A significant repetition in the text is that use of the word fast. The author uses the word fast to describe how she perceives some aspects about how she sees the world around here. According to her, we are fast walkers, fast talkers, and that we have fast food. The mentioning of fast food could be to point out just because it is more convenient for our fast paced life, it is not better for us. Also it shows that by mostly eating at fast food places we don't really care about what we put in our bodies and how it effects us in the long run. By describing us as fast it could point out that we might not care or think much about our actions and that we don't take the time to think or consider what we are doing. If we take the time to slow down, we might be able to enjoy life more and not be as stressed out as we would be in a fast paced world.
When finishing this piece, I noticed a fact that may or may not be important but struck me as odd, which is that the author did not mention how she eats. She talks about how different communities eat and meeting people like Bob Cannard and Michael Pollar and how their lifestyle is. She also talks about the edible schoolyards that some schools are implementing and their benefits. However with her explaining these things, she never mentioned does she eat only organic products, or only eats the foods she grows herself. The author shares different lifestyles of eating but she does not share her own lifestyle.
Yes, there is a lot of FAST in her essay! I think you could also use this observation as evidence for who Kalman might be intending as her audience. Perhaps her ideal readership lives in a big city like Kalman does, or perhaps they simply live a fast-paced, overly complicated lifestyle. The repetition of fast in contrast with slow might be a strategy designed to capture these particular readers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, great point when you notice that "she never mentioned does she eat only organic products, or only eats the foods she grows herself. The author shares different lifestyles of eating but she does not share her own lifestyle." I noticed that same thing. If Kalman is trying to convince readers to eat healthier by growing some of their own food and being more resourceful about cooking and making things from scratch, why doesn’t she paint herself as a resourceful cook and gardener? She barely mentions her own lifestyle. In fact, she implies that she does not have a green thumb: “You would NOT want to rely on me for your food” (88).
One last thing: in your first paragraph, when you say she is using a typeface, I think it's actually handwriting. Though, either way, it definitely breaks with the conventions of "academic writing" and it is less bland, as you point out. The question will become, later, why does she do that?
I also agree that she doesn't really specify what foods she eats or if she is a vegetarian or meat eater. Does she also eat fast food once in a while? This was never answered in her essay.
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