More about Feed

I have now progressed in Feed, by MT Anderson, and gotten to know more about Titus and his friends. Unfortunately, the book did not completely live up to my expectations, but is still enjoyable to read. The main idea of Feed, is present throughout the story (which is a futuristic/satirical/dystopian novel that focuses on a "feed" in the brain that controls the characters' ways of life, turning them into foolish and illogical consumers). The language of the book, though, is unconventional. Unlike other science fiction books, it uses futuristic language to show how simple the characters' thinking patterns have become. For example, instead of saying that "the trip to the moon wasn't fun" a character might say "the moon like turned out to like be meg mal". This adds depth to the story, but gets annoying after only a few pages.

The main character in Feed is Titus, a teenager who represents what America has become. He goes to School™, yet cannot read. Titus is educated by corporate interests that tell students how to spend "wisely". He and his group of friends stand no chance to peer pressure, doing whatever is supposed to be cool at the moment. After meeting a girl named Violet who is trying to resist the feed, Titus realizes just how dull he has become. Titus subconsciously wants to change himself for the better, but is unable to with the sheer amount of advertising and propaganda that is thrown at him.

On the other hand, Violet is trying to actively resist the feed. She goes to hundreds of stores asking for random items, so she would be characterized "in a customer profile that just doesn't exist". Her efforts do not seem to be bringing about any kind of major change to society, but show how hopeless the situation is. With her father being a professor of ancient languages (modern programming languages), she has a very different view of the feed than most other people. Her father cannot afford an implanted feed, and talks in such a way that the feed will not understand him.

More than to advance a specific plot, the characters in feed represent a society saturated in perpetual product cravings. I look forward to figuring out more of the story.        

Books I Want to Read

Recently, I've been posting many repetitive posts about theme, characters, and analysis, so this post will be about new books that I want to read. If you think of any more good books, write them in the comments section.

Book 1: The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner

At the end of the Maze Runner by James Dashner, (highlight for spoilers),the boys trapped in the Maze realized that it was created by a governmental organization to find people immune to the Flare. Thomas' friend is killed, and the boys believe that they have been rescued.The ending left many things unresolved and kept the reader in suspense. Hopefully The Scorch Trials will provide some answers as to the creation of the Maze and how Thomas is connected with it.





Book 2: Divergent, by Veronica Roth

 I seem to be the only person who hasn't read this series now, and although I know I am unlikely to think it is a well written book, I probably should read it anyway before having any opinions on the story. To me, the story sounds like it has a dystopian hunger games like setting with characters similar to most other young adult novels. I generally have a very negative opinion of most of the books in the current wave of dystopian fiction novels (which lack a logical or consistent plot, and contain unoriginal shallow characters), but maybe this book will not be as bad as it sounds. In any case, I don't want to be the only one who hasn't read this series.

Book 3: Gone, by Michael Grant

Another fairly popular book, Gone seems to have an interesting concept. Everyone over the age of 15 suddenly disappears from a small town in California.Chaos rules over the children who don't know what happened. The descriptions I have read of it so far though are vague, so the I do not know exactly what happens in the book.

Feed

This week, I read the first few pages of Feed, by M.T. Anderson. The title is very ambiguous, so the first thing you should know that this book is not about the production of food for farm animals or giving meals to young children. It is a satirical science fiction novel about a group of people who live far in the future. They all have "feeds" programmed in their minds, giving them information, propaganda, and advertisements. During a completely "normal" trip to the moon, the main character, Titus, has to learn how to live without the feed and resist its control over human thoughts. Published in 2002, the novel predicts a future frighteningly similar to the technological advances we can see today. Google glass may be the forerunner of the omnipotent feed, turned to nefarious purposes by powerful entities. Of course, that will hopefully never happen.

 I have read two other books by M.T. Anderson before, both about a boy named Octavian. (Their actual titles are remarkably long) Unfortunately, this meant that I had only experienced M.T. Anderson write in eloquent but ornamented 18th century English, and I was very surprised when the main character of feed talked with deliberately incorrect grammar and used the word "like" in about every other sentence.

