FEED REVIEW

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This will probably be the last post about Feed by M.T. Anderson. I've decided to review the book as a whole. I'm hoping that this post isn't too long. And once again there will be spoilers.

TrevorDecker.com

If you've been diligently following my post on the Feed then you will most probably know what I think about this book. On Goodreads, I've given the book 3 out of 5 stars. At first, I didn't like this book at all, which lowered my rating. I also do not really like the ending. The ending is ambiguous, and there are no sequels to answer any burning questions. I don't know about you, but I often overthink about things. You can probably imagine the amount of time I think about possible book endings (Yes I know I'm a nerd...) But, I have to hand it to M.T. Anderson the ending made me think in a good way. It was almost like the call to action at the end of a speech. The wasn't an absolute cliffhanger, there were many clues to how the story would unfold. But I still like to know the definite future.

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I felt very strongly about each of the characters throughout the book. Titus, the protagonist, had me upset with him one moment and ready to congratulate him the next. At the very beginning I absolutely hated him, he was a spoiled brat. Then entered Violet. I loved Violet the entire time, I knew that she was different just as Titus did. As Violet exits stage left, my love for Titus leaves with her. Violet was an enigma, she pushed everyone to think. She changed Titus for the better; she opened his eyes. As Violet started to have extremely serious feed malfunctions she brought my love for Titus back. I feel that Titus' growth was the main focus of the book, not technology. He underwent changes that lead to  understanding and almost maturity. There were other characters that I feel don't need as much recognition. For example, Titus' friends, Titus' parents, and Violet's dad. I hated them all save Violet's dad, because, like Violet, he could think. Overall the characters all were crucial to the story in some way and were enjoyable, but that still doesn't mean that I liked them.

giphy.com

What really fascinated me in this book was the language. At first, I was a real hater of  the language, check my first feed post. But I started to delve deeper into the world of Feed I found surprisingly deep and meaningful language. Like "the rose will bloom ere long" page 91, ",“It was like I kept buying these things to be cool, but cool was always just ahead of me, and I could never exactly catch up to it. I felt like I’d been running toward it for a long time.” page 279, and "The truffle was completely undervalued." page 84. There were a lot more quotes that I could have mentioned, those were just my favorites. M.T. Anderson was holding out on me. I like the fact that you have to read the book to understand some of the quotes and that the quotes were abstract. So overall, I feel that M.T. Anderson can take a bow for a job well done. I enjoyed the book. 

giphy.com

To sum it all up, I started this book expecting to hear about how we should be careful about technology and instead read a story of understanding, maturity, and growth. I recommend this book to everyone. I understand that this post was a bit more academic than normal, I'll try to write a more upbeat post in the near future. Have a good week and read a good book!

Write you later!

giphy.com

Final Feed Thoughts

Hello!

giphy.com

This is my final Feed analysis. I had a bit more analysis but decided to only put what I thought to be most important. I know it's a little long I apologize in advance.

