Доклад: Food and Drink in literature

Food and Drink. These words have always been considered as something
important in our daily life. Everybody likes fresh drinks at summer, warm
drinks at winter. We always care about what weТre going to serve on our table
to treat ourselves, or our guests. But we hardly ever think about the meaning
of food and drink in the literature, whatever it may be Ц prose or poetry.
So what is the meaning of food in compositions of different authors? How
drinks can show us the point of the poems we read?
To answer these questions I would like to address two authors Ц Anne Frank
and Thomas Moore. I would like to start with analyzing food. For this purpose
I am going to use Anne FrankТs book УThe Diary Of A Young GirlФ. It was 1942
and Germans had invaded. All Jewish people were frightened for their lives
and the Frank family decided to hide. Life was dangerous but they hoped for
the best, until they were finally discovered. This is the diary of Anne
Frank, where she describes all details of living in so-called УSecret
AnnexeФ. Of course, the food is included to this description.
First reference to food appears after about a month of hiding. УWell, what
about food in the Annexe? A man brings bread every day, a very nice friend of
Mr KleimanТs. And weТve stored a hundred tins of food hereФ. У.weТve also
bought three hundred pounds of beansФ. As days went by, members of УSecret
AnnexeФ had fewer opportunities to get food. Every single possibility to get
food encouraged a sense of joy. УThe Annexe was delighted to hear that we are
all getting an extra quarter pound of butter for Christmas. We are each going
to cook something with butterФ. Little amount of food encourages a sense of
greed. УWe are sharing our butter a different way now. Everyone gets their
own piece on their own plate. But itТs not done right Ц the van Daans make
breakfast for everyone, and give themselves the biggest share of the butterФ.
Soon the food gets УterribleФ. УWe have plain bread and coffee Ц not real
coffee Ц for breakfast. We have lettuce or green vegetables, and bad potatoes
and thatТs allФ.
When people donТt have problems with anything (including food), they donТt
seem to worry about that. And it is natural, of course. People donТt even
estimate that. Food is just usual thing for them. When we have deficiency of
things, whatever they may be, we act like happy children when we finally have
an opportunity to get it. УYesterday was DusselТs birthday. He pretended that
he wasnТt interested, but when Miep arrived with a large bag of presents from
his friends, he was as excited as a child! He had chocolate, eggs, butter,
oranges and books. He arranged them on the table and left them there for
three days, the silly old fool! He already has plenty of food. We found
bread, cheese, jam and eggs in his cupboard. He hasnТt given us anything, but
weТve shared everything with himФ.
Reading this story we can see how the main character was unhappy about the
food they had to eat. And it is understandable. УThe food is awful. Lunch
today is potatoes and some very old vegetables out of bottles. They smell
terrible, which is why I have the handkerchief! WeТve got to eat them too Ц I
feel sick when I think about it! Half potatoes have gone bad, and we have to
throw them away. If life here was pleasant, the food would not matter so
much. But itТs the fourth year of the war, and we are all in bad moodsФ.
Here, in last two sentences, we can see that sometimes food doesnТt even
matter! Life rules. I guess most of us would prefer good life rather than
good food.
Now one more example of birthday during the war: УToday is Mr van DaanТs
birthday. He received several presents and a cake. The cake wasnТt perfect,
because we canТt buy the right things to make it with, but it tasted
wonderful anyway!Ф
Food during the war became just a source of getting energy, no more. People
forgot about delicious food, just to treat themselves. In this connection let
us turn to one description of food those terrible days, which shows us all
the details: УIТm going to describe our food rations: Food is a difficult and
important problem not only for us in the Annexe, but for everyone in Holland,
all of Europe and even further away. WeТve lived here for twenty-one months,
and often at any one time there was only one kind of food to eat. For
example, one kind of vegetable or salad. We would eat it with potatoes, in
every possible way that we could think of.  But now there are no vegetables
at all. We have potatoes, and brown beans. We make soup Ц we still have some
packets and stores to make dishes which are a little bit more interesting.
