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Part 4: 87.3%
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Feed, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Corporations and Consumerism
Apathy, Happiness, and Satisfaction
Resistance
Class and Segregation
The Environment
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Titus visits Violet in her home, to which she’s been moved from the hospital. He sits by her bed, chatting silently. Violet asks Titus to tell Quendy she’s sorry, and then she explains that she lost memories—she can’t remember what it was like to be six years old. Then, she tells Titus, “Don’t worry, Titus … No matter what, we’ll still be together.”
Although one of the purposes of the feed is to preserve memory, Violet’s malfunctioning feed has ravaged her own memories. This is one of the only times in the book when Titus is referred to by his real name. This might suggest that Titus is gaining a sense of self through the act of caring for Violet. Or it could suggest that Violet sees Titus differently than his friends do: she sees him as a person with his own unique identity, not as just another pleasure-seeker.
Themes
Violet tells Titus that she wants to do many things with what’s left of her life. But then she realizes that everything she wants to do is a “sitcom opener”—the kind of things characters would do at the beginning of a TV show. Titus asks her what it was like to scream at Link’s party, and Violet admits it felt good.
Violet wants to make the most of her remaining months, or days, but because she has grown up with a feed, she struggles to think of a truly original way to spend her time. Even when she’s on the verge of death, then, Violet is trying to break away from the feed and achieve true originality.
Themes
Titus watches as Violet and her father try to petition FeedTech for free repairs, since Violet’s father can’t pay for the tests himself. However, Violet’s feed warranty expired a long time ago. Violet’s father claims that he’ll give his business to another corporation unless FeedTech pays for Violet’s feed repairs immediately. FeedTech sends a reply, and afterwards, nobody says much.
Violet’s father believes that he can use his influence as a consumer to lobby for better treatment for his daughter. This is supposed to be how capitalism works: when there’s healthy competition between companies, one of the companies will provide optimal service to the customer, and the other companies will follow suit. However, it’s implied that the feed corporations don’t treat Violet so kindly.
Themes
