Renewal by Pizza
There are circumstances in everyday life that can make people long for the peace renewal can bring. The same everyday life, filled with social rules and norms, can make renewal difficult to achieve. Elizabeth Gilberts “The Best Pizza in the World” uses imagery,juxtaposition , and pathos to show how she transcended her old self-perception and achieved renewal during a trip to Naples, Italy.
Gilbert’s use of imagery emphasizes the wild, vibrant, energetic nature of the city of Naples. It becomes clear that, In Gilbert’s eyes, Naples is a city unlike any other. The author writes, “An anthill inside a rabbit warren, with all the exoctism of a Middle Eastern bazaar and a tough of New Orleans voodoo” (Gilbert 175). This shows
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Their quirky and eccentric ways are part of what makes Naples so unique in Gilbert’s eyes and Gilbert’s first experience with the people of Naples is what really brings this point home. Gilbert writes, “…That punk little grammar school girl on the back of her older cousin's motorbike, who flipped me the finger and a charm' ing smile as she drove by, just to make me understand, ‘Hey, no hard feelings, lady. But I'm only seven, and I can already tell you're a complete moron, but that's cool-I think you're halfway OK despite yourself and I kinda like your dumb-ass face. We both know you would love to be me, but sorry-you can't. Anyhow, here's my middle finger, enjoy your stay in Naples, and ciao!’” (Gilbert 175). This Neapolitan girl makes a gesture that in any other context would be considered offensive but Gilbert understands and embraces the girl’s gesture. Gilbert understands it well and she is welcoming of the curt openness of the Neapolitans. The author writes, “The accent in Naples is like a friendly cuff on the ear. It’s like walking through a city of short-order cooks, everybody hollering at the same time” (175). One can conclude from this that the people of Naples are loud and short while talking to anyone. Oddly enough Gilbert seems to like their curt way of speaking. This description gives the reader a good idea of what interactions with the people of Naples is …show more content…
The author writes, “In my real life I have been known to eat organic goat’s milk yoghurt sprinkled with wheat germ for breakfast” (Gilbert 177). Gilbert clearly cared about her health while she was living in the real world. The way she describes her choice in breakfast makes it clear that this was a dietary, health related choice, not one she made because she liked goat yoghurt. It implies that she was concerned with her weight, not only for the sake of her self-perception, but because she was worried about what others think about her appearance. Gilbert writes. “I am doing such rude things to my body here in Italy, taking in such ghastly amounts of cheese and pasta and bread and wine and chocolate and pizza dough” (177). This paints a picture that contrasts sharply with her pre-Naples diet.. Clearly, something has changed for the author, allowing her to guiltlessly eat anything she wants. This is one of the signs that her self-perception has changed radically from what it used to
When Americans greet one another a handshake and smile will do, this is similar in Italian culture, when meeting a stranger or business acquaintance. However, when family and friends greet each other, a hug and kiss is usually in order. In American culture, it is very rare to see two gentleman hug, even if they are related; in Italian culture, that is the customary greeting between male family members and friends. Air kissing is another tradition in Italy, in America, no one air kisses, and most kissing is only done in intimate relationships (Reavis, 2014). It is also a part of the Italian culture for many households to take a nap between the hours of 1 PM and 3 PM. The Italian culture is also laid back, and most Italians are not in a hurry. It is the Italian way to slow down and enjoy life (Miller, 2015). This is definitely not the American lifestyle, maybe we should slow down and pay attention to the
Her background gives her the ability to be creative in her writing. Her professional and assertive style of writing gives her the credibility for readers to believe her even if the facts weren’t true. She regularly uses scientific research, in ways to help the reader understand what is occurring without using scientific terminology that is too difficult to understand. With the use of unique structure, it aids to communicate her argument better, as it helps build her ethos, and keep the reader interested and well informed. Her use of ethos makes the readers want to continue to keep reading. The fact that she has actually visited and can give details about the island, Castello Argonese, as well gives her creditability instead of second hand knowledge. One can infer the validity of her travels in the way she describes the location of Castello Argonese. “Eighteen miles west of Naples, it can be reached from a larger island of Ischia via a long, narrow stone bridge” (111). If you know what something smells, or looks like, you are going to care more, and ultimately be more interested. The author’s use of visual rhetoric is astonishing. It allows the reader to latch on and create an image to break up the monotony, and gives familiarization with the comparisons of things related to common knowledge. She uses this example, “Coralline algae organisms that grow in colonies that looks like a smear of pink paint” (121). This example sells us on the how the ocean is, and what you can distinguish the colonies to look
When presenting ‘A Place in Tuscany’ the perspective changes to that of a young man. Compared to the house in Brisbane, more use is made of the conversation and there is a more sophisticated and advanced vocabulary and knowledge of the area. This gives the reader a more adult insight into the area.
