Nice to eat with you, acts of communion.
Chapter 2
Writers of English literature rarely use the simple act of eating merely to relieve a characters hunger. Instead ‘eating’ in literature means so much more than what first meets the eye.
Eating is a sign of communion, and the emotions and actions involved with the eating usually contribute to setting a scene or developing a character.
An eating scene is often positive, as humans we don’t usually just eat with anyone. To eat with someone is to share an experience, this shows us that there is a bond between two or more characters, and that they generally like each other (an act of communion or community). For example in the film Harry Potter, upon arriving at Hogwarts and Harry is treated to a feast, it is at this dinner that Harry really meets Ron and Hermione (the fact that they sit with him for the duration shows they enjoy his company and generally like him), it is this first positive meeting that Harry gains two new friends in an enduring relationship.
This however is only if the meal is going well, meals or eating scenes can also symbolise negative relationships. For example, a character refusing to eat with another character or leaving the eating area early shows negative connotations. This can symbolise tension or anger within the group or between characters.
An example of eating as communion in literature is Anne Tylers Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant:
“…consider Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982). The mother tries and tries to have a family dinner, and every time she fails. Someone can’t make it, someone gets called away, some minor disaster befalls the table. Not until her death can her children assemble around a table at the restaurant and achieve dinner; at that point, of course, the body and blood they symbolically share are hers. Her life – and her death – become part of their common experience.”
http://www.a2skyline.org/huron.english/files/howtoreadliteraturelikeaprofessor_ft.pdf
Resources:
prezi.com/o3mcgyosr3el/how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor/
Eating is a sign of communion, and the emotions and actions involved with the eating usually contribute to setting a scene or developing a character.
An eating scene is often positive, as humans we don’t usually just eat with anyone. To eat with someone is to share an experience, this shows us that there is a bond between two or more characters, and that they generally like each other (an act of communion or community). For example in the film Harry Potter, upon arriving at Hogwarts and Harry is treated to a feast, it is at this dinner that Harry really meets Ron and Hermione (the fact that they sit with him for the duration shows they enjoy his company and generally like him), it is this first positive meeting that Harry gains two new friends in an enduring relationship.
This however is only if the meal is going well, meals or eating scenes can also symbolise negative relationships. For example, a character refusing to eat with another character or leaving the eating area early shows negative connotations. This can symbolise tension or anger within the group or between characters.
An example of eating as communion in literature is Anne Tylers Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant:
“…consider Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982). The mother tries and tries to have a family dinner, and every time she fails. Someone can’t make it, someone gets called away, some minor disaster befalls the table. Not until her death can her children assemble around a table at the restaurant and achieve dinner; at that point, of course, the body and blood they symbolically share are hers. Her life – and her death – become part of their common experience.”
http://www.a2skyline.org/huron.english/files/howtoreadliteraturelikeaprofessor_ft.pdf
Resources:
prezi.com/o3mcgyosr3el/how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor/