18 pages • 36 minutes read
My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop
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Symbols & Motifs
Water
Throughout “My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop,” water represents both aspects of the uncle’s culture. A malleable substance that takes on multiple forms—all of which are present in the poem—water conveys both the commonalities and differences between people and countries. As steam rising from the coffee cup in the first line, to the water glass full of ice, to the “iceless region” (Line 11) from which her uncle hailed from, water links all parts of the poem. Notably, the uncle crossed
Necessary for human life and survival, water also underscores Nye’s plea for a more empathetic, human understanding of all peoples, and emphasizes the absurdity of violence. After the uncle dies in the final stanza of the poem, the speaker describes “driving his parched streets” (Line 41), suggesting that his senseless death has drained not only his life, but that of the place she lives. The repercussions of this violence reach far, even across the “roaring ocean” (Line 15)
The Coffee Shop Booth
In the second stanza, Nye writes, “My uncle slid into his booth” (Line 8), subtly alluding to the uncle’s sense of habit, and his feeling of belonging, or ownership, for the booth in which he always sits. Like the comfort he gets from being “known personally by Barbara” (Line 2), the booth represents the safety and security he feels upon finding and developing a ritual.
Later, Nye describes other habits, like the white shirt he wore “every day of his life” (Line 14), suggesting that in a country where so much is initially hard to grasp or know, embodying these kinds of routines can provide structure and comfort. While he feels this sensation in his own booth, his eyes still “roamed the couples at other booths, / their loose banter and casual clothes” (Line 25-26). Even while experiencing the small comforts of his favorite coffee shop booth, he continues to feel distant and separate from those in the other booths—likely American-born patrons who do not struggle in the same ways he does.
The Television Full of Lies
In the third stanza, Nye writes that the uncle “raised his hand against the roaring ocean / and the television full of lies” (Lines 15-16). She expands the poem from the specific, human experience of the uncle, and begins to encompass more overarching concepts of the immigrant experience and conflict between nations. Presenting the television as “full of lies” (Line 16), she conveys the inadequacy of the contemporary American media to portray human experience, particularly that of immigrants. The uncle understands this and experiences the whiplash from going between his own understanding of his country and people and the media portrayal: “He shook his head back and forth / from one country to the other” (Lines 17-18). The television represents all forms of media—from news and reporting to cultural representations—and Nye condemns them all as not just inadequate, but dishonest. “My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop” is an effort to counteract this influence, which is all that many Americans even see or hear of immigrants.
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By Naomi Shihab Nye
