Food tourism is a growing industry that involves tourists going to new places to eat, drink, and experience the local flavor. David Foster Wallace’s essay Consider the Lobster is a commentary on American food tourism.
In the essay, Wallace offers commentary on American food tourism based on his experiences at the Maine Lobster Festival. As people from all over come to enjoy Maine lobster and surround themselves in the local culture, the festival is a prime example of American food tourism. However, Wallace comments that although “tourism and lobster are the midcoast region’s two main industries,” the festival “represents less an intersection of the industries than a deliberate collision” (1). The way Wallace phrases the sentence highlights
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Wallace comments that he has never understood the appeal of going to “tourist venues in order to sample a “local flavor” that is by definition ruined by the presence of tourists” (5). He goes on to say that to participate in American food tourism “is to spoil… the very unspoildness you are there to experience” (5). In both of these quotes, Wallace uses deliberate language to further stress his point that food tourism ruins the local culture and flavor that food tourism exists to showcase. The use of the near antonyms “spoil” and “unspoiledness” really brings out the idea that what food tourism is doing to these local places is the exact opposite of the goal of food tourism. Wallace asserts that food tourism is bad for all of the places it touches in all ways but one: economically. He notes that even though these places of local flavor are ruined by American food tourism, they also rely on American food tourism. Wallace sums this up nicely by stating that food tourists have “become economically significant but existentially loathsome” (5). Wallace’s rhythm in this quote causes the reader to pay attention to it and think about the point he is making. His further use of the words “significant” and “loathsome” force the reader to think about how at odds the two sides of the American food tourism industry are with one another. Overall, Wallace’s powerful voice and creative techniques cause the reader to notice and understand his comments on American food tourism as well as reflect on their own opinions about it and involvement in
The editors of Gourmet Magazine were able to reel in the much sought after author David Foster Wallace to chronicle the events of the Maine Lobster Festival. The editors were expecting an essay about the summer festival that would provoke mouthwatering reactions from the readers of the magazine. Instead, Wallace saturates his essay with sarcasm while, to please his editors, still being able to build a shell around a subliminally satirical message. While using a sarcastic and satirical tone, David Foster Wallace is able to construct on argument that America is ignoring morals as they dine.
"Last Night At the lobster" isn't your typical novel. It is a short, brilliantly written novel by Stewart O'Nan. I would consider this novel to be realistic fiction because of the story line it holds and the characters are average Americans that can be related to. Although this piece of literature isn't intended to be a poetical piece, the author uses elements such as symbolism and sound to make passages flow like a poem would.
Jan de Heem painting, “Still Life with Lobster” is an oil painting with a bright red lobster that catches the viewer gaze into this beautiful dinner from the late 1640s.The color scheme used in this painting is analogous since it uses relatively close hues. In the painting, the lobster is on a silver platter but it has been left untouched. Surrounding the focal point of the painting is luxurious fruits including grapes, cherries, peaches, berries, oranges, and a half peeled lemon. To the left of the lobster is an overturned silver goblet. This particular style of painting is known as a vanitas form of painting. The artist is using a luxurious left over meal to show even the most expensive desires of the world doesn’t last for eternity. The
Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” gave the most in-depth description of the horrid truths about the way America’s food companies, “the only source of food for people living in the city,” are preparing the food they sell. “The Jungle” describes the terrible
Her evidence and use of pictures brought a sense of an image to this story’s timeline that she created for the reader. She successfully went through the Twentieth Century in complete order, and it gave a sense of organization to Schwartz’s writing, which ultimately led to an easier read for the audience. She makes her case by using factual information, primary sources, secondary sources, and images as sources to show the impact of tourism. She defines tourism in Cuba as an idiosyncratic industry that left influences throughout the history of this country. She in addition makes her case by describing the social change of tourist and the idea of tourism throughout the important decades for the
The state of Maine is a huge tourist spot known for it’s rocky coastline and seafood cuisine, especially lobster. Annually, the state holds the “Maine Lobster Festival” every summer, and is a popular lucrative attraction including carnival rides and food booths. The center of attention for this festival is, unsurprisingly, lobster. The author of the article “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace, mainly uses logos and pathos, and explores the idea of being put into the lobsters perspective by describing how the cooking process is done and informing us on the animal’s neurological system in a very comprehensible way. He effectively uses these persuasive devices to paint a picture for the audience and pave way for the reader to conjure
Throughout the essay, Berry logically progresses from stating the problem of the consumer’s ignorance and the manipulative food industry that plays into that ignorance, to stating his solution where consumers can take part in the agricultural process and alter how they think about eating in order to take pleasure in it. He effectively uses appeals to emotion and common values to convince the reader that this is an important issue and make her realize that she needs to wake up and change what she is doing. By using appeals to pathos, logos, and ethos, Berry creates a strong argument to make his point and get people to change how they attain and eat food.
