Generalitat de Catalunya
Departament d’Ensenyament
Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes
“The Fruit Cage” by Julian Barnes
Student worksheet
Read the extract from “The Fruit Cage” in The Lemon Table (2004) by Julian Barnes and
consider the activities after the text:
“My mother was the organizer. Though my father spent his life making sure that the borough ran
smoothly, when he closed the front door he submitted to another’s system of control. My mother
bought his clothes, arranged their social life, oversaw our schooling, budgeted, made decisions
about holidays. To third parties my father used to refer to his wife as ‘the Government’ or ‘higher
authority’. He would always do this with a smile. Do you want some manure for the garden, sir, prime
quality stuff, well rotted, judge for yourself, just feel a handful? ‘I’ll go and see what the Government
has to say,’ my father would reply. When I begged him to take me to an air show, or a cricket, he
would say, ‘Let’s refer this to a higher authority.’ My mother could trim the crusts from the
sandwiches without ever losing any of the filling: a sweet harmony between palm and knife. She
could have a tongue on her, which I attributed to the accumulated frustrations of housewifery; but
she was also proud of her domestic talents. When she badgered my father and he told her not to
nag, she would reply, ‘Men only used the word nag when it’s something they don’t want to do.’ Most
days they gardened. Together they had built a fruit netting, and reinforced defences against birds,
squirrels, rabbits and moles. Sunken beer-traps caught the slugs. After tea they played Scrabble;
after dinner they did the crossword; then they watched the news. An orderly life.
Six years ago I noticed a large bruise on the side of my father’s head, just above the temple, by the
hairline. It was yellowing at the edges and still indigo at the centre.
‘What have you done to yourself, Dad?’ We were standing in the kitchen at the time. My mother had
opened a bottle of sherry and was tying a piece of paper towel round the neck so that it wouldn’t drip
if my father poured it less than immaculately. I used to wonder why she didn’t pour it herself and
save the paper towel.
‘He had a fall, silly old thing.’ My mother pulled the knot tight with exactly the right strength, for she,
more than anyone, knew that a paper towel will rip if tied too fiercely.
‘Are you OK, Dad?’
‘Right as rain. Ask the Government.’
Later, when my mother was washing up and the two of us were watching afternoon snooker on the
telly, I said, ‘How did you do it, Dad?’
Materials elaborats pel grup de treball Brit-lit – Departament d’Ensenyament / British Council
“The Lemon Table” by Julian Barnes . Student Worksheet
1
Generalitat de Catalunya
Departament d’Ensenyament
Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes
‘Had a fall,’ he answered, not taking his eyes from the screen. ‘Ha, knew he’d go in-off, what do
these young lads know about the game? All potting with them, isn’t it, no safety skills at all.’
After tea, my parents played Scrabble. I said I’d just watch. My mother won, as she usually did. But
something about the way my father played, sighing as if fate had dealt him letters that just couldn’t
live with one another, made me think he wasn’t trying.” (pp. 180-182)
ACTIVITIES:
1. This extract comes from a short story entitled “The Fruit Cage” by Julian Barnes.
The story has four protagonists. In the extract above, we come across three of the
protagonists; how do you imagine them, can you describe each of them briefly in your own
words? Think about age, personality and physical characteristics.
- narrator – the son:
- father:
- mother:
2. In this extract, there is some vocabulary related to the day-to-day habits of the
characters. Can you explain the following expressions in your own words trying to infer their
meaning from the context?
to run smoothly - to budget - to nag - manure for the garden to pot with something - to be right as rain
3. Re-read the definition of the “fruit cage” that the narrator provides in this passage:
“Together they had built a fruit netting, and reinforced defences against birds, squirrels,
rabbits and moles. Sunken beer-traps caught the slugs”
- What does it refer to exactly?
- Who are the ones who have created the fruit cage?
- What is the main aim of the fruit cage within the passage and the story?
4. Apart from the narrator and his parents there is a fourth character. Using the information
in the passage and from the description of the “fruit cage”, who do you think may be the
fourth protagonist? Just make a guess!
Materials elaborats pel grup de treball Brit-lit – Departament d’Ensenyament / British Council
“The Lemon Table” by Julian Barnes. Student Worksheet
2
Generalitat de Catalunya
Departament d’Ensenyament
Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes
Read the following passage from the last part of the story and decide who is the fourth
character in the story:
On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, asserting her marital right to the fourth day out of
seven, my mother visits him. She brings him grapes and the newspaper from the day before, and
when he dribbles from the left corner of his mouth, she pulls a tissue from the box at his bedside and
dabs away the spittle. If there is a note from Elsie on the table, she tears it up while he pretends not
to notice. She talks to him of their past time together, of their children and their shared memories.
When she leaves, he follows her with his eyes and says, very clearly, to anyone who will listen, “My
wife, you know. Many happy years”.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Elsie visits my father. She brings him flowers and home-made
fudge, and when he dribbles she takes from her pocket a white lace-trimmed handkerchief with the
initial E in red stitching. She wipes his face with obvious tenderness. She has taken to wearing, on
the third finger of her hand, a ring similar to the one she still wears for Jim Royce on her left hand.
She talks to my father about the future, about how he is going to get better, and the life they will then
have together. When she leaves, he follows her with his eyes and says, very clearly, to anyone who
will listen, “My wife, you know. Many happy years”. (p. 198)
5. Finally, consider the following questions:
- What is the main topic in the story?
- What is the point that the narrator tries to express through the story?
Materials elaborats pel grup de treball Brit-lit – Departament d’Ensenyament / British Council
“The Lemon Table” by Julian Barnes. Student Worksheet
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