The Partial Explanation

In “The Partial Explanation,” the “luncheonette” (Line 3) provides an apt vessel for a poem about alienation and loneliness. Lunch counters were a business model in the 1920s as a staple of five and ten stores like Woolworth’s and Newberry’s. Designed not so much as a place to socialize as a marketing convenience, they were places for hungry shoppers to grab a sandwich and continue shopping. Menu offerings were intended to be quickly prepared, simple, and cheap. In this context, the “[g]rimy little luncheonette” (Line 3) in Simic’s poem diverges from the image of the lunch counter as a bustling place to take a break from running errands and spending money. This “luncheonette” (Line 3) is neglected and virtually deserted—a relic, perhaps, of better times, and of a cheerier American dream.

The lunch counter played a significant role in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, when African Americans organized sit-in protests in the Southern states, demanding to be served at lunch counters designated “whites only.” The “luncheonette” (Line 3) in “The Partial Explanation,” however, is the site of neither a booming economy nor political engagement. While it may serve as a refuge from the cold, it serves little in the way of human interaction.