He claims that a better diet requires spending more time and resources on food, just like the people of the past did. Pollan attributes their surpassing health to this practice, but in his article “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”, David Freedman paints a different story. Freedman describes how examinations of ancient non-Western remains revealed “hardened arteries, suggesting that pre-industrial diets…may not have been the epitome of healthy eating” (514). This discovery seriously undermines Pollan’s assumption that we should follow the lead of our ancestors because even though they spent a greater amount of resources on food and ate absolutely no processed foods, they still suffered from some of the same diseases which Pollan claims his eating habits will curb. As an opponent of processed foods, or “foodlike products” (Pollan 426), Pollan advocates eating whole foods. As many people have a similar opinion, he is not alone in this, but he is misinformed. Freedman reveals that after examining the nutrition labels on various unprocessed, whole foods, he found that many contained more fat, sugar, and sodium than processed foods (512). If unprocessed foods underwent the same scrutiny as processed foods, perhaps this common misconception could be prevented. The basic premise of Pollan’s essay is that a better diet will lead to better health. While we could all benefit from a better diet, “findings linking food type and health are considered highly unreliable (Freedman 518). Freedman discusses the multitude of nondietary factors such as air quality and exercise that render such studies untrustworthy. Pollan might be a well-respected author of nutrition books, but this does not mean that his theories are free of
The city, writes St. Augustine, “builds up a pilgrim community of every language .... [with] particular concern about differences of customs, laws, [and] institutions” in which “there is among the citizens a sort of coherence of human wills.”3 Put simply: the city is a sort of platform upon which “a group of people joined together by their love of the same object” work towards a common goal.4 What differentiates Augustine’s examination from other literary or theological treatments of the city is his attempt to carve out a vision of how the city operates—both the internal qualities and external ...
Unless you are a wealthy Italian, you live a much humbler lifestyle. A lot of Italians homes are meager, and the material goods Americans want and vie for, aren’t as important to them. I realized how fortunate I was for all the belongings I took for granted. Some Italians would view the home I grew up in as a mansion compared to their own. They seemed so much happier and it was humbling to see them content by having a lot
In “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” by, Mary Maxfield (pp.442-447), she affirms a bright argument about how food is not moral or immoral. Therefore, you can eat whatever you desire and not suffer any negative side effects, which she ignores. Her key points including stated facts such as “Culturally,we resist these scientific findings,” that people can be fat and healthy, “in favor of a perspective that considers fatness fatal and thinness immortal.”(pp.445) The main point to Maxfield’s claim in healthy eating, is being active and living a fit lifestyle. In “Escape From The Western Diet” (pp.420-427)by Michael Pollan, his argument is to help the American community be enlightened with
They stifle me with ridiculous rules and regulations they have brought with them from Europe… There’s always something that shouldn’t be said or done. There are always jobs I have to learn because all good Italian girls know how to do them, and one-day ill need them to look after my chauvinistic husband. There’s always someone I have to respect. (Pg. 38)
When we think of our national health we wonder why Americans end up obese, heart disease filled, and diabetic. Michael Pollan’s “ Escape from the Western Diet” suggest that everything we eat has been processed some food to the point where most of could not tell what went into what we ate. Pollan thinks that if America thought more about our “Western diets” of constantly modified foods and begin to shift away from it to a more home grown of mostly plant based diet it could create a more pleasing eating culture. He calls for us to “Eat food, Not too much, Mostly plants.” However, Mary Maxfield’s “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, argues differently she has the point of view that people simply eat in the wrong amounts. She recommends for others to “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs.” The skewed perception of eating will cause you all kinds of health issues, while not eating at all and going skinny will mean that you will remain healthy rather than be anorexic. Then, as Maxfield points out, “We hear go out and Cram your face with Twinkies!”(Maxfield 446) when all that was said was eating as much as you need.
In this paper I will discuss the cultural factors and economic conditions within the territory of Italy and specifically within the island of Sicily which led to the rise and every day common need for an institution such as the Sicilian Mafia. Following my explanation of the Sicilian Mafia’s origins in the context of local culture and its pervasive role in Sicilian society I will discuss the various ways in which the Mafia’s activities have at times greatly preserved and also crippled the economic potential for growth in the areas it operated in and the reasons why this underdevelopment aided it. Lastly I will examine the causes of the Sicilian Mafia’s decline and discuss the future solutions to preserving a Sicily free from overt Mafia control.
Baxandall, Michael. “Conditions of Trade.” Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Baxandall, Michael. “Conditions of Trade.” Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Florence, Italy was a city just like any other during the Renaissance. It was city of 50,000 people, less than there were in Paris and Venice but more than most other European cities. The busiest parts of the city were the Ponte Vecchio, a place lined with markets and houses, the neighborhood of the Orsanmichele and Mercato Vecchio, or the Old Market. Florence was a place of beauty and leisure. A Venetian visitor once said, “There is in my opinion no region more sweeter than that wherein Florence is a placed for Florence is situated in a plain surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains…And the hills are fertile cultivated, pleasant…” (Unger, pg. 1). Florence was a very prosperous city; it made fortunes off of wool and banking trades. A certain Florentine family contributed to the vast wealth as well. The Medici family was no doubt the foundation of prosperity for Florence.
Many people in America, from toddlers to the elderly, have shown numerous signs of bad health. People have the desire to keep on eating due to more, new things being merchandised as “new and improved items” from the producers. For example, nowadays, people are eating pure junk that they find satisfying on the grocery food shelf. As, stated by Michael Pollan, in his article, “Eat Food: Food Defined” he affirmed that “real food is the type of things that our
In the book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan explores the relationship between nutrition and the Western diet, claiming that the answer to healthy eating is simply to “eat food”.