Quote	Page #	Comments
“…but the men were not moving at all. Just looking at the world helpless, in circles, the world going by.”	208 Chap. 52.9%	What’s up with the percentage at the beginning of this chapter? I think that something is being updated or uploaded onto the feed. I know for sure that the percentage means that something big is coming. I think that the quote is talking about how to people using the feed watch as life goes by, while on their phones. I think this is similarly to how some people now live life. They don’t experience life for themselves because they are experiencing it online
“It said Violet Durn, Feed Efficiency: 87.3%.”	210 chap. 87.3%	The chapter titles are about the Violets feed. I was right about it being almost like a download. I thought that Violet's feed couldn’t be fixed. So what exactly is being done?
“What am I, without the feed? It’s all from the feed credits. My idea of real life.”	217	I think that the idea that our interpretation of ‘real life’ is based on what we see on the media. The feed has such a big impact on the people. I wonder if the feed put these ideas of real life into the people purposefully to better benefit the corps. I thought that Violet of all people could be ok without the feed. I mean, I assumed that because she could resist, she could thrive.
“The whole brain is tied in to the feed. The whole brain, like the memory and the part that makes you move and the part for your emotions.”	222 Chap. 86.5%	That is concerning…I think that the corps could be controlling the people completely. The feed ties to the brain, and the feed can be hacked, meaning the brain can be hacked. Looking at the chapter tells us that Violet is not at all getting better, she’s getting worse. I’d also like to comment on Titus’ behavior, not recorded, he is very standoffish and uncaring…
“10. I want to rent a hotel room with you. As Mister and Missus Smith…14. I want to get older…I’ll call- ‘Paine!’…And he’ll come when I call.”	229-233 chap 80.9%	She’s a little worse. Violet is planning out a future with Titus. She imagines them together. I think all this talk of commitment, the future, and in general, deep things will scare Titus. I already think that Violet is a little creepy for planning this list of things she wants to do out, mostly including Titus. I kind of understand that she is dying so must make a to-do list, but still. And that last comment about the dog, Paine, I think that in her ideal future that pain will only come when called. This unlike what is happening to her, the pain now is unwanted.
“Does anyone else want to go in mal?”	237 chap 76.3%	Titus is going back to how he was before he met Violet.  Now I just think that Titus is trying to distract himself from worrying about Violet.
“She stood just outside the room. I was just inside.”	257 chap 57.2%	I think that this represents the divide between Titus and Violet. You know, ‘she was so close yet so far’.
“I didn’t want to be called her hero. I looked at her, and she was smiling like she was broken.”	263	Earlier Titus was just saying that Violet made him feel like a man but in a positive way. Now he doesn’t want to be her hero. Is it because she is broken? Does he just want the fun and lovey-dovey part of a relationship?
“I keep picturing you dead already…It feels like being felt up by a zombie, okay?”	269	I finally get why Titus was avoiding Violet. He was, in fact, trying not to get too close because he feels like she is already dead. I still feel like Titus is being a little inconsiderate. I’m sure Violet feels even worse than he does.
“’I [Violet] didn’t want to go out of it alone.’…’I [Titus] can’t field this. Okay? You’re laying down this whole guilt banquet.’” “I [Titus] didn’t sign up to go out with you forever when you’re dead…”	270-271, 272	This quote goes even deeper into the reason that Titus has been avoiding Violet. I think they just broke up. Violet was in love with having someone to hold her up, while Titus was looking for a hookup. Titus couldn’t be the person to take all of Violet’s problems. I kind of understand Titus, I also thought Violet was being a tad overwhelming.
“We don’t know any of that [what’s happening in the world]. We have tea parties with our teddies. We go sledding. We enjoy being young. We take what’s coming to us. That’s our way.”	273	Violet has just blown up. I feel that it was quite appropriate, Titus is just allowing his eyes to be blinded to the truth. They are about to leave the hotel, is it wrong for me to want Titus to just pretend to love Violet so that her last days could be happy? I guess that Titus did the right thing, no matter what I would’ve done. I would take what’s coming, just accept that Violet was needing a hero. I’m just like the people Violet is talking about in her rant.
“People were just stopping in their tracks frozen…The night after I saw them frozen…I kept thinking of Violet and her broken flipper-hand.”	278	Something is wrong with the feed. I really hope that Titus becomes another Violet and resists the feed or at least tries to understand. I’m glad that Titus has not completely forgotten about Violet. He is putting two and two together. Violet is right, he is smarter than he thinks.
“It was like I kept buying these things to be cool, but cool was always just ahead of me, and I could never exactly catch up to it. I felt like I’d been running toward it for a long time.”	279	This is what is happening in this world right now. We often buy things to be cool but the cool card of those items expire all too quickly. I’m glad that Titus is noticing things that are happening in the world, he may not be noticing the wars and human rights violations, but this is a start. Maybe because he feels like running for a long time has been too long.
“’We’re the land of youth. The land of opportunity. Go out and take what’s yours…We Americans,’ he [Violet’s dad] said, ‘are interested only in the consumption of our products. We have no interest in how they were produced, or what happens to them…what happens to them once we discard them…”	290	Today, we want everything instantly and do not care for the consequences. Titus was looking for a quick fling and he found one in Violet. But he easily gave up on her and didn’t care about how taking her to the club affected her. Violet’s dad or M. T. Anderson just dropped some wisdom on the younger generation. As a young American, I probably am guilty of the things mentioned by Violet’s father.
“You’re [Violet is] the story. I don’t want you to forget…I want you to remember yourself. I’m going to remember. You’re still there, as long as I can remember you.”	297	I now understand why Violet was trying to tell Titus her story, so she would be remembered. Violet has taught Titus that everything is not sunshine and rainbows. Things don’t last forever, everything must end, like their salad days. I agree with Titus to a degree, as long as something is remembered, it is there. However, memory is not the same thing as the real thing and eventually people will forget.
“Everything must go.”	299	Nothing in this world can stay forever. I’m sure I like how this ended. I need to think about it. But I don’t think that this book was about being careful with technology. I mean, it was to a degree, but I feel like it was more about leaving your salad days behind and becoming aware of the scary realities of life.

 That's it for Feed. Have a good day! Write you later!

giphy.com

*Sorry, I had to use that last gif because it was just Halloween.*

Feed Part 3

Salutations...

