#0493

[boobsperv02]

[mostbelovedwrestlertournament]

Most Beloved Wrestler Tournament

#0493

Lee Moriarty

Mark Briscoe

Voting ended onMar 11

[toastytrusty]

[kirby-the-gorb]

wibble wobble

drawn in medibang paint | [my kofi]

[mike13mt]

KTZ freight train by tzhskz

[snicketsleuth]

Hi snicketsleuth, do you think there's any chance that coffee in ATWQ represents a theme or idea? The fact that Ellington drinks it all the time, but lemony hates it?

Hi @evawalters22,

you’re absolutely right, coffee is a thinly-veiled metaphor throughout “All The Wrong Questions”.

On a simple level, it plays into the parody of Noir novels Daniel Handler likes. Most noir hard-boiled detective protagonists are alcoholics who drown their sorrow in liquor every 5 pages. But since Daniel Handler is writing a series intended for children, he replaced it with coffee, another addictive beverage. He does the same thing with molasses in “File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents”, which looks like an humorous substitute for cocaine.

“It’s different,“ you said. "You’ve made, Min, everything different for me. Everything’s like coffee you made me try, better than I ever - or the places I didn’t even know were right on the street, you know? I’m like this thing I saw when I was little, where a kid hears a noise under his bed and there’s a ladder there that’s never been there before, and he climbs down and, it’s for kids I know, but this song starts playing …” Your eyes were traveling in the treey light.[Daniel Handler, Why We Broke Up]

On another level, Lemony’s transition from drinking tea to gradually learning to like coffee also represents his passage into adulthood. His experiences in Stain’d-by-the-Sea (and most especially his relationship with Ellington) change his tastes, but also his morals and outlook on life. Learning to like coffee is basically growing to like bitterness. Lemony’s evolving into a formidable but also somber man, who doesn’t “sugar-coat” the truth. For more information about the symbolism of tea (another bitter beverage) and sugar, read my articles about the sugar bowl mystery (Link). Ellington’s preference for coffee may be a way to indicate that she’s been forced to “grow up” too fast by her circumstances.

[boobsperv02]

[hom3stuck-d41ly]

John: Make your way to the study.

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