Mark Twain once stated, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” (Brainy Quote). Despite the imaginative challenges children are faced with in reality, they are able to cope with the advantage of time and mental resilience. Stephen King in his essay, "My Creature from the Black Lagoon" from the Wake Tech English 111 Reader, compared the idea of imaginative strength in children and in that of adults to see who would better fit the horror genre audience. Stephen King recalls one particular time from his past that sends shivers down even the hardest of spines.
The book I read was titled Prey. It was written by Michael Crichton, who has written many other knowledgeable books. This book is all based around the idea of human curiosity and carelessness. The book has an insert where Michael talks about how these concerns addressed in the book are concerns in real life. The book talks about how nanoparticles accidently let into the air caused some unexpected and deadly consequences. The topic of the book affects me because it gave me some insight on what it was like to deal with situations like that. Also, I hope it allows everyone who reads it to see that we need to be more careful and think of long term results instead of just short term fixes.
Two of America’s early tourist destinations in the nineteenth century were Niagara Falls and the Catskill Mountain area. This essay will mainly focus on Frederic Church’s personal contributions to the development of a national identity, and the tourism industry, in relation to these destinations in the midst of expansion throughout America. Through paintings and lithographic reproductions, the American and European public became increasingly aware of the magnificent beauty of America’s unique landscapes, along with the growing phenomenon of scenic touring.2
Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp is an essay written by Joy Williams, about the overwhelming complacency that todays culture shows towards nature.Williams argues in a very satirical way, that todays culture has all but completely lost touch with what nature really is, and that unless we as a nation change our morals regarding the role that nature plays in human existence, we may very well be witnessing the dawn of our own destruction.
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Darks Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser claims that fast food impacts more than our eating habits, it impacts “…our economy, our culture, and our values”(3) . At the heart of Schlosser’s argument is that the entrepreneurial spirit —defined by hard work, innovation, and taking extraordinary risks— has nothing to do with the rise of the fast food empire and all its subsidiaries. In reality, the success of a fast food restaurant is contingent upon obtaining taxpayer money, avoiding government restraints, and indoctrinating its target audience from as young as possible. The resulting affordable, good-tasting, nostalgic, and addictive foods make it difficult to be reasonable about food choices, specifically in a fast food industry chiefly built by greedy executives.
Often people buy a book at a bookstore after reading the first few pages to make sure that the book is interesting enough to continue reading at home. That is why Amazon has a “Click to LOOK INSIDE!” button on each book. It is the most important part of a whole book in order to catch potential readers. One would expect that both In-N-Out Burger and Fast Food Nation must have strong hooks at the beginning since they were both New York Times bestsellers. Although they both focus on the fast food industry, there is quite a contrast in the way they are written. In the prologue of In-N-Out Burger, the author Stacy Perman writes not about the hamburgers or the company, but mainly about the phenomena that the burgers caused. On the other hand, in the introduction of Fast Food Nation, the author Eric Schlosser splits it into two different parts, a story about Cheyenne Mountain Base and a quick overview of fast food industry. Throughout the prologue of In-N-Out Burger, Perman successfully gets the attention of the readers by describing the facts in detail, which makes them want to turn the pages for further reading. On the contrary, despite Schlosser’s concise and precise narrative, the introduction of Fast Food Nation does not seem to make the readers want to read more due to his unsuccessful analogy and composition of the chapter. The introduction of In-N-Out Burger definitely draws more attention of the readers than that of Fast Food Nation due to the rhetoric and composition.
A lot of tourists would not think that they are offending the native residents when they travel. In the article, “The Ugly Tourist” excerpt from Jamaica Kincaid’s book, Small Place, she argues that when one is in a state of being a tourist, one does not know the depth of the place and only sees what one wants to see. Kincaid gives a strong idea of what she is arguing when she described a tourist as “an ugly human being.” She presents the emotional conflicts between tourist and the natives by evaluating their different lifestyles.
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot