Table of contentsFood as a symbol of madness, chaos, fear and povertyThe use of cannibalism for moralistic purposesConclusionEating is not only fundamental for survival; it also provides a setting for social encounters, where eating habits and rituals create a notable distinction between social classes. In literature, food often symbolizes more than just nourishment. Food presents a contrast between order and chaos; etiquette and taboo behaviors; and social classes. The presentation of food in literature can also reflect the author's personal experiences, reinforcing the "write what you know" trope. Lewis Carroll, Paul Delarue, and the Brothers Grimm endured poverty, which allowed them to draw on personal experience in their works. Although it is unclear whether Joseph Jacobs ever experienced financial difficulties, he also clearly depicts the struggle of the lower classes in his work. While food symbolizes broader themes in the texts such as poverty, cannibalism, deception and overcoming adversity, it also offers authors the opportunity to parallel their own societies, commenting on and reflecting on the struggles they face personally. The following texts demonstrate these themes and ideas: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll; “Hansel and Gretel” by the Brothers Grimm; “Grandma’s Story” by Paul Delarue; and “Jack and the Beanstalk” by Joseph Jacob. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayFood as a symbol of madness, chaos, fear and povertyIn Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and "Hansel and the Brothers Grimm" Gretel, food symbolizes poverty and deception. Just as the Brothers Grimm experienced poor childhoods, Hansel and Gretel are the children of a "poor woodcutter" where "there was never much to eat in the house, and formerly, in times of famine, there was There wasn’t even enough food.” bread for everyone” (Grimm 142). The lack of food is a physical manifestation of the poverty this family faces, causing the woodcutter to abandon his children in the woods or "all four will starve to death" (Grimm 142). Ironically, Hansel leaves a trail of bread crumbs to get home, even though the family barely has enough food to sustain themselves. Food, especially bread, takes on a secondary meaning for children; it's the reason their parents leave them for dead, but it's also their way to get home. The absence of food is also apparent in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when she falls down the rabbit hole and grabs a jar "labeled 'ORANGE MARMALADE'*, but much to her disappointment, it [is ] empty” (Carroll 10). In a period of confusion and utter chaos as she falls into the hole, she grabs the food only to discover that it is empty. This suggests that food creates a sense of comfort in times of chaos and despair. This resembles the Victorian famine, which was a reality for Carroll, where food was scarce and death was expected. Through the Looking Glass is an example of this when Alice observes a breadfly and butterfly and she asks what it lives on. The fly's very specific dietary requirements – weak tea containing cream – lead Alice to assume that it would bedifficult for the fly to find food. The gnat confirms his concerns by stating, “Then he would die, of course. » (Carroll 154). This is not only common in Alice's fantasy world, but also in Carroll's reality, where hunger is universal and inevitable. Food not only represents poverty and “it is not merely an object used by social subjects,” but food also creates a platform for madness. and chaos also in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland during the crazy tea party (Lee 490). “To the modern reader, the tea party appears as senseless chaos, where everyone is arguing and changing places,” but it symbolizes much more than pure chaos (Ardagh). The March Hare tells Alice to enjoy some wine, but when she looks around the table, there is “only tea” (Carroll 61). When she states that she sees no wine, the March Hare responds, “'There isn't any'” (Carroll 61). Alice notices the conflict between what he suggests and what is actually possible. The March Hare is aware that they have no wine for Alice, but suggests that she enjoy it anyway. This, again, relates to the poverty that Carroll and his Victorian society faced. The March Hare represents the natural preoccupation with food and drink in Victorian society, where a host usually offers wine and food to a guest, but later realizes that he has nothing to offer in because of his poverty. The March Hare later suggests that Alice is “having some more tea,” even though Alice has “‘eaten nothing yet’” (Carroll 65). This continues the norm for social functions in Victorian society, where there would typically be an endless supply of tea and food for guests. This exchange between Alice and the March Hare parallels the Victorian hunger in Carroll's reality, where Alice represents society suffering from hunger and malnutrition. The madness present at the tea party in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reflects the chaos