General Information
Title: Feed
Author: M.T. Anderson
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Date of Publication: 2002
Cover Design: Yien Keat Wong/Veer & Ocean Photography/Veer
Lexile Level & Target Audience
Lexile: 770L
Age Range: 14 & up
This text is suitable for both young men and women, though young men may more readily relate to the narrator POV (a "straight up," tell-it-like-it-is male highschooler).
Brief Summary
What began as a spring break trip to the moon quickly turned into a series of events that would forever change the lives of Titus, Violet, and, to some extent, the lives of their friends. Feed is set within a futuristic world in which most everyone has a "feed" installed into their brains––a program reminiscent of the internet, complete with instant news headlines, person-to-person digital chatting, and constant personalized recommendations of what to buy, what to listen to, and what to look like. This is the normal. When Titus meets Violet, though, things start to change; could it be that Violet's mission to fight the feed really is the right path?
Evaluation: Pros & Cons
Pros:
1. The overarching themes are both critically important and culturally relevant. This novel explores a digital marketing world that feels all to close to our own. It poses the questions of what constant immersion into technology is doing to our depth of real connection in relationships, and what daily bombardment of marketing schemes is doing to our formation of personal identity and priorities. I'd love for every one of my students (esp. middle school) to seriously consider these questions.
2. The writing style/technique is unique and useful for teaching craft. Anderson implements "new" vocabulary, but helps readers to catch the meaning through mainly context alone––this, along with other techniques (some of which are detailed below), is an incredibly useful example of giving students "tools" for their own writing.
3. The culture is believable. This sort of goes along with 1. and 2. The culture is believable because the writing is so carefully and intricately crafted, and, because the culture is believable, the themes of the book are illustrated naturally; students will be able to instantly make connections to our current culture.
Cons:
1. There are unnecessary obscenities and mature elements. Although I understand that many highschoolers' vocabularies and lifestyles may mirror that which are found within the book, I personally am hesitant to allow such a heavy splattering of these elements within the literature my students read. Although the themes presented in the book are, in my opinion, incredibly important and relevant, I can't bring myself to include the entirety of this book within my curriculum––mainly for the above-listed reasons; I would, however, consider including portions of this text where helpful in explaining our current digital crisis.
2. Titus' "change" is too ambiguous. At the end of the book, we're left wondering whether or not Titus will choose to "fight the feed." Both the nature of his closing thoughts and the fact that he returns to visit Violet on what is, essentially, her deathbed, indicate that he's most likely decided to follow in her footsteps; Titus' conversation with Violet's father, however, along with his continual lack of fight throughout the story, make us doubt whether he's truly resolved to throw off the chains by which he is so evidently bound. For the sake of teaching students, I'd prefer a more clear message, rather than one they get to "argue about;" is it right for Titus to fight the feed? Yes. Does he? I think I want that answer to be a clear "yes," though I admit that there are valuable teaching points for either response.
3. We don't know what Violet continually sees in Titus that is "so good." From my perspective, there's no real reason for Violet's continual belief and trust in Titus. After her initial "freakout" at a party, Titus begins to lose interest in her, and his interest and commitment to her only continues to fade as her health fades. And yet, Violet continually reaches out to him, forgiving his disinterest and loving him despite his shortcomings. What are these good qualities she sees in him, though? As a reader, I saw few, if any, truly redeeming qualities in his character. And maybe that was the point––an illustration of unconditional love and belief even when the person doesn't deserve it. And does that cause Titus to ultimately change in the end? I'm undecided on this one, on whether it's a pro or a con. I suppose it depends on which way I would guide students in interpretation.
Literary Elements
Context & "New" Vocabulary: Anderson uses context almost exclusively in helping readers to understand the many "new" vocabulary words he introduces in the text. This works brilliantly, and usually without too much confusion (the more "encoded" words are gradually explained as the text continues).
Symbolism: The "feed" is a clear reference to our current technologies such as the internet, GPS systems, virtual reality games, digital personal assistants, shopping recommendations, etc.; the development of this component within the novel is intriguing and strangely (creepily) easy to follow and relate to our existing day-to-day relationship with technology.
Tone: Along with Anderson's use of context and vocabulary, his tone of voice (expressed through sentence structure, unique word combinations, and distinct punctuation) works to seamlessly develop Titus' character and personality (and the character/personalities of those around him).
Mini-lesson Idea(s)
Although I would not teach this book as a whole, I would consider, as mentioned above, using excerpts from the text for the purpose of approaching these themes regarding technology's and marketing's influence on society. Part of this discussion could include students keeping a log of the minutes/hours they spend on multiple forms of media, such as social media, TV, movies, music, video games, etc. After documenting their media use, students could engage in an "unplug challenge," in which they try to go one week (or even a few days) without these forms of media; this challenge could be the launching point for a discussion about how much we are (or are not) dependent on technology, and what the harms of that dependence could be. A similar documentation process and challenge could be done regarding the existence of marketing's influence on students' decisions.
- Aubrey
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