Eating Oysters Isn't Just Eating Oysters If It's In A Book Or Movie

Who knew that eating meant more than just satisfying one’s hunger? I guess if you think about it that makes sense. Everyone knows what eating is and it’s not a particularly exciting event. So, why would an author use pages in his book on such a trivial activity? Because obviously there’s something more.

From what I’ve read and seen, a meal can be used to have everyone in a story in one place for when big news are delivered, or a particular plot twist that involves everyone, is delivered. So in those situations, it’s not about the food, but rather having a reason to have everyone together in one place at once. Also it can help to show character traits, like in the Bell Jar. When Esther is at the ladies' luncheon she spends a good about of time talking about the food and devouring it and in doing so one can notice how she doesn’t really interact with anyone else. It is so much about the food because there is a lack of dialogue with the other girls there. And of course this meal is what leads to the food poisoning later on. So this one meal both underscores Esther’s loneliness and lack of social activity and sets up a future conflict. 

Again, I don’t know why I hadn’t figured this out before. During most meal scenes in movies, people are having a conversation. As the audience you naturally pay attention more to what is being said than what is being done. The eating is secondary because it’s not essential. In the same sense, if there isn’t conversation happening during a meal scene, then you know that the action is important. That although they are eating, there is something bigger happening that must be spotted. 

I also found it very interesting when it talked about how in “Tom Jones” the eating scene in the inn was used in place of a sex scene because that couldn’t be openly shown back then. That is such a clever way to visually display an act that, well, could not be visually displayed. Having an everyday act represent something that society has deemed inappropriate to show is genius. A meal scene will never be censored if the characters are just eating. Because the director could always claim that it is an ordinary scene if he needs to. That being said, I will be more observant of scenes in which meals are happening. Something tells me that I have missed out on many things in the past because I wasn’t aware of the importance of what wasn’t happening. I must say though, using meal scenes to represent other things probably works best onscreen than on paper because being able to see how the characters eat is much more effective than reading about it. Just like anything that deals with the sense of smell is much more effective on paper because the descriptions can be more elaborate than a scene with an actor smelling something. 

Harry Potter is the Best Piece of Literature Ever...And I'm the Biggest Nerd for Saying That

After having read this chapter, it was so easy to think back to all of my favorite books and movies in which the character goes on a journey or mission and spot each thing that the chapter listed. It’s also interesting that it pointed out that once the character is on the quest, the original “errand” he was meant to run is forgotten. That is so true. Like in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry are going to find Lockhart to tell him where the chamber is and then they end up going down with him and killing Voldemort and the basilisk. This leads me to a statement that is also so true, “Th real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge.” This again leads me back to Harry Potter. During Harry’s battle against the basilisk, Dumbledore’s phoenix drops off the sorting hat, out of which Harry pulls out Godric Gryffindor’s sword. This is validation to Harry that he belongs in the house of Gryffindor and calms his worries that because of his ability to speak parseltongue, like Voldemort, maybe he was meant to be in Slytherin. After all is done, Harry is at peace that he is in the right house and that he is not like Voldemort, although they share some traits and abilities. 

I suppose that if you think about it, it makes sense that all quests include the things that this chapter speaks about. Even when one is coming up with a story, with no preplanning, most of the things in the chapter will be included. It’s just how stories work. For a story to make sense and a journey to feel true, there must always be a main character that embarks on the adventure. Otherwise what are you going to talk about? There obviously has to be a destination and a reason to go there. Without a destination there is no journey and without a reason for going there is no purpose to move anywhere. Challenges and trials are also essential because without conflict there is no story. Conflict is what makes things interesting and what makes the story worth reading. No one is entertained by peace and easy success. And of course, there has to be a real reason to go to the destination. The real mission will not be revealed immediately because the exposition must happen first. Also, if the real mission is revealed at the beginning there is a chance that the reader will miss it because he or she is too busy getting acquainted with the setting and characters, etc.

Honestly, it just wouldn’t make sense to have a story about adventure without any of these things. They make the story come together and what allow the story to be a good one. All of these parts are essential. Harry Potter was such a great series because J.K. Rowling had all of these things in abundance in each book. She created a world that was believable and characters that had a purpose. That is why although the series included seven books that could be considered somewhat repetitive, they never actually were. It never felt like the same thing again, even though essentially the story was the same. 

Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?

This chapter was an extended version of something I’d heard before: “There are no new stories.” That’s not to detract from new works that may come up, but it’s just the truth. I haven’t been around that long, but in my short life I have noticed this. 

A very easy, maybe bad, example to spot that proves this is any given romantic comedy movie out there. The guy meets the girl and pursues her and then they end up together. Of course little details set the stories apart, whether it be the evil step mom in one and the crazy magical quest in the other, but the basic story is the same. 

Part of me wonders why this is. I guess an easy explanation is that it’s just hard to come up with original stories. As a playwright I can definitely agree with this statement. One of the reasons I have such a hard time being proud of my work is because I’m afraid that people will think it lacks imagination. Then it could also be because as human beings it’s just hard to deal with things that we don’t understand. The unknown is scary. It is in our nature to protect ourselves and avoid being vulnerable at any cost. Therefore, people read stories and watch movies about things that they are familiar with and that they know for certain how they feel about. It allows them to stay in control. Maybe because of this authors stick to what they know will be easily accepted due to its familiarity. 

And in that train of thought, maybe it’s also due to what society has deemed acceptable. After all, there have been books banned in different parts of the world because they were “too scandalous” or “inappropriate”. Upsetting the norm in society is frowned upon. Anything that isn’t “normal” or “traditional” can cause negative reactions. Most people would like to believe that they are open to change and new things, but it’s often proved to be false. Homosexuality is still something that causes commotion. Sex and anything related to it still causes most people to blush and change the subject. The man is still supposed to be the one to ask the woman out. How then, can anything that ventures into subjects that aren’t normally spoken about be accepted? They aren’t. And so we are stuck with the same stories. 

Maybe it’s because our knowledge of the world is too small to be able to come up with new stories, after all there is the other saying: “You write what you know.” We only exist in one planet. There are seven others that we have very little or no knowledge of. We are also only one type of living organism. Our goals in life are all basically the same. What we know is very small compared to what is out there. And we can’t write about things we don’t know. So again, we are stuck with the same stories. It’s no wonder we constantly see the same characters in literature and in movies.