“The Boucherie” is a short story by Stephanie Soileau published on StoryQuarterly. Stephanie Soileau is a professor at Stanford University and has written numerous short stories. She is also a Truman Capote Fellow in the Wallace Stegner Fellowship Program. He is currently working on a novel called "Terre Bonne" set in his hometown of Louisiana. The title of the story "The Boucherie" has French roots in the Cajun resident of the author's hometown in Louisiana. The word Boucherie has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. The first meaning is a shop where meat is sold [butcher's shop], it also means the killing of animals for food, another meaning is a celebration characterized by the consumption of large quantities of food. The story revolves around a man [who considers himself the butcher of the community], immigrants from Sudan and a cow who they believe [they mostly tell themselves] is a blessing from God. The author adequately uses conflict, plot and the order of the story to define the meaning of boucherie as the plot of the story slowly develops. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The author uses conflict in the story to bring out the definition of boucherie. There is conflict throughout the story from the first character introduced to the reader; Dela. Dela is Alvin's wife and one of their children is Slug. Slug had contracted a facial infection from surgery to remove a melanoma; the infection had ravaged his face, forcing him to hide at home (Soileau, 2005). As the story progresses it becomes apparent that Slug's house was just a few steps away from his parents' house. Although contact between the two had been shaky at best, and it is at this point that conflict emerges. Dela wants to visit her sick son, but for some reason she hasn't done so for a long time. The author uses this conflict to create suspense about Slug's character, the reader really wants to find out Slug's nature or appearance which makes not even his mother come to visit him. Another conflict in the story is between Khalid and the reality of the new culture they have moved into. Throughout the story we see instances where Khalid tries to adapt to the new culture but his roots take him back. An example of this is when Alvin brings them rabbit meat, Khalid is eager to take the meat but his mother forbids him (Soileau, 2005). We later learn that the Nasraddin are Muslims and Islam prohibits the consumption of any animal without hooves, the hooves should be split. Another example is when teenagers eat eggs in their home, due to recent terrorist attacks teenagers hate Arabs and Indian Muslims have a resemblance to Arabs (Soileau, 2005). Khalid cannot hope to make friends with the local teenagers as his heritage makes him "the enemy". The author uses the conflict as foreshadowing of how the cow will be slaughtered. The author exploits conflicts to bring out the meaning of the boucherie as a celebration; a party is necessary for Dela to finally see his son and for the Nasraddin to integrate into the society in which they live. The stages of the plot act as a road map that guides the reader to understanding the boucherie. In the second paragraph the reader encounters the first crisis; in the accident of a truck carrying cows for slaughter, the surviving cows run away in fear into the surrounding neighborhood (Soileau, 2005). This crisis sets the stage for the subsequent chain of events that lead to the slaughter of a cow. The next crisis we see is the infection that hitsSlug after melanoma removal (Soileau, 2005); this is the crisis that creates the conflict in Dela as described above. Another crisis is when the men try to take the cow away from Fatima's yard but she finds them and assumes that they intend to.inform the police at some point (Soileau, 2005). This crisis is used to enlighten the reader about Fatima's character. Until that crisis the reader cannot say for sure whether Fatima is guarded and detached or open and friendly and just waiting for the opportunity to bond with people. After letting them take the cow and volunteering her son to help move it and slaughter it, the reader can tell that it is the latter. A crisis occurs when a police officer stops after seeing the gathering outside Alvin's house (Soileau, 2005). The reader waiting for the slaughter of the cow and the presence of the policeman is very tense. However, the policeman is immediately confronted by the grandmother; this shows the unity of purpose that the neighbors have for the boucherie [both feasting and slaughter]. The climax is reached when Alvin and Khalid slit the cow's throat. The slaughter is carried out by two people together; this is a symbolism directed at the two meanings of boucherie: together [feast] and massacre. The author chose the order and sequence of the story to slowly build an understanding of the boucherie in the reader's mind. Exposition can be loosely defined as building the foundation of the story; the characters, the setting and the conflicts. In the first paragraphs, when Slag calls his parents, Alvin is dozing in front of the TV while watching the six o'clock news (Soileau, 2005). This scene sets the stage for the story; through the news the reader is informed of the accident and the escaped cows. A cow discovered in a person's yard would be hard to stomach if the reader was unaware of the incident. In this scene the reader is also introduced to Dela, Alvin, and Slug. Next the reader encounters a paragraph explaining why Alvin is not a carpenter, hence the need for Claude to be a skilled carpenter (Soileau, 2005). The topic of carpentry does not seem to serve any purpose other than to introduce Claude into the story and to inform the reader that Alvin is a butcher. In the entire story there is no situation that actively requires the skills of a carpenter making the paragraph irrelevant for any purpose other than introducing a character and developing the main character. Claude's introduction leads to the introduction of the Nasraddins as the Indian family living next to Slaug (Soileau, 2005). It seems that Claude is just a gateway to introducing the Nasraddin into the story; hence the obscure reference to carpentry. The exposition introduces all the main characters and the reader is also informed about their background and profession. After the characters are introduced, the story quickly develops to the point where the cow is in the garage ready to be slaughtered. However, in the middle there is a flashback where someone is smashing the windows of various houses; the reader later learns that the person is Khalid (Soileau, 2005). This flashback seems out of place and irrelevant as the reason for it is not explained and the consequences are unknown to the reader. The author, however, seems to have positioned the flashback to symbolize the frustration that Khalid feels because he has to kill the cow but doesn't want to. The boucherie's meat will be eaten by the neighbors, so he believes they are responsible for his predicament. The author skillfully uses literary elements to define the meaning of boucherie for the reader. The story is well crafted and very fun to read. Boucherie from..