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Aditi Bhargava Page 1 FOOD CHOICES What do the starving people of a third world country like Ethiopia have in common with the elite society of the West? The need for food. The only difference is that while Ethiopia still views food as “a means to biological survival" (par.1), the account executives, lawyers and professionals of the western world regard the food they consume as being indicative of their status in society. Food and its quality and quantity appear to have a bearing upon every aspect of their lives. This is the theme of the sarcasm laced humorous essay “Food Worship” by Barbara Ehrenreich published in 1997. Catering distinctly to an audience that is well-versed in North American culture, the author employs figurative language such as tropes and humor, compound - complex sentence structures and unique juxtaposition of common aspects of everyday life to state her arguments and make this essay effective. At the same time, however, her assumption of a specific audience and the larger issue of “the gluttony of a few and the chronic hunger of the world’s many” (par. 10), are not addressed throughout the piece and leaves the reader much to speculate about. One of the most effective techniques used by the author to arouse the reader’s interest is sarcasm. In paragraph two she writes, “I am thinking of substituting food emporiums for museums on my children’s Sunday outings.” By using this hyperbolic statement on the importance of food and stating that food has “gained a foothold in academia”(par.2), the author has clearly ridiculed the trends in western society.
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