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Part 4: Summertime
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
At dinner, Titus’s dad shows his family feed memories of his latest “corporate adventure,” in which he and his coworkers went whale hunting. Titus experiences memories of Dad and his friends stabbing whales and getting covered in blood. Dad’s interns—“real good kids”—render the whale blubber.
The extreme violence of Titus’s father’s memories matches the violence inflicted on people and the environment alike by American capitalism.
Themes
Titus gets sick to his stomach. Just then, someone chats him, “She wanted me to tell you when everything stopped.” Because he’s experiencing Dad’s memory, he’s forced to look down a middle-aged “V.P. lady”’s blouse and get “completely turned on.” Dad says, “Never mind the rest.” Mom wants to know who the lady is, but Dad refuses to say.
Titus appears to have received a message from Violet’s father concerning Violet’s condition. Also, it’s suggested that Titus’s dad is having an affair with a coworker (or at the very least is attracted to her). Because he’s sharing his memories with his whole family, even his most private experiences are exposed to his family.
Themes
Titus drives out to Violet’s house. In the upcar, he listens to news about riots in California and mysterious explosions in New Jersey. When he arrives at Violet’s house, Violet’s father lets him inside and takes him to Violet.
