Summary and structure

Here, we will focus on the summary and structure of the short story “Blackberries” by Ellen Hunnicutt.

Summary

A couple is on a camping trip in the woods. The husband returns to the tent with a cap filled with blackberries and begins to wash them with great care. His wife, who has just finished reading, begins to talk about running out of milk and about a couple who went that summer to New York. The husband begins talking about cattails he found in the woods and what a good meal they would make.

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Structure

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Title

The title of the short story can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, blackberries are the fruits that are brought to the camping site by the husband and they represent the element that makes the two spouses begin a conversation. On the other hand, blackberries can be interpreted as a symbol of life;

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Beginning

The short story lacks any visible plot, so elements such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution are missing.

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Middle

The middle of the short story presents the seemingly meaningless conversation between husband and wife. At a first view, their replies indicate that the two of them ignore each other and only focus on what interests them:

“Albert and Mae went to New York,” she said. “It’s a tour. A theater tour.”
“You told me that,” he replied. “We can put these in cups. Cups will make fine berry bowls.”
“There isn’t any milk.”
“I saw cattails,” he said. “You’d think there would be too much woods for them.”

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Ending

The ending presents the wife finally beginning to eat blackberries. Unlike her husband – who eats them slowly in order to prolong their taste – she eats them greedily,...

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