From Feed's opening line of "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck," Anderson grips both avid and uninterested readers alike.
Though the text starts out lightly enough, by the end of the book, he has proved a painful possibility, forcing today's generation to think about its current path, forcing its people to think outside of their personal desires.
Anderson's Writing Style and Inventive Language
While Anderson’s futuristic society has its own slang and jargon that take a while to get used to, his use of dialogue, writing style, and invented slang only add to this intricately formed novel, much in the way other books with foreign language inserts or strong dialect do.
His use of snappy sentences and four-word paragraphs demonstrates his points without complicating things, which is particularly appealing to young adult readers who don’t enjoy ambiguity.
The simplicity of the actual writing makes the ending less of a production, and though the parting scene is emotion-filled for the reader, it is Titus' realization combined with his struggle to grasp and understand the need for change that causes the real tears. That and the final ad on Titus' feed.
The Downfall of Human Thought and Reliance on Technology
Anderson has ingeniously revealed our future as a nation and world if we continue along our technologically-blinded paths without taking time to fulfill our spiritual and earthy sides.
Similarly to when Titus kept telling Violet's dad to just explain the reference "eloi,” today’s generation wants information immediately, without taking the time to genuinely understand or learn.
The downfall of human thought and the reliance on artificial intelligence are aptly demonstrated through the need for the feed, much as technologically-advanced nations depend on computers, cell phones, and GPS technology. Text and instant messaging aren’t too far from m-chatting, and the inability to communicate, to really communicate through original thought, would be the final end of freedom.
Anderson's Message to the Modern Day World
Titus' world completely lacks any religion, spirituality, or connection to the world and its people. A powerful paragraph in the text during Titus’ realization, however, relays a possible message from Anderson to today's world.
As Titus finally stands beside Violet, the girl who fought the feed, he knows the need for change but struggles with understanding why because of a life lived with a computer chip thinking for him.
"And I whispered, 'Violet...Violet? There's one story I'll keep telling you. I'll keep telling it. You're the story. I don't want you to forget. When you wake up, I want you to remember yourself. I'm going to remember. You're still there, as long as I can remember you. As long as someone knows you. I know you so well, I could drive a simulator. This is the story.' (297)"
This paragraph demonstrates Titus’ ability to genuinely care about something other than his own wants (or rather what he thinks he wants), his ability to care about something outside of himself.
The novel challenges what could happen to our technologically-driven society in the not-too-distant future if we continue along the same path. But the novel also asks what-if questions.
What if as long as someone in our world carries on the story, the belief, the idea of something more existing and shares it with those around him, the world itself would still exist? Titus' generation is rapidly dissolving, but maybe if its people could carry the belief in any spiritual force other than the immediate and tangible the world could carry on. Maybe any belief in something outside of oneself and any search for a truth in the world instead of solely searching for personal gratification could keep the human race and dream alive. Maybe it's selfishness that will end the world.
By the Feed's end, Anderson has convinced a generation to fight the feed and conformity, to distrust corporate and media messages, to care about the world and other people, and to truly think and discover truth.
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Megan B. Wyatt - Megan B. Wyatt has a BA in English, edits fiction manuscripts and currently works as an entertainment reporter in Lafayette, Louisiana.
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