Piggy Eaters and Ketchup Stains

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