present in Victorian society. Food is also shown to be fraught with danger, deception, and cannibalism in various fairy tales. In Jacob's "Jack and the Beanstalk," Jack's family realizes their dire situation when "one morning Milky-White gave no milk and they didn't know what to do" (156). Faced with the likely struggle of poverty and hunger, Jack sets out to rectify the situation with a handful of magic beans. When Jack sells the family cow, he eliminates the only source of income and food the family has. Additionally, the cow represents an investment, providing milk and meat, while beans are cheap and limited to a single meal. Initially, Jack fulfills the reputation as a "gullible child" by even buying the beans, but his trusting nature offers him more than he expected. At the top of the beanstalk, Jack meets an ogre who loves nothing more than “roasted boys on toast” (Jacobs 158). As the ogre's wife opens her home to Jack, offering him food and safety, the ogre considers him one of his many meals. Compared to "Hansel and Gretel", Jack also searches for food to satisfy his hunger, but becomes a possible meal for someone else. Although Jack initially searches for food when he climbs the beanstalk, he discovers that stealing the ogre's gold will provide his family with the means to survive. Unlike “Hansel and Gretel,” the child is the source of the deception; Jack repeatedly steals gold from the Ogre, including his golden hen. The golden hen laying golden eggs turns out to be ironic because chickens usually provide food, while this hen provides an egginedible. The golden eggs do not directly provide food for Jack and his family; they provide them with the financial means to buy food elsewhere. Food doesn't simply represent survival in "Jack and the Beanstalk", it represents the struggle for survival and the deception and danger that results. The use of cannibalism for moral purposes In "Hansel and Gretel" by the Brothers Grimm, when Hansel and Gretel discover the house made of bread, with a roof made of cake and "windows made of sparkling sugar", they mistakenly think that their hunger was filled (145). When the weak old woman invites them into the house and feeds them "a good meal of milk and pancakes, sugar, apples and nuts", the children do not expect this woman to apparently harmless considers them “tasty morsels” (Grimm 145). -6). The juxtaposition of the parents and the witch allows the reader to compare the repeated deception of the children in the homes they enter, but also to contrast the different ways in which food affects the children. They are abandoned for lack of food in one place, then considered food in another. Even though children are generally seen as gullible and innocent, Hansel proves to trick the adults several times, first finding his way home with pebbles and then tricking the witch with a bone. The deception shared in the Brothers Grimm tale provides a loophole in the commonly expected attributes of children. This tale provides the universal moral “don’t talk to strangers.” Viewing food as a universal experience also allows us to view the morals and themes of the Brothers Grimm's tales as universal. Like “Hansel and Gretel,” in Delarue’s “Grandma’s Story,” the reader is presented with a family sharing bread, as most families do in times of poverty and struggle. The anonymous little girl ventures to her grandmother's house with the bread; when the bzou learns of his plans, he arrives first at his grandmother's house and kills her. Unlike many published versions of Red Riding Hood, Delarue has the little girl participate in a cannibalistic act. The bzou, disguised as the little girl's grandmother, tells her to put the bread and milk in the pantry, then "'eat the meat that is in it and drink a bottle of wine'" (Delarue 32). Only afterwards does the cat inform her that she is a "slut" for "[eating] the flesh and [drinking] the blood of her grandmother!" » that she realizes that she has been led to cannibalism (Delarue 32). By calling the little girl a “slut”, the cat insinuates a sexual interaction between the bzou and the young girl. The little girl defies the rules of etiquette, consumes the contents of an unlabeled container and participates in a sexual interaction with a male character. Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass also participates in taboo acts, defying the Victorian rules of etiquette that Carroll repeatedly mocks. In fact, in 1855, Carroll published “Tips for Etiquette; Or, Dining Out Made Easy', "a comic parody of the strict, often absurd, rules of fine Victorian dining etiquette" (Lewis Carroll Juvenilia). It highlights the absurdity of the overtly strict rules of Victorian society; he mocks the label in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It is taboo to consume the contents of an unidentified substance, but Alice still drinks the small bottle labeled “DRINK ME” and still eats the small cake marked “EAT ME” (Carroll 13, 15). The minor consequences – diminishing and increasing than before – desensitize Alice to the dangers of.