I'm back from break, it was fabulous. My family and I went to Cape Town to chill, but I will admit that still did homework during the break.

giphy.com

Speaking of homework over the break, I read and annotated part 3 of the Feed. But don't worry this will not be like the other posts about the Feed, long and boring. This post will have only like 5 quotes. If you STILL haven't read the Feed by M.T. Anderson, I suggest you do not read this post cuz spoilers. Again I'm sorry...

quickmeme.com

“They couldn’t see anything, just the gamefeed, so when Violet walked in, Marty almost  whacked her in the stomach with his fist.” Page 81

The Feed is dangerous; Marty could have seriously hurt Violet. It's like our phones today. People are killed because they cross the street while cars are moving because they are on their phones. This would be a very future that M.T. Anderson has laid out. Also if they can’t see anything with the feed, does that mean that the government could potentially doing something but created the Feed to keep the people distracted?

memegenerator.net

“…I heard a kid say, ‘I think the

truffle is like completely

undervalued.’…It was like

nothing had happened. We

were watching feedcasts as if

our brains had never been

invaded by the *sshole…And

everything was completely

normal. The truffle was

completely undervalued.” Page 83-84

Today truffles are extremely important. So what is the author trying to say? Things completely important today are different from things important in the world of the Feed. Maybe the hacking that happened to them was like a truffle. To us extremely rare and would be crucial to growing in our lives. But to Titus’ friends, it was completely undervalued, it was though nothing had changed after the hacking incident.

giphy.com

“…I could feel that someone was nudging my feed…In my dream, I asked them who they were…they told me the police…I said that they weren’t the police, so who were they really? They said, here is the lizard you have always been wanting...once I was awake, I couldn’t find…the lizard that was all mine.” Page 92-93

I think that Titus was being hacked by the government or something. If it was the government than I’m quite scared for the people. The government can erase or at least bloke certain memories from the public. If that ain’t shady… I also think that the government was trying to distract Titus with the promise of a lizard, that’s why the lizard is nowhere to be found later. If the intruders felt like a nudge in his feed does that mean that all m-chats are nudges to him feed too? Can anyone hack the Feed? This was a very confusing chapter.

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“Except, she said, only about

73% of Americans have feed…I

didn’t used to have a feed…We

didn’t have enough money…I

got it when I was seven.” Page 112

So this confirms that not everyone has a feed. And they are definitely not distributed at birth. People have to pay for them. Titus must be pretty rich to never think of the price or the amount of people that own feeds. I really do believe that Violet is opening Titus’ eyes.

tumblr.com

“…when the President referred

to the Prime Minister… as a

‘big sh*thead,’…The President

meant to say that the Prime

Minister’s head was fertile,

just full of these nutrient

where ideas can grow.” Page 119

Obama would never say anything like this. I think the government is not in control of the feed, because even the President is getting stupider. The President should be well-spoken and diplomatic, the President in this book is neither of those things. God help America, we are already hated enough, but this…smh. This perfectly shows the decline in humanity, if even the PRESIDENT is swearing casually on television then who is spared. It makes me wonder about who is REALLY in charge. It also reminds me of someone. *hint hint see below*

wikipedia.com

“…The party is over. The party is f*cking over." Page 203

giphy.com

I think that Titus is talking about more than just the party with all his friends. I think that he means his salad days are over. It won’t all happy and sunny anymore. The party of teenage freedom and recklessness is over. Things are going to get serious and possibly sad.


That's it for now. Have a good day! Eat a chocolate! Smile! Write you later, bye.

LE WEEKEND

HI!

ASDFGHJKL....

giphy.com

That picture is an accurate representation of me right now. Like I don't even know what to do or say or write. But I'm freaking out, I don't know why. I'm also low-key dying. So yeah. How are you?

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Maybe I should elaborate, I just participated in JoMUN. Which consists of alot of debating and hard work. My weekend was extremely busy. I also had to communicate and speak to other people....ugh. Now don't get me wrong JoMUN was fun, I loved it. But sometimes it was more than my poor little introvert heart could take. AND I had to host people from another school. I don' think you understand how awkward I am. It was so weird, they lived with me and I hid in my room for the majority of their stay.