But itТs beans with everything, even in bread. The most exciting moment is
when we eat a thin piece of sausage once a week, and put some jam on our
bread Ц no butter, of course! But weТre still alive, and much of the time the
food tastes good tooФ.
The last mention of food appears to us when we read about events happening on 5
th of June 1944: УThe are new problems in the Annexe now. ThereТs a
quarrel between Dussel and Franks. We canТt agree how to share out the butterФ.
Time during the war was very hard to survive in. We can see it by the reading
this story by Anne Franks. Description of food shows us how much difficult it
was it get it.
Now let us turn on to the theme of Drinks. For this purpose IТve decided to
use compositions of famous Irish poet Thomas Moore. Irish people themselves
like drinking a lot. Nowadays their favorite drink is beer I guess. Having
read some pieces of MooreТs poetry I understood that it was wine earlier. So
letТs now analyze meaning of this drink in the poetry of Thomas Moore.
     УCome, send round the wineФ.
УCome, send round the wine, and leave points of belief
To simpleton sages, and reasoning fools;
This moment Сs a flower too fair and brief,
To be withered and stained by the dust of the schoolsТ.
Here wine appears as a symbol of enjoyment and lighthearted attitude towards
this life. Author tells us not to be maybe even serious, but just take this
life as it is, not to worry about the future. If we followed this
СcommandmentТ I think we would live unconcerned about what will happen, until
something would happen! But here Thomas Moore stresses upon brevity of life.
We can find the following idea: donТt think about the future, life is too
short, live the present moment, enjoy yourself. Wine has always been a symbol
of joy, but sometimes it can even be a sign of sadness. Here wine certainly
plays part of thing that brings pleasure to man.
     УFill the bumper fairФ.
УFill the bumper fair!
Every drop we sprinkle
OТer the brow of Care
Smooths away a wrinkle.
WitТs electric flame
NeТer so swiftly passes,
As when throТ the frame
It shoots from brimming glasses.
Fill the bumper fair!
Every drop we sprinkle
OТer the brow of Care
Smooths away a wrinkleФ.
Here the author emphasizes on СhealingТ function of wine. People can forget
about all their problems if they drink wine, here it is like medicine, which
help us to recover not from the physical pain, but a СspiritualТ one.
УWrinkleФ here is a symbol of sadness, worry or disappointment. So wine helps
us to УsmoothФ this УwrinkleФ. That means not dealing with the problem, but
just healing the soul for some time. The poet shows us that every time we
feel unhappy we can just Уfill the bumper fairФ and all our problems will
leave us, we will be in a good mood. Look, doesnТt it solve our problems?
Everybody thinks of his or her own answer. People are different and it
depends whether person wants to leave his problems in the cup with wine, or
just continue solving it till itТs done.
     
УTake Hence The BowlФ (Neapolitan Air)
УTake hence the bowl; - thoТ beaming
Brightly as bowl eТer shone,
Oh, it but sets me dreaming
Of happy days now gone.
There, in its clear reflection,
As in a wizardТs glass,
Lost hopes and dead affection,
Like shades, before me pass.
Each cup I drain brings hither
Some scene of bliss gone by;-
Bright lips too bright to wither,
Warm hearts too warm to die.
Till, as the dream comes oТer me
Of those long vanished years,
Alas, the wine before me
Seems turning all to tears!Ф
The meaning of wine here appears different from the two poems before. It
shows us that wine can be not only the symbol of enjoyment, healing the soul,
but also the symbol of sadness, even suffering, I think. It canТt be harder
than thinking about the time passed, Уhappy days now goneФ. Being young,
people try everything this life can bring. They live happy life, spend time
visiting different places, having parties (or balls), drinking wine, and
eating different kinds of food. Yes, youth can afford it. But when the time
for being old comes, all this stuff doesnТt bring that joy any more. The only
thing old people have is reminisce.
In this particular poem this reminisce appears to us in kind of sad form. And
this line Уthe wine before me seems turning all to tears!Ф shows us the tears
of nostalgia for old good days.
So, having analyzed some pieces of literature, we can see that the meaning of
food and drink was really important and it played a great role in showing us
the point of these pieces of literature.