A Little Bit of What You Fancy by Desmond Morris- An Analysis

A Little Bit of What You Fancy

                                                                                              -Desmond Morris

Introduction

     Desmond Morris is an English zoologist and writer.  In his essay “A Little Bit of What You Fancy”, he talks about his own mother and the people who lived during the 18^th century and their diet preferences.

The Appetite of the Mother

     The mother of Desmond Morris was born during the reign of Queen Victoria. She enjoyed eating different varieties of food. She ate by piling her plate with greasy, fatty, fried up grill foods without worrying about their bad effects.  She completely ignored the words of health gurus and diet experts. Considering the appetite of his mother, Morris believed that she would die young. But, she lived for 99 years. She did not think of what was correct to eat. For a good digestion, one should not worry while eating.  If one eats in fear and tension, the body will refuse to co-operate.

Modern Pontificators (one who gives opinion)

     Nowadays, the modern pontificators feel that it is their duty to tell the people about what to eat as if they have discovered the secrets of eternal life.  The author dismisses them on two grounds.  First, they keep on changing their views.  Secondly, they overlook the fact that the human species evolved as an omnivore.  Eating the wide verity of food only keeps human beings different from animal rivals.

Cause of Health Problems

     Today, so many people suffer from obesity, indigestion and various diet deficiencies.  The answer lies in their lifestyle.  They do not realize that man needs a variety of food for good health.  The urban people suffer from various anxiety problems and work tensions which lead to indigestion. According to Morris, food should be savoured (tasted), relished, enjoyed and digested at leisure.

Food taboos (ban) and Totems

    There are two reasons for the existence of so many food taboos, namely totems (special respect to religious emblem) and poisons.  People from ancient times chose a particular animal as a god-figure and tried to protect it.  Another reason was the deep-seated human fear of being poisoned.  This irrational fear makes people avoid certain foods and causes anxiety. 

    

Conclusion

     Morris feels that we should never consider the words of food experts or diet gurus. He also enjoy ten more years of life by eating food stuffs prepared by various cooks. So, we should enjoy all kinds of foods and need not worry about the advice of diet experts.

The Portrait by Aldous Huxley- An Analysis

The Portrait

 by Aldous Huxley

Introduction

Aldous Huxley is one of the most brilliant writers in English literature. He is a well-known contemporary novelist, who is particularly noted for his satire and humanism. The structure of the story “The Portrait” is very interesting. It is a story within a story. Both stories have much in common.

The Outside Story

The outside story is devoted to a prosaic affair. In it, the Lord of the Manor visits the shop of Mr. Bigger to buy old paintings for his newly constructed house. He wants to spend money on the works of the great masters like Rembrandt and Joshua Reynolds. Mr. Bigger understands the interests of the customer and weaves his own story of Lord Hurtmore to sell the portrait of Lady Hurtmore. Finally, he manages to sell the portrait for six hundred and eighty pounds whereas he pays only twenty five pounds to Cowley who painted the portrait.

The Story within the Story

The inside story is about the romantic love of a young wife and an artist. In it, Lady Hurtmore lives with her aged husband who is a lover of art and music. She marries him because of his money. He wants the portrait of his beautiful wife for which he employs Giangolini. The young age of the artist and the Lady and the absence of her husband draw them each other. They plan to elope with the jewels of Hurtmore to some other place. Lord Hurtmore catches them red handed and returns home with the jewel box leaving the wife in the artist’s studio itself. Lady Hurtmore  realizes that she cannot lead a happy life with the poor artist and returns to her husband.

Themes

In both stories the author shows that money influences the life of people greatly. The themes of “The Portrait” are love and money, art and money and commercialization of art. For example, Mr. Bigger tells lots of lies in order to sell his painting. Lord of the Manor is ready to spend money for the sake of pride. Lady Hurtmore keeps changing her decisions about life because of money. On the other hand a young artist is exploited for the sake of money. Hence the influence of money is clearly illustrated in this story.