A Caged Tuna Melt

A boxed sandwich with tuna and and cheese melted in, makes me wonder how it feels. Like a caged bird, the sandwich is forced to make friends with itself. Boxed and in a dim, plastic case, in a dark room, I feel uninvited. The sandwich represents the atmosphere. Cluttered and confined. It’s Boyd’s cafe at Uconn that houses the sandwich,. I pick up the sandwich, but hesitate, because I can feel that its journey is jaded. I intend to free it from it’ habitat, but fear the feeling of confinement.

I immediately notice the open and positive environment. A happy croissant is amongst the turnovers and cinnamon buns.

I want to get to know the food, and meet the drinks that accompany them. It’s not lonely, in fact unlike the tuna melt in Boyd’s there is a sense of liberation that moves the pastries to call customers. Speak to them, and just like that it becomes a hot spot, Honey Joes. Family owned and operated. The food is cared for and represents a delicate aura. It makes me feel calm and at home. The room is lit with people and they are smiling. Students sit enjoying Chai lattes and stories. The atmosphere is welcoming, and inviting.Students feel liberated entering the space across the street, which escapes the cage.

Maybe the tuna melt will never know what it is like to sing, as Maya Angelou once said, “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill”. I am too familiar with Boyd’s cafe located at a school, the tuna melt can never fly.

The dark cage that houses the tuna melt represents the “panopticon” of students, and the tuna melt personifies this lack of freedom; the tuna melt is confined, no space to express itself.