3rd Block - Summative Discussion: Feed and Our World by Rachel Pawlowski

rpawlowski4 — 2025-09-25 15:47:34 UTC

While the novel primarily critiques Titus and his friend group, this book is also a critique of the world around them. Please write a FULL paragraph responding to the following prompts:

Step 1: Describe one of the issues occurring in the world of Feed, using a quotation + page number from the text to provide a specific example. Possible issues:

Environmental concerns (deforestation, pollution)
Health concerns (lesions)
Socioeconomic status/wealth (poverty)
Trends (clothing)

Step 2: After describing the issue, explain how it impacts the characters in the novel. How does it impact their lifestyle and/or mental state?

Step 3: Make a connection! To what extent is this issue relevant to our REAL world? Is M.T. Anderson’s concern valid? Explain.

bend969 — 2025-09-25 17:03:21 UTC

One of the issues occurring in the world of Feed are the air conditions. On pages 110-111 Titus says, “Like she was always reading things about how everything was dying and there was less air and everything was getting toxic. She told me about how things were getting really bad with some things in South America.” When Titus says this he is referring to things Violet was reading about their world of Feed. This is obviously a major issue considering air is something everybody needs to live. Air factories seem like such a normal thing to these characters but looking at it from an outside perspective we can see how sad that is. We can see that the condition of the air is so bad that they need factories for it. An example of how the air affects these characters are their skin lesions. These are caused by the air pollution causing a toxic environment around them. While it may seem a little dramatic in the book feed, the air pollution can be similar to the real world. The only difference is that the air factories in Feed are helping the environment, while the factories in the real world are the things causing air pollution. M.T. Anderson’s concern is very valid. The air affects everybody and not having a healthy environment for everyone to live in can lead to very unhealthy futures.

mbarb021 — 2025-09-25 17:04:53 UTC

An issue that really makes Violet different from the others is the Socioeconomic status difference between all. On page 134, Titus is walking in Violet's neighborhood, and he says, " All the houses were old and flat." Then, when he enters her house on page 135, he says, " The place is a mess," so he knows why Violet waited so long to bring him over. Violet's family is less fortunate, so she got her feed a little later than most people. As a result, she thinks and adapts differently from Titus and his rich friends, who often lack common sense. This is why Catlista and the others don't get along with Violet as well. This is relevant to our real world because in many cases, when someone was raised a certain way or even older, they tend to think more logically like Violet, so when they're around people who are weak-minded like Titus's friends, you usually don't get along well because they think totally differently from you.

mlanz137 — 2025-09-25 17:27:32 UTC

One of the major issues from M.T. Anderson's novel,"Feed" is health concerns, such as lesions on people’s lives and health. An example in the book states,"There are different kinds of lesions and lesions, but somehow our lesions, in this case, seemed like kid stuff"(Anderson 11). For instance, in the quote, it mentions that theirs are kid-like that shows even health problems are tied to appearance and reputation in their society. This issue in "Feed" is similar to our world because just as they have people with lesions, we have people who have acne. The issue is also similar because usually if someone is young or has a poor diet, which is a common cause of acne they can get a different status based on its appearance. Anderson's concern on the lesions is valid because it reveals that health problems with technology can be tied to even a bigger issue, societal standards. What do you think about the health concerns in Feed that are similar with our world?

jnels121 — 2025-09-25 18:03:19 UTC

There are numerous health concerns within the story of FEED by MT Anderson, but one that has come up a lot is lesions. Lesions in the world of FEED are mysterious skin sores that are caused by pollution and other things that the Industry has done to make this world what it is.

“We shouldn’t think that there are any truth to the rumours that the lesions are the result of any activity of American industry. ... The people of the United States know, as I know, that that is just plain hooey. ... Okay, we need to remember that America is the nation of freedom, and that freedom, my friends, freedom does not lesions make” MT Anderson (85). This quote talks about how the American government is trying to cover up the fact that lesions are caused by what the big industries are doing. This affects the characters in FEED because all of them have lesions, and they don't care about them. This is mirrored in our world with Oil spills that have been attempted to be covered up by big corporations, such as BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster, which the company allegedly hid the scale of the spill through misleading information and ineffective cleanup tactics, and the Norilsk Nickel diesel spill, where a Russian company tried to conceal a significant fuel leak before satellite imagery revealed its true extent. In the end, in both the world of FEED and our world, we have big environmental issues that affect us every day, and we just don’t care.

amill166 — 2025-09-25 18:07:33 UTC

In the book feed, lesions are a significant part of their overall health and appearance. On pages 11-12, Titus says, "Link had a lesion on his jaw, and I had a lesion on my arms and on my side."(-11) This impacts the characters because they don't realize that their bodies are breaking down, they are distracted by the feed to even notice their bodies. In the real world people dont notice how much they are on their phones and people soon are going to realize that there phones are causing negative things such as stress or depression ETC. M.T. Anderson's concern is valid because phones useage has gone up a lot and has become a problem. Even though we can't see it when we look at them it's hurting our bodies.

nover192 — 2025-09-25 18:08:55 UTC

In the Feed, we see many issues in their day-to-day life. Environmental concerns, socioeconomic status, wealth, Health concerns, and Mental health are significant aspects of overall mental health. We see a massive intellectual decline in the book. They have become reliant on the feed to tell them how they should feel, what words they should use. It shows up when they are in conversation with one another, like when Titus asks his father about how his mother is doing, he responds very choppy, also like he is missing vocabulary to complete his sentence, "She's like, whoa, she's like so stressed out. This is...Dude" (Pg 55).

