Is Difference the Downfall?

There are numerous comparisons that can be made about Eleanor and Park and Feed. One of the most notable ones being the concept of the self. In a world that dictates what a person should look like, how a person should talk, who that person ultimately becomes, there is a loss of independence. Both books demonstrate this theme. In Eleanor and Park both of the main characters have a difficult time adhering to the social norms. Park is more successful at it than Eleanor. But the person Park sees in Eleanor is the one that he is trying to hide. This ultimately attracts him to her and they form a relationship, struggling with societal norms throughout. The ending was a continuation of their relationship regardless of the struggle that the world posed on them. In the end their differences became their strength, in some sense. They found companionship being what they were instead of what they should have been.

In Feed there is the same concept of identity happening. Violet knows things. Things that other people do not. She has opinions and thinks for herself. This is because her feed was installed later in life, not the usual. Whereas, Titus goes with the flow and has his feed installed at the normal time There is the same level of attraction here between the two, though. Titus likes Violet because she is different. That “different”, that inability to conform to social rules is the very thing that makes Violet unique from all the other characters. That is her defining quality. In this book, though, the ending is not as happy. Violet’s difference from the other characters (her Feed tech being installed late) is actually the very thing that kills her. Symbolically, her difference was her downfall.