Snow Ball Paper - Feed (Final Edits)

[Feed]
In the book Feed by M.T. Anderson, the main character named Titus narrates the story of him and his relationship with a young girl named Violet. They both live in the future, a world where everything is ran under the feed, a small chip planted in a person’s head. Titus explains how the feed is “the only way to get all this stuff, and it’s no good getting pissy about it, because they’re still going to control everything whether you like it or not” (Anderson 48). Although the feed may be beneficial to those who use it, Violet thinks otherwise. Violet who was known to be Titus’s girlfriend has the feed, though it was planted in her head at the age of seven which makes it difficult for her to use it correctly. Violet can still use the feed, however if the feed malfunctions then she is at a great risk of dying. Because of Violet’s condition, she is able to think against the Feed whenever she pleases. Nevertheless she still has an even greater risk of damaging her Feed by resisting it, causing herself to weaken. Due to her condition and resistance against the feed, it makes her different from everyone else which cause people to look down upon her, making her feel left out. The purpose of the Feed is to advertise the mind by feeding the person with different messages which influence people to do what is being fed. This puts Violet aside from those who follow the Feed because she believes that:
“No one with feeds thinks about it […] When you have the feed all your life, you’re brought up to not think about things. Like them never telling you that it’s a republic and not a democracy. It’s something that makes [her] angry, what people don’t know about these days. Because of the feed, we’re raising a nation of idiots. Ignorant, self-centered idiots” (Page 113).
Violet used the government as an example to show how the feed is manipulative to those who have the feed, similar to how the America is lying to the people of our government is actually a republic and not a democracy as some people may call it. She revealed to Titus that everything the feed received from advertisements were corrupt. Violet failed to persuade Titus the difference between the ‘appearance’ of the feed vs. the essence of what the feed truly does to a person. The appearance of the feed is not necessarily the physical appearance of the chip, but what people perceive of how the feed may benefit to them in a positive way. Those who have the feed believe that it is enough to support a person in any given situation by communicating with others, getting a task done, or shopping. The advertisement alone tries to influence one to buy items that may benefit to him/her. Violet argues that these objects do not benefit to a person, but rather breaks a person apart. The true essence of the feed is how it manipulates a person’s mind through propaganda, persuading him/her to do what ever the feed may tell him/her to do. In Violet’s perspective, it is unfortunate that people depend on the feed, living day by day without natural emotions; being who they are as person.
Later, Violet had the habit of resisting her own feed. Like every other feed, Violet received advertisement from any object she walked/looked at. By processing the advertisement into her feed, she had the choice to reject that response just by ignoring it.
Because of her condition, Violet was allowed to wander in her own mind and freely think about anything, resisting the feed to do exactly what she wants, not what the feed tells her to do. Violet exposes Titus about resisting the Feed, revealing how the Feed is taking over people’s minds in a bad way. Instead of Titus resisting the Feed, he resisted Violet and her revelation about the Feed.
Because of resisting the feed, Violet’s condition degenerates, soon causing her to explain to Titus that the reason behind her slow recovery is she had her feed at a late age of seven. Titus thought that age did not matter when a person had a feed. What he did not know is that the feed will not fit comfortably in a person’s brain if he/she gets it at a late age due the person’s full development after birth. The feed is “more susceptible to malfunction” (Anderson 170). It is out of the ordinary for a person to resist the feed that is providing a person with their needs. Again, Violet tries to recover by going onto Feedtech, though
“Feedtech and other investors reviewed [her] purchasing history, and [they] don’t feel that [she] would be reliable investment at this time. No one could get what [they] call a ‘handle’ on [her] shopping habits, like for example [she] asking for information about all those wow and brag products and then never buying anything. [They] have to inform [her] that [their] corporate investors were like, ‘what’s doing with this?’ Sorry- [they’re] afraid [she]’ll just have to work with [her] feed the way it is” (Anderson 247).
As Violet’s feed continued to malfunction, it became difficult for her to speak. Her feed was badly damaged and was not going to let her survive her battle of a malfunctioned feed. Titus visited Violet for one last time before she passed away. The last time he visited her was a couple of weeks before she was not able to talk. Due to her malfunctioned feed, it prevented her to stop Violet from telling the truth about the feed and how it affected the people when using the feed. As Titus stood over by Violet, Violet’s father stood by and watched him as he tried to talk to Violet. Father tells Titus,
“We Americans,” he said, “are interested only in the consumption of our products. We have no interest in how they were produced, or what happens to them”- he pointed at his daughter- “what happens to them once we discard them, once we throw them away” (Anderson 290).
Titus had previous visits to go to Violet’s house and every time he visited, her father would be there. But as time continued and Violet continued to malfunction, Titus stopped hanging out with her because she was an embarrassment after letting out the truth about a friend. Violet’s father revealed to Titus how America is blinded by technology and products are disrupting what people think, such like the feed, and because people are blinded by technology, they forget the fact that they are hurting themselves by trying to fit in with corporate America; Feednet. At that moment Titus realized that the whole time, Violet had been trying to tell Titus that message, but every time she told, he would ignore.
The revelation that Violet tried to reveal to Titus is to not trust the feed and how tries to persuade ones mind into being somebody they are not. It is unnatural for a person to be genuine when allowing the feed to control his/her thoughts because those who have the feed have the same information, transmitted, into their head. Thus, the feed is telling people what to do by being identical to each other without even noticing the similarities between one another. Violet tried to break that similarity by resisting the feed, and because she resisted, she was unable to fix her feed chip. Not only was she unable to fix her feed because of resisting, but she also had her feed implanted at a late age which gave her the advantage to think for herself, while others who had the feed since birth does not know what it is like to think outside the feed. Violet’s father, who remains unnamed through out the book, is distinct from others who do have the feed because this man does not have the feed at all.
Without the feed, one has the option to think about what ever he/she wants, in comparison to those who have the feed, are set to be one-minded with the feed. Because Violet did not use the feed often, she was thought as to be a kind of outcast who did not accept the feed. Revealers like Violet are not always noticed which makes it difficult for many to understand the message. Titus noticed Violet, but for the fact that she was malfunctioning and acting different from everyone else, Titus ignored her messages. Going against a person who is actually telling the truth is a revelation trope found in other situations similar to Titus and Violet. In the end, Titus came back to Violet’s house, in a way to redeem himself after ignoring her. In relation to the Bible, in the book of Luke, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, betrayed Jesus by giving him in to the officers who were looking to arrest him, in reward, Judas was given money. After judgment with a Roman Governor and harassed by many officers, Jesus was taken away to Jerusalem to die on a cross. In Feed, Titus is similar to Judas by betraying Violet, who is comparable to Jesus, and ignored her for the past few weeks until she was ready to die. Like Judas, Titus tried to beg for forgiveness as she passed away; knowing that Violet was right about the feed, finally accepting the revelation. Violet’s father is referred as ‘the father’, and a revealer, reveals a message to Violet and passed down his message to Titus. Violet’s father having no name can resemble to God and how he preached to Titus about the way the feed has been corrupting people’s minds by soon discarding them after there is no use—what a waste.

In connection to An Enemy of the People it took Dr. Stockmann, a man who became an outcast after revealing to the town about the outbreaks in the baths. Because of the truth that was revealed, nobody in town believed him, as well with Violet who was also viewed as an outcast in which she tried to expose the Truth about the Feed to Titus. Both Stories have their similarities because the Revealers are not always noticed which make it difficult for many, including the reader, to understand the message.