The most popular YA novels use food as a vehicle for backstory and description. We get a chance to learn about the story beyond what the characters happen to say when their mouths are full. The Harry Potter books, Twilight Series, and Hunger Games Series use food as a symbol for: Maturity: Harry Potter, Katniss, and Bella show their maturity by preparing meals for their family; they are not types to be babied. Harry fries eggs and bacon for the Dursleys (HP Ch.2), Bella makes steak and potatoes for her father (TW Ch.2), and Katniss makes dandelion salad for her family (HG Ch.4). Desperation: The type of food exemplifies the desperation or economic state of the character’s Dreary Homeland (initiation). “We don’t hunt them on purpose, but if you’re attacked and you take out a dog or two, well meat is meat. ‘Once it’s in the soup, I’ll call it beef,’ Greasy Sae says with a wink.” (HG Ch.1). Abundance: On the other hand, food also highlights the contrast between the abundance in the Awful-Awesome land and the desperation at home. “Days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol version. What it must be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button?” (HG Ch.5). “Harry’s mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table . . .” (HP Ch.7). Danger: Food can represent danger that could be in store for the Hero. In Twilight, the vampires overcome their hunger for human blood by hunting big game: “‘How do you hunt a bear without weapons?’ ‘Oh, we have weapons.’ He […]
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