The Theme Of Consumerism In Feed By M. T. Anderson

The theme of M.T. Anderson’s, Feed, is consumerism and its impact on a society or a group of people. Feed gives a glimpse of a future that hits a little too close to home. With almost everyone in the novel having what is called a “feed”, a device that directly connects consumers to all markets, consumerism is at an all time high. With just a thought, anything from any corner of the earth can be easily obtained. There are no boundaries when it comes to the “feed”, they stream commercials and advertisements constantly, always trying to sell. After the devastating loss of Violet, the girl without a feed that he fell for, Titus’s unflinching draw towards consumerism is highlighted, “I ordered the draft pants from Multitude. It was a real bargain.

I ordered another pair. I ordered pair after pair. I ordered them all in the same color. They were slate. I was ordering them as quickly as I could. I put in my address again and again...I ordered pants after pants. I put tracking orders on them. I tracked each one. I could feel them moving through the system. Spreading out for me, in the dead of night, I could feel credit deducted..I could feel them in orbit. I could feel them in circulation all around me like blood in my veins” (294). The entire novel was Titus changing, slowly and subtly, at the hands of Violet. As he and Violet got closer, Titus’s need to buy decreased as a result of Violets fighting of the system. However, all the work was undone following Violet’s death. This shows that despite the progress made within Titus and regardless of his newfound outlook on life, he cannot resist consumerism. The quote and the symbolic meaning behind it, accentuate the theme of consumerism and how it affects the consumers (aka Titus). If I were to rename the novel based on the theme I would name it “Consume” because of how quickly everyone in the novel eats up the aggressive advertising and marketing techniques being imposed on them.