GREGORY VILLAREAL

• How to read literature like a professor
• Chapter 2| Nice to eat with you: Acts of Communion

COMMUNION

• Communion is the the act of eating or drinking with someone.
• Though this act is mostly seen as religious, not all communion is holy.
• The thing to remember with communions of all kinds: Breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace
• Eating with one another could be another way of saying:
• "I'm with you, I like you, we form a community together."

COMMUNION IN "THE METAMORPHOSIS"

• Communion is an act of sharing and peace, but the contrast applies in "The Metamorphosis"
• Grete brings Gregor a tray of food, which shows her care for Gregor.
• Gregor isn't too fond of fresh foods and she brings him rotten old food which Gregor enjoys
• Gregor cannot dine with his family or eat a nurishing meal, he is depprived of a real communion
• Gregor is of no value to his family therefore doesn't share a true meaning of communion

COMMUNION IN MY LIFE

• Other than the rare times I go to church and experience communion, I usually have communion with my mother
• Each night my mother and I share a meal with each other and talk about our day.
• My mother and I enjoy food and share moments together, I respect her and she respects me.
• Other times my entire family my be together and we all go out to eat, sacrificing our cell phones to talk.
• By ridding of our connection to the rest of the world we create a respect for one another and bond as one

In Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" the following scene is described which is sure to never be confused with religious communion. "Tom and his lady friend, Mrs. Waters, dine at a inn, chomping,gnawing, sucking on bones, licking fingers; a mere leering, slurping, groaning and, in short, sexual meal has never been consumed" (Foster). Though the two individuals are not eating religiously they still share a meal and prove that not all communions need to be holy. By substituting a sexual scene with one of eating Fielding is able to share and experience between two individuals who like each other, are with each other, and form a community together.

Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" is "about a guy with real hang ups: included among the many things the narrator is bigoted against are people with disabilities, minorities, those different from himself, and all parts of his wife's past in which he does not share" (Foster). When the narrator reveals that the wife's blind friend is joining them for dinner it is to no surprise that he does not like this man at all. However as he dines with this blind man and studies the way he eats, "competent, busy, hungry, and, well, normal" the narrator gains a new respect for the blind man. After dinner the two men share a joint, this doesn't exactly "resemble the wafer and the chalice" but symbolically shows no difference. They consume a substance together and enjoy an experience, which could even be a moment of even greater trust.

Consider Anne Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Resturant" Foster states, "The mother tries to have a family dinner, and every time she fails." Usually because one member cannot be present, or a problem falls onto the table. "Not until her death can her children assemble around the table at the restaurant and achieve dinner; at that point, of course, the body and blood they symbolically share are hers" (Foster). This life and death became a part of her family's common experience.

James Joyce's "The Dead" describes a story which is centered around a feast on the 12th day of Christmas, the feast of Epiphany. "The main character, Gabriel Conroy, must learn that he is not superior to everyone else; during the course of the evening he receives a series of small shocks to his ego..."(Foster). It is through this communion when he realizes that he is no greater than the rest if the people present. Foster argues that Joyce's main goal "is to draw us into that moment, to pull our chairs up to that table so we are utterly convinced of the reality of the meal"(Foster).

In closing, communion is an act which people can gather together and accept others as a part of their lives. This acceptance could be shown by gaining respect for a person or even sharing a close experience to one you are close to. Communion could also be the realization of someone's place in the world compared to others. Though it is assumed that communion is some religious event, not all communions need to be holy or have a meaning.

Works cited

Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.