Read and take notes on Feed by M.T. Anderson by class time on Tuesday, January 6. (January 6 is the second day back from the holiday break, fifteen days from today. For those of you who like to plan ahead, if you read twenty pages each of the fifteen nights you'll finish on time. For those of you with a more obsessive relationship to books, eager students have often finished Feed in a few binge-reading sessions.)
What should you take notes on?
* How does Feed critique (or satirize) aspects of American culture in the 21st century?
In Feed, written in 2001 and published in 2002, M.T. Anderson creates a speculative future setting that is based on "cultural conditions as they already were then [in 2001]." How does the speculative future Anderson creates critique present day "cultural conditions," especially related to technology, consumerism, and interpersonal relationships?
Since Anderson seems critical of the future he creates, Feed is often called a dystopian novel. It has also been called a satirical novel. What makes the novel dystopian? What makes the novel satirical? Are there ways that the novel does not fit these labels?
* How do the choices Anderson has made about language, structure, and various fiction writing elements contribute to the critique (or satire) of American culture in the 21st century? Consider point of view, narrative voice & style, setting, characterization, narrative structure (including not only events & plot, but also titles--the book, the parts, the chapters--and strange mini-chapters in italics).
* Feed's narrative and message are directed toward a young adult audience (14 and up) though adults have enjoyed and have been enlightened by the novel too. How has Anderson seemed to consider the audience when making literary and rhetorical choices?
* Take notes on anything else that you think about while reading and that you want to talk and write about later that I haven't mentioned above, particularly connections between Feed and your own experiences, observations, studies, and other readings.
How should you take notes?
* Make a bookmark for taking notes by folding a piece of paper in half. This will give you four blocks for notes and questions, one block for each part of the book. Label the blocks "moon," "eden," "utopia," "slumberland".
* Use sticky notes to record your observations, ideas, and questions.
* Take notes in Google Docs or a notebook.
* Buy a physical copy and write in it; buy an electronic copy (with a sense of irony) and highlight, etc.
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