“whenever people eat or drink together, its
communion”(Foster 8). When there is a description of a meal in a piece of literature or a scene in a movie or show, its always more than that. For example, in Breaking Bad, the hit TV show, it is highly disputed why Walt, Skyler, and Walt Jr. eat breakfast all the time. I think Gilligan, the producer, uses the breakfast to gauge the gravity of the situation. If Walt Jr. turns down breakfast, tension is at an all time high, the boy loves his breakfast. If Skyler only pours cereal, (hopefully not the dreaded non crunchy raisin bran), she and walt are at odds once again. And if Walt makes an extravagant feast of a breakfast, he is either distracting Walt Jr. from something or he is rubbing it in Skyler's face that he is living in the house again. If the whites are eating together, it is shown that they have settled things, as much as they can be on Breaking Bad. Meals, although sometimes they are just meals, often mean more than that. Dining together can be a symbol of peace and friendship, as Foster so eloquently describes “in the real world, breaking bread together is an act of
sharing and peace, since if your breaking bread you’re not breaking heads”
(Foster 8) Rarely is it that one kills a guest at their table, they only did it to Rasputin because he was impossible to kill.
Foster, in his third chapter of How to Read Literature Like a Professor , explains that not all vampires are blood sucking. some, much like Gregor's father in The Metamorphosis, are merely older men preying on the little innocent thing, sucking all life, nourishment, and money from them until they die. “it’s [vampirism] also about things other than literal
vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, as refusal to respect the autonomy of
other people, just for starters”(Foster 16) Foster explains that vampires can be anyone. There is a particular formula for vampires that apply to most of them correctly. that formula includes an older being, too lazy or unwilling to find their own nourishment; a young being, willing to work and seriously compassionate, and they always see laziness as disability; and the older being must take advantage of the younger. “the essentials of the vampire story, as we discussed
earlier: an older figure representing corrupt, outworn values; a yound,
preferably virginal female; astripping away of her youth, energy, virtue; a
continuance of the life force of the old male; the death or destruction of the
young woman” (Foster 19) Foster says that the vampires rampant greed and lust will eventually lead to the downfall of the young being. This directly applies to Gregor's story, he is young, he provides, he dies.
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