The poem “The Bean Eaters” by Gwendolyn Brooks is a reflection on aging, simplicity, and the enduring love shared by an elderly couple. The poem portrays an old pair who lead a modest and routine life. They have a simple dinner with plain chip ware on creaking wood and tin flatware. Despite their age, they continue to dress and maintain their daily routines. The couple’s small rented back room is described as cluttered with various items, such as beads, receipts, dolls, tobacco crumbs, and fringes. This imagery suggests a lifetime of accumulated memories and possessions.
“And remembering …
Remembering, with twinkling’s and twinges,
As they lean over the beans
in their rented back room
that is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,
tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes” (Brooks, 1)
The couple’s reminiscing over the beans and the objects in their room suggests a lifetime of experiences and cherished moments. The presence of various items in their rented back room, such as beads, receipts, dolls, tobacco crumbs, vases, and fringes, hints at a rich history and accumulated memories. The act of leaning over the beans triggers a sense of nostalgia, allowing the couple to reflect on their past and the significance of these objects. Overall, the poem emphasizes the role of memory and nostalgia in connecting the couple to their personal history and the meaningful moments they have shared.
Both “The Four Yorkshiremen” (video) sketch by Monty Python and the poem “The Bean Eaters” by Gwendolyn Brooks touch upon the theme of nostalgia and how people reflect on their past experiences. In “The Four Yorkshiremen,” (video) the older men engage in humorous one-upmanship, exaggerating the hardships of their childhoods. This comedic portrayal reflects a common phenomenon where individuals fondly reminisce about challenging times from their past.
Similarly, in “The Bean Eaters,” the elderly couple’s actions of remembering and the cluttered back room filled with objects display a sense of nostalgia. The poem suggests that reminiscing over simple moments and personal possessions connects the couple to their personal history and cherished memories. Both the sketch and the poem highlight the tendency for individuals to view their past through a nostalgic lens, often romanticizing or finding positive aspects in difficult experiences.
Such a heartbreaking poem. I definitely believe that the couple’s room full of items is a reflection of their interiority. As the speaker suggests, they are good people, but all they have left are their memories which are not necessarily good because they have been affected by poverty and hardship. Since they are also African Americans they have been exposed to racism and discrimination. However, they have one another to keep going and hold on to the positive aspects as you mentioned.
i like this
In both the sketch and the poem, the theme of nostalgia reveals our innate tendency to reflect on the past and derive meaning from personal experiences. Whether through humor or introspection, nostalgia allows us to revisit familiar routines and compare how the world used to be versus how it is now. For instance, I remember a time when the internet didn’t exist, and I had to physically pick up an encyclopedia to access information about the world. I would eagerly wait for the next volume to be updated every six months to a year. While the convenience of the internet has made information readily available, trying to pass on those skills to my child feels futile since everything is just a Google search away. It’s not about whether one era was better than the other, but rather about the simplicity and understanding that the past represented. It was a time when we could appreciate the simple things and navigate through life with ease. We gain fresh insights from our observations, encounters, and perceptions of the past, and this information shapes how we perceive the future. This is why older generations often have strong opinions about the state of the country, as they have a deeper understanding rooted in their past experiences, while younger generations bring new perspectives, slang, and manners into the conversation. The interplay between nostalgia and our evolving world continues to shape our perception of time and influences our perspectives on the way things should be.
I agree with you that it does give a sense of nostalgia because they are remembering things and going back in time. When I read the line of this poem, to me the tone feels simple. Everything feels normal. The “beads and receipts and dolls and clothes, tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes’ ‘ are quotidian and universal. They are time traveling through these random everyday objects. One day we’ll grow old and look back at things just like the old couple in this poem.
I agree that the poem is about nostalgia. I find it interesting that they mostly eat beans but are surrounded by many things that they’ve kept for nostalgia. I imagine a plate of beans which is simplistic and boring, but when you look around like a grandparent’s house, you see things that tell stories; it’s almost chaotic but enamoring.
An insightful look at this poem “The Bean Eaters” within this blog post.I like your investigation to the topics of maturing, straightforwardness and getting through affection portrayed in the sonnet. Youve best described features the couple’s unassuming way of life and their proceeded schedules despite their advanced age. The cluttered back room filled with various items symbolizes a lifetime’s worth of memories and experiences. The couple is connected to their past due to the act of reminiscing over beans and the presence of personal possessions. This blog also parallels the sketch “The Four Yorkshiremen” from Monty Python, emphasizing the universal tendency to reflect on the past nostalgically. The entry is well-written, providing thoughtful analysis and connecting the two works meaningfully. Great Job!!!
By drawing parallels between the sketch and the poem, your work effectively explores the theme of nostalgia and how individuals reflect on their past experiences. It emphasizes the tendency to view the past through a nostalgic lens, finding value and significance in even the simplest or most challenging moments. This comparison enhances the understanding of the emotional and reflective aspects present in both works.
You offer a perceptive analysis, demonstrating how both “The Bean Eaters” and the “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch touch upon the theme of nostalgia and the ways in which people reflect on their past experiences.
Good Job!
The way you tied this post to the larger theme of nostalgia and the media you tied in reminded me of the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once”. After seeing each other in thousands of alternate universes in so many different forms from glamorous movie lives to literally having hot dogs for hands, one of the main characters says something along the lines of “a lifetime of doing laundry with you would have been enough”. Your post made me think of the couple in the poem reminding me of the couple in that movie, even down to the way their apartment was. Although it is often viewed in a sad light, I think there is something positive to be said about the love and memories that can be shared between two people.
I agree with your analysis of the poem, the effects of nostalgia are not to be underestimated at all. In the case of the couple, their good memories together seem to outweigh the bad, but this poem also makes me think of how nostalgia can act as a poison, making us regretful, yearning for what could have been, and what will never be.
Thank you for your informational post. As I reread the poem I completely understand your analysis. As one gets older we start to hold on to little things that hold lasting and our dearest memories. This poem highlights the importance of long-lasting relationships and how we live after a successful career or retirement.
The Power of Reminiscing: I enjoy your interpretation of The Bean Eaters, it’s beautiful to know that items hold life-long memories.As I reread the poem I completely understand your analysis. As one gets older we start to hold on to little things that hold lasting and our dearest memories.
The power of inanimate objects is under-appreciated until one is older of age or someone passes away. I like the mention of tobacco crumbs and how something so insignificant can have cherished moments, it’s how and with who the item is used that can change the meaning.
I love how you tied together the essence of reminiscing in your writing. It reminds me of stuff and things that I refuse to throw away because attached to them is a memory that I’m afraid that if I throw it away, it’ll disappear without a lighthouse to lead the ship of my mind to that memory. And I have the feeling that as times go on I’ll accumulate more and more of those memories and those things because otherwise I worry I’ll have little no memory of those moments, and that scares me.