declarations of love to her. The situation become chaotic when a fight ensues between two men.

THEMES

• Illusion vs Reality
• Be realistic in life
• Appearances can be misleading

MORAL VALUES

• We should not be taken in flattery.
• We must not be too proud of our looks.
• We must not belittle other people.

PLOT

• EXPOSITION – Anna creates a Fruitcake perfume and dabs on it. Mr Amos becomes intoxicated with her when he gets a whiff of it. Anna is very surprise with this sudden interest.
• CONFLICT – During dinner, Mr Amos is not as attentive as he was in the morning. Anna dabs on the Fruitcake perfume in the ladies room.
• CLIMAX – Mr Amos becomes enamoured and makes declarations of love to her. A waiter also makes love declarations to her. A fight starts between Mr Amos, the waiter and Sabrina, Mr Amos’ girlfriend. Anna realises it is the effects of the fruitcake perfume.
• FALLING ACTION – Anna wants to find the ‘special something’ in the fruitcake but is unable to.
• RESOLUTION – Anna resigns from Amos Cosmetics and she settles for the pizza delivery man, Armstrong, who has his own pizza company.

CHARACTERS

• Main characters

1. Anna, the narrator
2. David Amos, owner of Amos Cosmetics

• Minor characters

1. Narrator’s mother
2. Narrator’s Aunt Mimi
3. Waiter at restaurant
4. Sabina, David Amos’ girlfriend
5. Armstrong, the pizza delivery man

POINT OF VIEW

• First person point of view

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Light-hearted and humorous
• Comedic and entertaining

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand the language