I honestly wish I could say I am loving this book, but that is not the case. After all, that is the beauty of literature; there are books that captivate you and others that do not engage you whatsoever. Considering the fact that I love many science fictions book, such as The Hunger Games and Divergent series, I assumed that this would be another sci fi book that I would equally enjoy. Personally, I think that the structure and plot of the text are elements that have taken away from my enjoyment and interest. First, I was completely thrown off by the fact that the characters would say unit at the end of their sentences. After a few pages of repetitive units, I had to read the back cover again because I was not sure as to whether or not the characters were robots! Knowing that they are in fact humans from Earth, I did not know why this was included in the dialogue. Is it related to the fact that they have feed transmitters implanted in them? I'm hoping this is something that can be clarified for me!
The overall plot of the book, focusing on striking back at the Feed does not appeal to me. As a result, I often found myself reading the words, but not fully comprehending what I was reading. One question that has come to mind as I am reading Feed, is why Titus and his friends care so much about their transmitters. After having their feeds hacked by a man from an anti-feed organization, I would have thought that Titus would be relieved. Putting myself in his place, I do not think I'd like having a transmitter taking control of my mind. Maybe Titus and his friends view the feed as fundamental to fully participate in society? Constantly having advertisements, movies and songs crammed into their heads to access at any point would be extremely overwhelming for me. I understand that Titus is able to access any of these, with a simple thought, but I don't know if I'd like to have such a thing implanted in me. I would not feel in control of my mind if the feed was constantly overwhelming me with advertisements and music...it's as if I'd have a television or radio taking over my mind! Doesn't sound like much fun to me.
It amazed me that Titus and his friends felt as though they were actually in control of their minds. Clearly the feed is designed to guide almost all the decisions an individual makes. The more I am reading though, I have come to realize that the feed is something they have always known. Knowing that the feed is simply normal to them, I can in a way understand why they would not be on board to rebel against the transmitters. Yet, just because something is all you've ever known, doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing wrong about it. Are the characters truly individuals if they all have the feeds implanted in them?
This is when I began to enjoy Violet's character. I'm always rooting for a female lead who strikes back against the norms of society! Rather than giving into the feed and conforming, Violet proves that at times it's okay to go against the grain. If anything, this is one aspect of the book that I was able to enjoy. I feel as though the book would be static without the perspective of Violet. Violet's individuality is a theme that I have seen across several of the books we have read in this course thus far. As I was reading Feed, I found myself making connections to Star girl and how she was perceived as abnormal; going against the norms of society. These are the kinds of characters I enjoy reading about. If I had to pick one interesting thing about this book, it would have to be Violet's character. Her perspective and personality served as the only ounce of motivation to continue reading.
Keara,
ReplyDeleteI did not enjoy Feed very much either! I too felt myself reading the words but not comprehending what they were saying. For me, I found it to be a little too far fetched and I didn't particularly love how teens were portrayed in this story. The language particularly bothered me. Did you notice how often Titus and the other characters said "like" or "da da da" ? I'm not sure if the author was trying to make the characters sound like teenagers would but I found it annoying to read. Furthermore, I think it is rude to portray teens like that because there are plenty of smart teenagers who know how to speak well. Did this language bother you as well? I'm curious to know whether or not I'm the only one!
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was not the only one would noticed that the characters said "like" so many times! To be honest, I started counting each occurrence when Titus said "like." I stopped at 12. I understand that the author is trying to convey the fact that teenagers tend to talk like this, but it was a bit excessive. This is one of the reasons why I lost interest in the book. I too agree that this made the characters sound unintelligent. I think the author had good intention of trying to convey how teenagers talk, but there are other ways to do this. I absolutely hate when people said "like" to this magnitude. I wonder if I would have been able to comprehend and become more engaged in the book if the dialogue was constructed differently.
Ha! I have to comment on the fact that you ended up rooting for Violet because you like to root for the female character who bucks societal traditions and values. I AGREE 100%. Also, I find these female characters are still hard to find -- especially as the main character. Even my favorite, Stargirl, was not our primary character or "voice" of the book.
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