IndexFood as a symbol of madness, chaos, fear and povertyThe use of cannibalism for moralistic purposesConclusionEating is not only fundamental for survival; it also offers an environment for social gatherings, where eating habits and rituals create a notable distinction between social classes. In literature, food often symbolizes something more than mere nourishment. Food presents a contrast between order and chaos; etiquette and taboo behavior; and social classes. The presentation of food in literature can also reflect the author's personal experiences, reinforcing the “write what you know” cliché. Lewis Carroll, Paul Delarue, and the Brothers Grimm endured poverty firsthand, allowing them to draw on personal experience in their works. While it is unclear whether Joseph Jacobs ever had financial difficulties, he also clearly describes the struggle of the lower classes in his work. While food symbolizes larger themes such as poverty, cannibalism, deception and overcoming adversity within the lyrics, it also offers the authors the opportunity to parallel their own societies, commenting and reflecting on the struggles they face personally. The following texts demonstrate these themes and ideas: Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass; “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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Food as a symbol of madness, chaos, fear and poverty In Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and "Hansel and Hansel" by the Brothers Grimm Gretel”, food symbolizes poverty and l 'deceit. Just as the Brothers Grimm experienced a poor childhood, so do Hansel and Gretel as the children of “a poor woodcutter” where “there was never much to eat in the house, and once, in a time of famine, there was none it wasn't even enough." bread to go around” (Grimm 142). The lack of food is a physical manifestation of the poverty this family faces, forcing the woodcutter to abandon his children in the woods or else “all four of [them] will starve to death” (Grimm 142). Ironically, Hansel leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to find his way home, even though the family barely has enough food to go around. Food, especially bread, takes on a secondary meaning for children; it is the reason their parents leave them dead believers, but it is also their means of returning home. The absence of food is also evident in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when she falls down the rabbit hole and grabs a jar "labeled 'ORANGE JAM,'* but to her disappointment [it is] empty" ( Carroll 10). In a moment of utter confusion and chaos, as he falls into the hole, he grabs the food only to find that it is empty. This suggests that food creates a sense of comfort in times of chaos and despair. This parallels Victorian starvation, which was a reality for Carroll, where food was scarce and death was expected. Through the Looking Glass exemplifies this when Alice observes a bread and butter fly and asks what it lives on. The fly's highly specific dietary needs - light tea with cream in it - cause Alice to assume that it would be difficult for the fly to find food. Gnat confirms his concerns, stating, “'Then he would die, of course.'” (Carroll 154). This is not only commonplace 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 simply an object used by social subjects”, but also creates a platform for madness. and chaos also in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the crazy tea party (Lee 490). “To the modern reader, the tea party appears like crazy chaos, with everyone arguing and switching places,” but it also symbolizes more pure chaos (Ardagh). The March Hare tells Alice to enjoy some wine, but when she looks around the table, "there's nothing but tea" (Carroll 61). When he claims to see no wine, the March Hare responds, "'There isn't any'" (Carroll 61). Alice notices the conflict between what she suggests and what is actually possible. The March Hare knows they have no wine for Alice, but suggests she enjoy some anyway. This, once again, refers 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 would typically offer wine and food to a guest, but later realize he had nothing to offer due to his poverty-stricken situation. The March Hare later suggests that Alice “'have some more tea,'” while Alice “hasn't had anything yet” (Carroll 65). This perpetuates the standard for social functions in Victorian society, where there would typically be an endless supply of tea and food for guests to enjoy. This exchange between Alice and the March Hare parallels Victorian hunger in Carroll's reality, where Alice represents society suffering from hunger and malnutrition. The madness at the tea party in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland mirrors the chaos present in Victorian society. Even food is revealed 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 position when "one morning Milkwhite gave no milk, and they [didn't] know what to do" (156). Faced with the probable struggle against poverty and hunger, Jack decides to correct the situation with a handful of magic beans. When Jack sells the