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'True Inequality In M. T. Anderson's Feed'

Decent Essays

True equality is not defined as treating everyone the same, but rather attending equally to everyone’s different needs; unfortunately, this utopic form of thinking is not accessible to all. In the novel Feed written by M.T. Anderson, and Lexicon by Max Barry, “only Marxism, as an account of the rational unfolding of a basically irrational capitalist system, [can] make sense of [the] current chaos [of a] class struggle” (Ollman). Specifically, the use of technology, propaganda, and language are all exploited by the bourgeoisie, in order to control the proletariat. Thus, it is evident that ignorance regarding the omnipresent power which authorities possess over others creates a submissive population.
Technology has proven to advance society; …show more content…

By using predetermined words, “the worker is alienated from the distinctive potential for creativity and community we all share just because we are human beings” (Ollman). In the novel Feed conventional language has been eradicated, and in its place is a vernacular that the corporations have influenced. On the moon, Titus and his friends decide to entertain themselves, he “play[s] a game with the ball, and twirl[s] all over the place, and we [are] like, what it's called when you skim really close over the surface of something” (Anderson 13). The word which Titus is searching for is glide. However, he is unable to reach this conclusion because Titus and his friends do not have to think much about their language, since the feed will step in and offer them the word they are looking for. Language has deteriorated so much that thinking on their own is a foreign concept; therefore, corporations input on language is necessary. Fortunately, Violet’s family has attempted to resist the impact of the feed. Her father “says the language is dying. He thinks words are being debased. So he tries to speak entirely in weird words and irony, so no one can simplify anything” (Anderson 137). Violet’s father believes that the feed corporations have dominated complex language, thus the struggle against these omnipresent powers is a fight for language. The naivety that accompanies those who possess the feed is so rampant that maintaining former language is necessary to overpower the entities who view their population as submissive objects. Overall, due to the new language that has been formed by the feed corporation, the population can no longer formulate their own conversations and therefore are

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