“No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” – Ann Hodgman
(The Norton Sampler p.77)
Read the selection and write a one paragraph response to the following questions.
1. Cite three specific examples of Hodgman’s descriptive imagery that you find to be particularly effective.
“Next I tried a piece of red extrusion. The main difference between the meat-flavored and cheese-flavored extrusions is one of texture. The “cheese” chews like fresh Play-Doh, whereas the “meat” chews like Play-Dog that’s been sitting out on a rug for a couple of hours.” Pg 78
“There were chunks in the can, certainly-big purplish-brown chunks. I forked one chunk out (by now I was becoming more callous) and found that while it had no discernible chicken flavor, it wasn’t bad except for its texture-like meat loaf with ground-up chicken bones.” Pg 79
“The meat was dark, dark brown, and it was surrounded by gelatin that was almost black.” Pg 81
2. What do you think Hodgman’s purpose was in writing this essay? What overall message/meaning do you take from the essay?
Hodgeman’s purpose of writing this essay was to mainly say that dog food is gross and the labels lie about the ingredients. She mainly uses negative adjectives to describe the consistency, taste, and smell of the dog food. She never describes the food in a genuinely positive way. Basically, she is describing the food so it does not sound appetizing.
The other purpose of the essay could be that childhood expectations and curiosities are blind to the truth. Hodgman was saying that she wanted to try dog food since she was a child. But, now she actually fulfilled her childhood fascination, and it didn’t live up to the expectations she had once had.
Lack of truth in advertizing. They market the food, like they are marketing to us.
Pokes fun at food critics.
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