Nice to eat with you: Acts of communion

Summary Foster uses this archetype to inform readers that sharing a meal is more than just sharing food, it is a way of sharing life experiences, because everyone comes together to dine.  Demonstrates loyalty, kinship, and generosity Accelerate character/personal quest Share something that symbolizes something else Ending of life- communion was taken in the bible at the last supper In a sense, sharing a meal is ritualistic, so it can allow be to see the similarities between themselves and other people A shared meal can strengthen relationships, while a failed meal can foreshadow consequences Bottom line:  whenever people eat or drink together, it is communion

Eating in invisible man Chapter 6 – white bread and blackberry jam "The good white bread of breakfast; rolls dripping with yellow butter that I had slipped into my pocket so often to be munched later in my room with wild blackberry jam from home" White identity that college sees as proper but mixes in his own cultural identity Does it in the comfort of his room, not out in society

eating in invisible man Chapter 9 – Orange juice instead of pork chops and grits Counterman automatically offers him the special of pork chops, grits, eggs, and hot biscuits to which he thinks "could everyone see that I was southern?" He rejects it and instead orders a large glass of orange juice, toast, and coffee  " I downed the acid drink, proud to have resisted the pork chop and grits. It was an act of discipline"  He is trying to bury his cultural urges and likes even by eating and drinking things he does not particularly like

Eating in invisible man In an overall journey of a black man's search for identity and visibility in white America, the use of eating and food plays a role in small steps to him not living to impress white people but accepting his own identity Chapter 13 – eating the yam He indulges in a hot yam from a street vendor and goes back to order 2 more "overcome by an intense feeling of freedom" He no longer is feeling compelled to hide his identity as a southern black by denying his love for certain foods as the yam is known as a southern comfort food and he has nostalgic memories of how they used to cook them back home "I no longer felt ashamed of the things I had always loved" "They're my birthmark, I yam what I yam" He had casted them aside even though he loved them so much because he was trying to conform to society Last one is frostbitten – symbolizing a bad event coming up

eating in invisible man Chapter 13 – accusing Bledsoe of liking southern foods "You are a shameless chitterling eater!" "Mustard greens and rack's of pig ears and pork chops and black-eyes pea with dull accusing eyes" All are southern foods  which the narrator wants to call him out on indulging in private and pushing away his culture to the outside world Black eyes peas  are white with a small black center – American culture

Archetype in The great gatsby A major turning point is when Daisy, Tom, Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby have a luncheon together Daisy and Gatsby are trying to hide their feelings for each other from the others, Tom is suspicious of them, and Nick and Jordan are trying to ignore the tensions. Tom realizes that Daisy and Gatsby are in love and tries to contain his emotions, but he snaps. Everyone else tries to reduce the tension, but then Daisy snaps too. This seemingly simple meal is evidence that dining together can make tensions worse and lead to new conflicts or broken relationships between the characters. Everything blows up because of this luncheon, ending with Gatsby's death. The failed meal was an indicator of the consequences to come.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Archetype in A lesson before dying Jefferson is in jail, but Miss. Emma continues to try and bond with him by bringing him food. In the beginning, Jefferson is disrespectful and throws the food and refuses to eat it, but by the end he will sit down and dine.  Their relationship is strengthened and the food gives Miss. Emma a reason to go see him.  He is being treated with dignity and compassion which allows him to reflect on his murderous actions. By the end of the novel, Jefferson is transformed into a new man because of the respect Miss. Emma showed him. The main point of the novel is to demonstrate how Jefferson and other characters transform. Dining together is meant to accelerate personal growth because it allows characters to discuss their lives and emotions with one another. The last meal Miss. Emma brings him is like the Last Supper because he is going to be executed for his crimes.

Effect on work as a whole A meal is an opportunity for characters to meet up. They could become friends, overcome something, or continue a journey together. On the other hand, a meal could cause conflict or tension between characters that could carry on throughout the book Could be a chance for reconciliation between characters Even when eating individually, certain food can mean something specific to a character

Works cited https://prezi.com/m1ey5vqgy_6e/nice-to-eat-with-you-acts-of-communion/ https://www.litcharts.com/lit/a-lesson-before-dying/symbols/food-and-meals