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Part 4: 52.9%
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
Violet’s father arrives at the hospital shortly after Titus gets there. After speaking to a doctor, he notices Titus and reports that the doctors are fixing the malfunction. The two sit in the waiting room. Violet’s father shows Titus that he can monitor her feed function—if her efficiency rises above 98%, then she’ll be fine.
This passage explains the chapter titles in Part Four—they refer to Violet’s feed function and, therefore, her health. Violet is “chained” to her feed, meaning that if her feed were to die, she’d die, too.
Themes
Titus thinks about what Violet said just before she collapsed. He wishes Violet could be “uninsane” again. Just then, the nurses announce that Violet is awake. Violet’s father goes to see her, leaving Titus alone.
Titus’s responses to Violet’s misfortune are becoming increasingly callous and childish. It’s important to notice that he doesn’t wish for Violet to get well (suggesting that he’s concerned for her well-being)—rather, he wishes for her to get “uninsane” (implying that he’s more concerned with the way Violet is perceived and the way she interacts with him and his friends).
Themes
Afterwards, Titus is allowed in to see Violet. She begins apologizing to him. Titus replies that he’s worried about her. Violet is weeping, and she asks, “Why are you standing so far away?”
Titus feels physically uncomfortable around Violet, which is why he’s keeping his distance.
Themes
Titus’s mom picks him up from the hospital. Titus eats dinner and tries to do some homework, but ends up watching his feed instead. He falls asleep and has a strange dream in which he counts beads of water on a string, only to have Violet ask him, “How many do you need before you’re done?”
Titus’s dream mirrors the basic difference between his personality and Violet’s. Violet believes in moderation, and in the dream she questions Titus’s unquenchable thirst for more.
Themes
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