It affects their lives by creating a communication barrier when they are talking to each other verbally, retelling stories, and relaying emotions. Which communication was something very mandatory in their life before the feed? It isn't as vital now, when social media has caused new dead languages to appear.

The extent of relevance to our world today is the Reels and TikToks, because we consume 15-second videos more than we consume any media longer. Our minds have developed to be drawn towards short and straight to the point Media, we find ourselves struggling to watch Movies, TV shows, read, and pay attention in class, all affected by Technology.

M.T. Anderson has a valuable concern because the book was written in 2001, and all we have done is prove his concern correct with technology advancements like phones and AI. We have become more dependent, and we have become unaware of how dependent weve been

jtarp277 — 2025-09-25 18:14:14 UTC

One of the issues that is occurring in the world of Feed is environmental concerns such as pollution and deforestation. When Titus and Violet were at a steak farm Titus says, “It was a filet mignon farm, all of it, and the tissue spread for miles around the paths where we were walking.”

This can have a major impact on characters who consume the steak’s heath. First of all it is artificially made, so people will not be able to get the essential nutrients that real steaks have. Also, they are all made from the same tubes, which could get dirty if not cleaned properly. This could be a major issue and could spread a lot of diseases. This issue could be relevant to today's world by representing the rise of artificial production, especially with foods. It could also be representing fake meat made for vegans, which is artificial and considerably unhealthy. The same issues in health today such as obesity and heart issues, could be occurring in the world of the feed because of artificial production.

eguer100 — 2025-09-25 18:15:17 UTC

One of the many issues occurring from the high-level technology and the feed is environmental concerns. To be more specific, the decrease in natural benefits, such as trees. This is said at dinner when Violet and Titus's dad are bickering, and Violet points out, "Trees make air". Titus's dad responds, " Do you know how inefficient trees are, next to an air factory?"(125 M.T. Anderson). This comment shows the influence technology has had on their society that they believe artificial technology air is more useful than natural air. This can also get us readers thinking about if the feed's technology can affect people negatively and malfunction, what would happen if the air's technology did so too, and harmed any of those who breathe? Although artificial air isn't the technology our world has evolved to just yet, it isn't far off. People today cut down forests quite frequently to build factories and other buildings, polluting our air. Our world is sadly heading that direction but we can use this as a warning sign to start changing the path we are headed down.

abirc034 — 2025-09-25 18:19:16 UTC

One of the biggest problems in the novel Feed by M.T. Anderson is the environmental conditions. Violet says,” “Trees make air,” which kind of worried me because I knew Dad would think it was snotty” (Anderson,125). At Jefferson Park, the live trees are being cut down to create artificial air and get turned into air factories. It really affects Violet because she doesn’t like the idea of trees being cut down since she believes that people get more air from those trees and she cares more about the environment which makes her different from the other characters. I can relate to Violet because I also care about nature and I feel like they should take better care of the environment.

cmpel175 — 2025-09-25 18:20:21 UTC

In Feed, one major issue is health concerns, specifically with the spread of lesions among citizens. On pages 11-12, lesions are described as open sores that resemble pimples, yet they are not being treated well and are being viewed as "fun." The Lesions affect the characters by making them care more about fashion than their health, as they prioritize their appearance over their health. It affects their mental state since they don't worry about being sick too much. In Today's world, this connects to smoking and vaping being advertised to teens, so they think it makes them "feel good," yet it's a health hazard. M.T. Anderson's concern is valid because it shows how people ignore serious problems, and if you keep ignorning these problems, it can lead to real-life consequences. It's also in the real world too. For example, people still smoke and vape because apps like Instagram and TikTok make it look cool. So I can understand what the author is coming from. We should stop ignoring important things in life and take care of ourselves right away.

rberr032 — 2025-09-25 18:20:54 UTC

In the novel Feed by M.T. Anderson, the characters live in a world with more air factories than trees. On page 125 Violet pointed out that “trees make air” when Tytus's dad mentioned “ “They removed trees for an air factory” also on page 125. This is very ironic and a problem because naturally produced air is better for human health in this case because the air could have toxins in it from being produced in a factory. These toxins also could go into our atmosphere and make global warming worse. This affects the characters in Feed by not giving them the pleasure of hearing birds chirping on trees, also they will see less green on the trees and this could make their mental health worse. They are destroying nature for artificial nature which could up in real nature to go away. This connects to the real world because they show what is happening with factories, and how they are destroying the environment. Also we are chopping down more trees faster than nature can make them. We also are not replanting the dead trees, we just leave them there.

