Every morning, the reigning patriarch, as if in from the hunt, shouts from the kitchen, "How many people would like a poached egg?" Women and children take turns saying yes or no.

    In the meantime, the women talk among themselves and designate one among them the toastmaker. As the eggs near readiness, the reigning patriarch calls out to the designated toastmaker, "The eggs are about ready. Is there enough toast?"

    "Yes" comes the deferential reply.  "The last two pieces are about to pop up."  The reigning patriarch then proudly enters, bearing a plate of poached eggs before him.  Throughout the course of the meal, the women and children, including the designated toastmaker, perform the obligatory ritual praise song, saying, "These sure are great eggs, Dad" (47)

In this passage, Rosaldo has made a familiar routine seem unfamiliar: father makes poached eggs, women make toast, all eat.  By analyzing his family's well-known breakfast-making process, Rosaldo exposes the power and gender relationships involved in this ordinary event.  He describes the father as the "reigning patriarch" and the women as subsidiary toastmakers and praise singers.  With his detached language and his careful detailing of their routine, he depicts this North American middle-class family as if it were part of a different tribe or culture.  He uses his interpretive skills as an ethnographer to create a parody--in jest and fun--to allow his family to see them as an outsider might describe them.