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Charlie Balbastro

Mrs. Serpici

1st

11/15/2022

Mood (Paragraph): Onion and Garlic

“Onion and Garlic” by Julian Aguon is a poem that falls into the mood category, was

about the most traditional ingredient that they put on Guam’s favorite dish in the Marianas and

remembrance of the Chamorro’s delicious food that is highly represented among all our lives

with flavored meals and its culture. Fried rice is one of the most common dishes that can be

enjoyed deliciously on the island of Guam as well as other cultural appetizers that have a good

flavor among all meals like coconut milk, corned beef, and a reminder to always season it with

onion and garlic to give some extra flavor. Pertaining to this evidence, it mentions “it is little

wonder / onion and garlic / remind us / so much of / freedom,” (Aguon, lines 37-41). It indicates

that onion and garlic had always been the most ingredient to use when cooking/eating the food at

any time because it has the representation of enjoying deliciously as it adds more flavor to it.

How this could affect the analysis is when the reference of the poem is being used from what’s

occurring before and after since then as it’s reflecting more of the delicious food that we all eat

in the island of Guam, remembering for its favorite ingredient/tradition to be tendered in the

Chamorro culture. Pertaining to its ingredient, it says “I miss those days of / tang-stained /

fingers and / every kind of / fried rice,” (Aguon, lines 1-5). Finally, it shows the author was

noting that she misses those good old days of where people eat fried rice a lot for breakfast,
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buying it from the store or made by people, and giving a little memory of eating spam, rice, and

eggs together as it is reminding Chamorro cuisines for the morning.