nchat057 — 2025-09-26 01:28:23 UTC

In the book, Feed, the biggest issue is the environment. From what I have read, everything is artificial, and instead of trying to replenish the air, companies are chopping down trees in exchange for air factories. The biggest issue about this is that it will eventually kill the community and poison the air completely. I think that having technology rule everything in their life has made the physical and mental state of every person very ill. The common natural environment that we have in the real world is completely different from the feed, as said in the novel, the sky and clouds are artificial, and they have to grow meat with blood because the animals may have not been able to survive the harsh environment. " Yeah. Sure. Do you know how inefficient trees are next to an air factor?", "But we need trees!", " For what?"... " I mean they're nice, and it's too bad, but like... Do you know how much real estate costs?" ( M.T Anderson, p.g 125). As the chapter goes on we see a lot of the characters develop more of these skin rashes that they call lesions, this is caused by the polluted environment. However, instead of being concerned about why they are getting the lesions or concerned about their health, the characters have made a fashion trend around it because so many people started to get them. The feed is not letting them see how the real world actually is or looks, just what they want to see. I think this is very relevant to the real world because pollution and radiation is slowly killing the earth, the more technology we use the more radiation, and the more artificial and plastic resources we use, the more we pollute the air. So in the end, yes, M.T. Anderson's concern was very valid, he was ahead of his time.

ppick209 — 2025-09-26 14:11:18 UTC

In the literary universe of Feed, there are a lot of issues with the world because of how society evolved. The author shows us these issues, and while we can obviously see the faults, he emphasizes on the fact that most of the characters in our book can't. One of these, and what I personally see as the most inconspicuous, is the environment. The pollution on the planet leaves sores and yet the people that carry them are unfazed. Whereas some teens today get a pimple and cover it up with a sticker just so no one can look at it for too long. The feed blinds them as they destroy their world. “...where you could walk around and see everything grow… It was a filet mignon farm, all of it, and the tissue spread for miles around the paths where we were walking.” For us, the concept of meat growing out of the ground seems absurd, but having the entire internet behind your eyes can probably divert your attention quite a bit. However, even without the feed, our internet addictions make us glaze over real world situations, favoring the insignificant entertainments we give major importance to. We find ourselves so wrapped up in our own lives and wants that the influential issues aren't as significant to us as they should be. Titus’s world is distracted, but we aren't much better. Sure filet mignon farms sound otherworldly now, but I'm sure self-driving cars weren't anticipated 300 years ago either.

ragui305 — 2025-10-01 00:17:03 UTC

In the book, Feed a massive health concerns the feed itself since its connected to your brain. "But the problem is, if you get the feed after you're fully formed, it doesn't fit as snugly. I mean, the feedware . its more susceptible to malfunction."(M.T Anderson pg 170). this is a major health concern because getting a feed once your brain is fully developed is way more risky than getting it young. Violet, a character in feed, got her feed at a later age than other and after an accident her feed starts to malfunction causing her body to fail. this is a major health concern considering a single accident might ruin her life all because she got her feed a little later than other kids. A relation to the real world i could find with the feed would be the nerulinks because they would be able to help paralyzed people but if it fails then they would be screwed if they aren't near help.

jbrum041 — 2025-10-01 20:16:05 UTC

One big issue from the novel, Feed is health concerns. One example is on page 11-12 when Titus said, "link had a lesion on his jaw, and I had lesions on my arm and on my side." They are affected by this because everyone thinks that the lesions are cool and hip but in realty it is a bad thing. It shows how bad the feed really can be but people still like it because everyone has it. Some of the people in the book even try and make fake lesions on their body for fashion even though they are harmful to their body. This is like the real world with doing drugs. Many people think its cool and fine for you to do but it is really bad for your body and can harm you a lot.

jmedi162 — 2025-10-07 20:47:52 UTC

One of the major issues in the medium length novel named the "feed" is life and health. One of the examples explaining this is the lesions. On page 85 it explains that “by this I mean that we shouldnt think that there is any truth to the rumors that the lesions are the result of any activity of American industry”. This is saying that nobody created the lesions and that they appeared and it's normal to have them in their society. On page 11-12 Titus says “Link had a lesion on his jaw, and I had lesions on my arms and on my side”. This shows how much they dont even realize what's going on with themselves. They are so distant from reality in their everyday life by the feed. They can't even tell when something's wrong with them. In our society today, phones are like the feed, because they are a huge distraction in everyones everyday life. Using it while you're doing everything and anything and going to it for answers with easy solutions if you just use your brain. Computers are also bad like gaming and such, it is hurting our brains and damaging our vision without us even realizing it.

2025-11-19 21:16:50 UTC

in the novel FEED, Link Arwaker is dealing with lesions & how that's a health problem he's dealing with. Page 24, he says "Oh, what about my Lesion? let's talk more about me and my open sores". he brags about his scars to other girls, telling them to look closely at it. Lesions make me think about how nowadays, people struggle with other health problems in the real world like the flu. They both take time to get rid of, and they're both not unusual to get.