59 pages • 1 hour read
The Teller of Small Fortunes
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Symbols & Motifs
Food and Baked Goods
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism and emotional abuse.
Throughout The Teller of Small Fortunes, food—particularly Kina’s baked goods—functions as a potent motif that embodies community, comfort, and value that belies surface appearances. Kina’s pastries are first introduced as “rather misshapen-looking tarts” (47), yet they taste delicious despite their unappealing appearance. This dichotomy between appearance and substance echoes Tao’s own journey to recognize her worth beyond others’ perceptions.
Food serves as a vehicle for connection, transforming strangers into companions. In pivotal moments—from their first encounters to their most difficult decisions—the characters gather around meals that facilitate bonding and mutual care. When the group celebrates Tao’s recovery in Margrave, Kina presents her with “a gloriously golden-brown mess of pastry dripping with icing” (276). On seeing it, Tao “burst[s] into great, uncontrollable sobs, holding the precious cinnamon bun away from her face” (276). This cinnamon bun is not just food but tangible evidence of their friendship, and this prompts Tao’s emotional release
Kina’s fortune cookies represent her personal transformation through creative innovation. By combining Tao’s fortune-telling tradition with her own baking skills, she creates something uniquely valuable: “A tiny little fortune in a cookie” (134-35).
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