I immediately noticed a text to world connection as I started reading. The "feed" in the book is very similar to a modern day technology such as Google glass. It can give the characters information and suggestions, and is filled with advertising. Soon enough, advertisers will probably figure out how to send location based ads to peoples' smart glasses telling the user, "turn right to find our amazing business which 6 of your friends have recommended". I also made a text to text connection to The Giver, by Lois Lowery. In that book, the government is also trying to influence peoples' thoughts, but by using external forces and not feeds inside the brain. I found that the theme of the books seemed similar, with both main characters rebelling against an oppressive regime that nobody else realizes is oppressing them. The primary difference though is that the Feed characters are influenced by an overwhelming amount of information while the Giver characters are influenced by a lack of knowledge. Finally, I made a text to self connection. Just like the main character, I don't enjoy being sold things by companies when they claim that you need to want their product because that's what other people want. This kind of advertising makes everybody feel that they are imperfect and their shortcomings could only be fixed with the new product.

As I continue reading, I predict that the main character will find other people to support his cause, but will not be able to make a substantial change in the society he lives in. There will probably also be more details, such as the advertising on the feed, that are based on real world things. Hopefully, Feed will turn out to be a good book.

The Feed may already be here...

Of Mice and Men

I recently started Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck This is another "historical" novel like the one I previously read, but it is located in a much different place in the country and in society. The two very distinct characters are introduced from the first page. George Milton and Lennie Small are two men who are looking for work in rural California as ranch workers during the Great Depression. Lennie is a large man who has good intentions, has limited mental abilities. George and the other hand, is clever and street smart, but doesn't have much education. This post focuses on theme in Of Mice and Men.

Despite their major differences, the two main characters in the novel are friends. Although George can seem quick tempered and mean to Lennie, he eventually calms down and slowly explains the situation. This shows that one prevailing theme throughout the book is that even if people are different, they can still be friends. Although George considers dropping Lennie off at an aunt's house early in the book, he tells him to go away, and it is clear that he values his friendship. Lennie tends to forget things, makes mistakes, and uses simplistic logic, but George never abandons him. On the other hand, both men know that it will be impossible to achieve their goal of owning their own land, but keep working towards it regardless of this.

Another major theme in the book is that of loneliness. George and Lennie are unable to make any lasting relationships because of their occupation, and feel that there is nobody else who cares about them. George comments in the book on page 13, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world." This kind of thinking  makes George and Lennie very reserved around other people, unable to express their emotions.

Although Of Mice and Men may be an old and short novel, it still has many themes that apply today. 

  

Analyis of Water for Elephants

After reading for a few more days, I have now progressed in Water for Elephants. The book is has a different plot structure than most books, with the same character in different periods of time. Rather than reflecting on the story while telling it, Jacob, the main character, remembers the story exactly how it happened, and reflects on it later. In the nursing home, he always seems to feel that he was age twenty three and not ninety three just a few moments earlier. Their are many messages from the author that are directly stated and hidden within the text.

When the old Jacob is shown in modern times, there are many messages presented that are relevant to people and their outlook on society. Although Jacob has a very cynical outlook on life, he has some opinions that make the reader feel sorry for him. He accuses the nursing home staff of turning him into a "jello eating sheep" and also believes that by treating him like a balance of nutrients rather than a person, his humanity is slowly slipping away. This shows that people's happiness comes form their interactions with others, and that people can go insane when isolated from society.

Most of the time though, the author reveals theme and other main ideas through the younger Jacob's interactions with others. Although it is never directly stated in the book, by showing that Jacob took a risk by going to work at the circus without thinking about it earlier, the author shows how important decisions can shape the rest of your life. The author also suggests that it is necessary to take meaningful risks to be as successful as possible.

Comparing the two characters, a reader can see how a young and naive man could turn into a cynical person because of the actions they took. Jacob never talks to anyone in the nursing home about his experiences, but criticizes others when they do. Through the text, both the older and younger versions of the character explore the extremes of opposite personalities.