Foster states in the
chapter of HTRLLAP called “Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion”, that meals
are a sacred act of communion when purposely put into literature. They are an
intimate act that not only connects the characters in the book together, but also
gives the reader a sense of connection with the characters. I believe that when
overtly included in literature, it is meant for us to get a glimpse of the
most private of actions between people. However, Foster also states that
communion doesn’t always have to be holy. In fact, when we are literally
“breaking the bread” at dinner, most of the time we are messy eaters and things
don’t always go as planned.
For example, in the Lord
of the Flies written by William Golding, the feast between the two tribes
starts out as a peace offering but has an alternate motive (at least for Piggy
and Ralph) and ends in the violent murder of Simon. Although the murder wasn’t
an anticipated part of the feast, this is just one example of a meal gone awry.
Not only does it display the lack of loyalty that Foster mentions, but it also
symbolizes the last piece of civilization being thrown away on the island. In
fact, as the kids chase around Simon, the sacrifice, they get caught up in the
animalistic act of hunting their “meat”. Only further proving, that in fact,
eating is messy and most often times a complicated process.
A more recent example of a
meal gone wrong is proven in Orange is the New Black. When Piper accidentally
insults the head Cook during her first meal in jail, she is sentenced to a
period of starving time and given a “warning” with a bloody tampon. Not only
does this consequential meal create a turning point for Piper’s initiation into
jail, but it also proves that when multiple people are sharing a meal together,
things go wrong. Like Foster points out, when two people are sharing a meal and
a third comes up unwanted, we clearly know how they feel about the third person
when they try to leave the table. However, Piper’s case is more unfortunate
because she had no prior knowledge of Red’s title. This meal takes an even more
unfortunate twist after Red politely takes back the generous gift of yogurt,
the only edible thing in the kitchen.
Perhaps one of the most
famous short stories written by Edgar Allen Poe, The Masque of the Red Death is
also a significant example further proving that indulgent feasts don’t always
go as planned. This is only amplified when an unwanted visitor crashes the
party, The clock strikes midnight, and a ghostly figure appears in the prince
Prospero’s mansion further ruining his plans of isolating and ignoring the
plague. His obliviousness to the victim of the plague is matched with death and
soon the castle falls to darkness and decay. This proves that not only does an
unwanted visitor ruin dinner plans but more often than not, we always end up
with a ketchup stain on our shirts.
-Haley Rose Hill