Eat me

Question 1

what are themes?

Answer 1

• abuse relationship with partner that force feeds his wife
• gender and power
• battle with inner demons

Question 2

context?

Answer 2

-relevant to todays society and who women due to media must conform to a certain look and the ideal female body

Question 3

title?

Answer 3

• connotes childlike imagery due to the way that it comes from the children’s tale ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll.
• imperative=command and aggression,
• duo-syllabic title is very abrupt and ‘bossy’.

Question 4

(theme) explain theme of power?

Answer 4

-power is imperative, it is fundamental to the feeder, without power he couldn’t control her

Question 5

(writer) info about patience?

Answer 5

• she focuses on other social taboos -race+sexuality

- characteristically uses characters to tell a story through them

Question 6

(structure) can you comment on stanza length and what it shows?

Answer 6

-tercets throughout her poem, can show the consistency of the abuse and the consistent pressure on the narrator to conform to standards set by society.

Question 7

is structure loose and what does it show?

Answer 7

-NO its a rigid structure used to show just how trapped the narrator feels in the relationship she has with the male, and also how trapped she is in the face of society’s expectations and her own self esteem.

Question 8

(structure) what type of monologue is the poem?

Answer 8

-audacious dramatic monologue

Question 9

(narrative) name for presence of two or more expressed viewpoints

Answer 9

-heteroglossia

Question 10

(narrative) can you provide evidence of when two viewpoints are expressed?

Answer 10

‘i like soft girls’

-4th, 8th, 9th stanza

Question 11

(narrative) what does the expression of 2 view points allow?

Answer 11

• allows the reader to see into the mind of both narrators, as well as invoking a feeling of hatred toward the dominating male narrative.
• the male intrudes her personal space+ deepest thoughts- this can also be used to convey feelings of hatred towards the male.

Question 12

(narrative) what does assonance, alliteration and repetition allow?

Answer 12

• allows narrator to convey a sensual feeling throughout the poem from the narrator, which mirrors the excess that is described in the poem.
• ironic as their is no evidence of an intimate relationship

Question 13

(rhyme) explain the influence of half rhyme?

Answer 13

• implies feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity as even though they are not spelled the same when said aloud they sound almost the same. ‘cake’/ ‘weight’
• female narrator is unsure about herself and is lacking a sense of identity
• linked to society and pressure that they almost loose their identity

Question 14

(neon lines) ‘poured olive oil down my throat’

Answer 14

• assonance of the ‘o’ sound
• creates the sound of someone choking. This can be representative of the way the narrator is feeling choked by the presence of the abusive male in her life.

Question 15

explain the relationship of half rhyme and claustrophobia?

Answer 15

• half rhyme structure conveys the sense of claustrophobia and entrapment faced by women in the eyes of society and the social expectations for women
• also trapped in an abusive relationship

Question 16

explain tone in beginning of the poem

Answer 16

-mournful tone in the first few stanzas, as the narrator discusses what the male character does to her

Question 17

explain tone by the end of the poem

Answer 17

• to a stronger, more empowered tone in the last few stanzas as the narrator breaks free of the male character’s manipulative controlling grasp.
• highlighted by the use of sarcasm in ‘how could I not roll over him’ and the increased use of the personal pronoun ‘I’.

Question 18

evidence+explain use of submissive language?

Answer 18

• ‘I did as I was told’
• invokes child like imagery much like the title
• sympathy towards the female narrator

Question 19

(imagery) what line shows how women are meant to stay pure and how?

Answer 19

• “white” icing with the “pink”
• “white” =innocence and purity, and the use of it in ‘Eat Me’ is ironic as the narrator is neither innocent nor pure
• “pink” is a traditionally feminine colour symbolic for the traditional expectations of women in society.

Question 20

(imagery) explain the semantic field of food

Answer 20

• connotes the idea that society is dwelling on what we eat and the idea that ‘you are what you eat’.
• “too fat to…”

Question 21

(imagery) ‘shipwreck’/ ‘dessert’ show what?

Answer 21

-imagery to show isolation,reveals the loneliness the narrator feels in this relationship.

Question 22

(Language) how do pronouns show the shift in power dynamics?

Answer 22

-The change from being predominantly “he” at the start of the poem to being “I” clearly indicates the shift in the power dynamic from male-female

Question 23

(neon line) “I left him”/”I allowed him”,

Answer 23

-shows the female narrator being the controlling influence

Question 24

(structure) what does enjambment reflect?

Answer 24

-her lack of control

Question 25

(neon line) ‘hips judder like a juggernaut’

Answer 25

-mechanical simile conjure’s huge imagery and alliteration shows lack of self-esteem, she is disgusted with herself

Question 26

(neon line) ‘i hit thirty’

Answer 26

-30 is the measurement of BMI when we are clinically obese and risk of a range of debilitating diseases