Food has many different uses in literature. Food this semester has been analyzed in different ways, showing how it can transform and affect the character more than the character alone. In Jessica Soffer's novel, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots, she introduced readers to a devastating ordeal that uprooted a family and affected more people than expected. Although using food, Soffer develops each character differently. As food changes Lorca and Nancy, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots can be compared to another short story we read earlier in the year. Ruth Reichl's "Tender at the Bone: The Queen of Mold" also uses food to show how different people can be. In this essay, there will be a theme of what each of these authors did in developing each character differently with food, and how food shapes each character. Reading each piece, it becomes clear that each story has comparative properties showing that food can be used to develop a character more than without food. This will be a comparative analysis of the two stories mentioned above. Lorca's mother, Nancy, did everything possible for her and Lorca, her daughter. Nancy still faces tribulations that test her as a single mother; she is unable to normally show love and affection to her daughter. As a sought-after chef, Nancy spends most of her time in her restaurant instead of helping her daughter become a proper lady. This has a negative effect on the evolution of Nancy and Lorca's relationship, as they left her husband to continue cooking professionally. Cooking is Nancy's way of distracting herself to help her forget the pain Lorca is causing her. Nancy accepts that she has difficulty showing love towards... middle of paper ... people who have drifted apart, create a distraction from an impending situation, and are a way to bring people together. Although each character is different in both stories, they all have the same ideals that food develops a character more than themselves. Food helps them to love, without it Lorca and Nancy would have nothing in common. Food also brings people together. As Reichl and his mother cook for the party, happiness and affection are found in what his mother prepares. Even though everyone gets sick from food, Reichl learned how people thrive through food and how food can create love, hope, and new beginnings. Works Cited Soffer, Jessica. Tomorrow there will be apricots: a novel. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1013. Print. Reichl, Ruth. “Tender to the bone: the queen of mold.”: Food + Cooking: Gourmet.com. Gourmet.com, 2009. Web. April 29. 2014.