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Otherwise I've been pretty good. It's Monday so there's that, but fear not I have next week off. I am so ready for break. AND this Friday is International Day at my school, which is like a parade of all the different countries and we eat food from each one to celebrate. IT IS MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE ENTIRE YEAR.  So after all the JoMUN excitement and school I get a break.

memegenerator.net

That's it for now, I told you guys I would get a "normal post" in eventually. Have a good day! Write you later!

giphy.com

Feed Thoughts...Again...

tenor.co

How are you doing today? I'm doing okay. I would just like to say that this will be just like the previous post. It will be about Feed by M.T.Anderson. If you are still wanting to read the book I suggest that you skip this post (again, I'm sorry) to avoid spoilers. If you are going to read this post because you have read the book or you are not going to that I would like to warn you that one of the quotes from the book has a swear word in it.

hippoquotes.com

Quotes	Page #	Comments
“…I was currently disconnected from feednet, of course, and I was starting to get scared…”	43	I think that the quote means that the people with the Feed are extremely dependent on the Feed.  The first thing Titus does is check his Feed, before he even opens his eyes. The quote says that when he couldn’t access anything, he freaked. That is similar to real life, if there is not internet connection for about 5 minutes I’m convinced that the world is ending, but I’m not scared. This book could be our future.
“’What do we do?’ she asked.  I didn’t know.”	44	I think that this is another comment on the dependence on the Feed that the people have. Without the Feed helping Titus, he had no idea what to do. I think that she was Violet. I kind of find this moment a cool insight into Violet, she wasn’t too proud to confess that she didn’t know what to do.
“I couldn’t figure out even the littlest reason to paint a picture like that.”	45	Art is meant to have emotional meaning to the artist. It is meant to express emotions; I don’t think that Titus knew that. There is always a reason to paint something. I don’t think that Titus was taught about emotions in products in school like we often are. There is always a reason to paint. I also think that the boat painting must be important to the story.
“He [Police officer] told us that we would be off-line for a while until they could see what had been done…	46	For some reason, this quote makes me suspicious of the government in power. The police express little concern for the people, but a lot of concern for the Feed. The quote goes on to say that the Feeds were checked for viruses and things of that nature.
“…it knows everything you want and hope for…Everything we think and feel is taken in by corporations…it’s no good getting pissy about it, because they’re still going to control everything whether you like it or not.”	49	The Feed sounds awesome, but also like our internet in the sense that it collects our information. I think that Titus’ look on the Feed is very strange. He doesn’t seem to care, or at least he believes that he can’t do anything and therefore won’t try. He’s at peace with the fact that corporations control all mostly because the product is enjoyable. I almost agree with him, having a Feed must be awesome.
“I had a few pages cached, from right before the feed stopped.”	50	This guy is still mentioning the Feed. In this quote, he misses it so much that he is going through pages he bookmarked. I kind of find this sad, but I can relate. When the Wi-Fi goes out I try to do things that I have already downloaded so that I can still experience the internet.
“I wanted to say something to cheer her up…I was thinking of how sometimes, trying to say the right thing to people, it’s like some kind of brain surgery, and you have to tweak exactly the right part of the lobe.”	53-54	I understand him completely. I always wonder what is the right thing to say. Sometimes silence is best. I hate that the right word or tweak to the lobe can absolutely make or break a person. I also think that it is sweet that Titus wants to see her happy. He really seems to like her, however, I would like to say that he has only known her for like 2 days.
“’This is… Dude,’ he [Titus’ dad] said. “’Dude, this is some bad sh*t.’”	54	I find the Dad hilarious. My father would never say anything like this. He hates it when I call him dude, so he would never say it to me and he never swears. I like that the Dad is portrayed in the way he is. Maybe this is normal behavior for parents in this world?
“’Maybe these are our salads days.’…’You know. Happy.’ ‘What’s happy about a salad?’… She shrugged. ‘Ranch’”	60	I don’t really know what it is about this metaphor, but I found it hilarious and meaningful. I’m glad that Violet can see the bright side to things like the situation they are in now and salad. I may not be the biggest fan of Ranch, but I get the analogy, and I love it.
“…I guess you could call it a courtyard or terrarium? But a long time ago the glass ceiling over the terrarium has cracked, and so everything was dead…Everything was gray…’Isn’t it beautiful’?”	62	I don’t know if I would have found the scene beautiful. As I read the quote, I was very confused because I didn’t sound beautiful at all. I then took into consideration that the idea of beauty could be different to each person. I also find it interesting they found gray to be beautiful, I often find black things to be beautiful. I think that colors that you like are supposed to say something about your personality. I wonder what liking black/gray says about mine/theirs.
“I can read. A little.”	65	So what do they teach him at school? The quote goes on to say that he protested it at school, but I didn’t include it. I think that the people are too dependent on the Feed. The very fact that Titus was so chill about not being able fully read is weird. I can’t imagine not being able to read, even though there are illiterate people in the world. At least we try to help them become literate. Don’t the people read the Feed?
“The salad days couldn’t last forever.”	68	Again my favorite metaphor ever! I love this, I’m going to start using this. I also agree with the statement. I’ve always heard that everything can’t always be fine and dandy.  I really wish it could. I also think that this was an effective way to start the chapter.

Sooooo, I guess that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed. Again I'm sorry if you couldn't read it. I hope you have an amazing day! Write you later!

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