Rice Cakes and Starbucks by Esther Freud

B1. In the English story Rice Cakes and Starbucks by Esther Freud, we are introduced to the Lindens a family who arrives to Los Angeles. Dan and Beth have rented a house in the hills and they are bringing three children Grace, Honey and Ben. Dan wants to pursue a career as an actor in America and therefore the whole family moves to the States. The house is okay and there is a swimming pool. The first week rain is pouring down until the day Dan has his first casting with CBS. Dan puts on his suit and wants to leave early for the meeting but Beth wants her and the children to come with him. They went to Starbucks and Dan leaves to go to the meeting with CBS. Dan tries to make a good impression on the casting woman Pammy. Afterwards he tells Beth that everything went all right but he does not believe he would ever hear from CBS again. Dan`s agent Finola calls to tell that Pammy wants to see his seven-years-old daughter Honey about a casting but Dan does not tell Beth about it.

B2. Dan worries about how he should be able to make it as an actor when he also got a family to provide for. He is mostly controlled by his superego, which you see in the way he is thinking about his family. He is unable to meet them at their level, for example when he is going to the meeting with CBS and he had left his family at Starbuck: "Dan walked twice round the block to shake all thoughts of his family off" Yet his empathy and his id tells him that he should stay passive when Beth wants the family to come with him. He finds it very difficult to combine his biggest dreams with the love to his family. He does not want the children to touch him when he got the fine suit on but when the meeting is finished he wants to play with them again.

Beth is the woman who gave up on her own dreams so that she could stand by her husband and children. We do not hear about her dreams but she seems to be too insecure to make a decision involving her own dreams and instead she fight for her husband Ben`s dream. She makes the decision to move to Los Angeles because she feels guilty for holding Dan back with strings and expectations about their family especially after having three children. She lives in a dream world not able to face up to reality when she thinks that moving to Los Angeles is solving their problems. I get the feeling that she is very weak-willed and just want to please. But at the same time she shows that she got a mind of her own when she says that she wants to get out of the house.

B3 I think that Dan`s chooses to ignore the fact that his daughter has a opportunity to be a film star because he is afraid of failing. He is the one who is supposed to get a role not his seven-year-old daughter. But he forgets that the superego is not just an imitation of the parents, it is also influenced by other authorities, for instance mass media, friends, teachers and public figures such as pop-stars. The importance of the variety in role models is shown by the way it affects our ability to make our own opinions. Therefore I think he should give his daughter this chance or at least discuss it with Beth before he turn down an opportunity like that.

B4. We are supposed to be a chameleon and perform on many different stages, so we need cooperation from the people we love to form our own meaning of life. Some of the key words are respect and insight if you want to be able to have a family while you are pursuing your dreams. But what is the meaning with dreams if it is on your family's expense? I think that if someone needs to spend most of their time pursuing their dreams they should think about the price of it, and ask the question is it worth it? We choose to have children but the children does not choose

to be born we have to face our responsibility as a role model and be aware of the consequences if there is somebody missing in the upbringing. I do not believe you have to be a film star to face this problem many families where both parents is working a full time job is force to make compromises between their career and family.