family cow, he eliminates the family's only source of income and nourishment. Furthermore, the cow represents an investment, providing milk and meat, while beans are cheap and limited to a single meal. Initially, Jack satisfies his reputation as a "gullible child" just by buying beans, but his trusting nature provides him with more than he ever bargained for. At the top of the beanstalk, Jack meets an ogre who likes nothing more than "roasted boys on toast" (Jacobs 158). While the ogre's wife opens her home to Jack, providing him with food and safety, the ogre sees it as one of his many meals. Unlike “Hansel and Gretel,” Jack also searches for food to satisfy his hunger, but it becomes a possible meal for someone else. Although Jack initially searches for food when climbing 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 goose. The golden goose laying the golden eggs proves ironic as chickens typically provide food, while this goose provides an inedible egg. The golden eggs do not directly provide food for Jack and his family; they provide them with the financial means to purchase food elsewhere. In “Jack and the Beanstalk,” food does not simply represent survival, but represents the struggle for survival and the deception and danger that comes with it. The use of cannibalism for moralistic purposesIn "Hansel and Gretel" by the Brothers Grimm, when Hansel and Gretel discover the house made of bread, with the roof of cake and "windows of fizzing sugar", they mistakenly assumethat their hunger has been cured (145). When the weak old woman invites them into the house and gives them “a good meal of milk and pancakes, sugar, apples and nuts,” the children do not expect this seemingly harmless woman to consider them “tasty morsels” (Grimm 145 -6 ). The juxtaposition of the parents and the witch allows the reader to compare the repeated deceptions of the children in the homes they enter, but also to contrast the different ways in which food affects the children. They are abandoned due to lack of food in one environment and therefore considered food in another. Although children are generally seen as gullible and innocent, Hansel is shown to repeatedly deceive adults, first by finding his way home with pebbles, then by tricking the witch with a bone. The deception shared in the Brothers Grimm tale provides a flaw in the commonly expected attributes of children. This tale provides the universal moral "don't talk to strangers". Considering food as a universal experience allows us to also consider the morals and themes of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales as universal. Similar to “Hansel and Gretel,” in Delarue’s “Grandmother’s Story,” the reader is introduced to a family that shares bread, as most families do in times of poverty and struggle. The nameless little girl ventures to her grandmother's house with bread; when the bzou learns of his plans, he gets to his grandmother first and kills her. Unlike many published versions of “Little Red Riding Hood,” Delarue has the little girl participate in an act of cannibalism. 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). It is only after that that the cat informs her that she is a "slut" for "[eating] the flesh and [drinking] the blood of her grandmother!" who realizes that she has been led into cannibalism (Delarue 32). By calling the little girl a “slut,” the cat insinuates a sexual interaction between the bzou and the girl. The little girl defies the rules of etiquette by consuming the contents of an unlabeled container and participating in a sexual interaction with a male figure. Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass also participates in taboo acts, defying the rules of Victorian etiquette that Carroll repeatedly mocks. In fact, in 1855, Carroll published “Hints on Etiquette; Or, Dining Out Made Easy', “a comic parody of the rigid, often absurd, rules of Victorian fine dining etiquette” (Lewis Carroll Juvenilia). It highlights the absurdity of overtly rigid rules in Victorian society; pokes fun at etiquette in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It is taboo to consume the contents of an unidentified substance, but Alice drinks the small bottle labeled "DRINK ME" and eats the small cake marked "EAT ME" anyway (Carroll 13, 15). The minor consequences – shrinking and becoming larger than before – desensitize Alice to the dangers of consuming mysterious substances. Later he finds another small bottle, which is not labeled 'DRINK ME', "but yet he uncorks it and puts it to his lips" (Carroll 32). She is curious to know what will happen; he doesn't consider that it might be poisonous, just that something interesting will happen. What most would consider dangerous and taboo, Alice sees as a guessing game where she will "just see what this bottle does" (Carroll 32). She begins to long for the mystery of unmarked substances, claiming that she is getting rather "tired of being such a little thing!" (Carroll 32). He hopes the liquid will satisfy his desire to grow, but is unaware of the implications until he actually consumes it. Alice exemplifies the common curiosity of children; it closes.