Yuanting Xiong
English Comp. 102
Prof. Courtney Stanton
2014/7/2
Food in Symbolism
Symbolism is a common narrative method; authors bury “a symbol” as a clue throughout an article to hint readers the meaning of text, in the meantime, to remain the fitness of this symbol in the text. In “Goodbye Columbus”, Philip Roth creates a young Jewish couple, Brenda and Neil, whose story starts with their meeting, and ends with them breaking up. In this story, foods play as an important symbol. When Neil and Brenda fall in love with each other, Ruth spends time describing cherries, which not only represents virginity, but also merrymaking and festivity. When their relationship is on the edge, Neil, instead of being obsessed with the taste of Patimkin fruits, finds them tasteless. Throughout the article, the descriptions of the meals and talking at the table during the meal demonstrates that Patimkin and Klugman are two families in different social classes, and the glitch between two classes eventually leads to a broken relationship. Food, as an important symbol, not only directs the relationship between Neil and Brenda, but also reveals the difference between the two social classes as one of the reasons of the ruining of their relationship.
Descriptions of cherry in this article help readers understand Neil and Brenda were in a loving relationship, and they were so happy. Cherry, as a symbol, has been widely used in many literature works by many great authors. On one hand, cherry implies Brenda’s virginity. For example, in the article “Figurative Language and Cultural Contexts in the Traditional Ballads”, the authors, Barra, Toelken and D.K. Wilgus state, “is there anything in balladry more delicately fit than the beautiful young Mary asking Joseph for the only possible fruit (cherry) which could testify both to her pregnancy and her virginity” (Toelken and Wulgus). In “Goodbye Columbus”, cherries symbolize Brenda’s virginity being given to Neil. On the other hand, cherries also represent the happy and loving relationship between Neil and Brenda. In “Fruit in Mythology”, the article mentions, “Cherries can symbolize fertility, merrymaking, and festivity”, these are also demonstrated in Roth’s story. He mentions cherries in this passage, “we dance till closing time. And when we went back to Brenda’s we filled a bowl with cherries which we carried into the TV room and ate sloppily for a while; and later, on the sofa, we loved each other” (Roth 56). From this description, readers can strongly feel that Neil and Brenda's relationship grew rapidly, and Roth referrers a bowl of cherries in order to create a metaphor of his and Brenda’s loving relationship. The author also mentions, “when I moved from the darkened room to the bathroom I could always feel cherry pits against my bare soles” (Roth 56), these lines, in the beginning, tell readers in what situation these words are said, “We love each other”; then, through the depiction of cherry pits on the ground poked Neil’s bare soles, author actually used a metaphor for the happiness Neil is feeling now. At this moment, cherry pits scatter all around the floor, like happiness surrounding Neil.
Changes in Neil’s obsession with Patimkin fruits imply that his relationship with Brenda is fading. In Baker Dan and Cameron Stauth’s article “caught in the Happiness Trap”, they state, “Happiness depends to degree on your expectation” (Baker and Cameron). Happiness becomes farther away when expectation grows. Neil only wants to become friends with Brenda when he saw her at first sight, but when Brenda invites him to stay at her house for a week, Neil feels extremely flattered. Roth describes that, “All we would hear for a while were just the two of us spitting pits”, and Neil says, “I wish they would take root overnight and in the morning there’d just be watermelons and cherries” (Roth 54). At that time, Neil makes no secret of the desire and love for the Patimkin fruit. It is a metaphor for his obsession with Brenda. Neil’s eager to Patimkin fruits is a metaphor for him wanting to see Brenda everyday. Becoming lovers with Brenda, and eating Patimkin fruit was far beyond Neil’s expectation of this relationship with Brenda. However, as they take steps further in their relationship, Neil finds it harder to accept all aspects of Brenda. For example, Brenda once asked Neil, “are you planning on making a career of the library” (Roth 51). Brenda thinks Neil’s job in library is of no value and point, but Neil disagrees, he says “Well, what about it? Do I like it? It’s okay… and I like the library better than that…” (Roth 50-51). On Neil’s job, they have a major disagreement. Moreover, in this relationship, Mrs. Patimkin has imposed great pressure on Neil. Mrs. Patimkin once asked Neil, “What temple do you belong to” (Roth 87), the way Mrs. Patimkin asks Neil makes him nervous. Neil believes, “It had to be foolish of me to risk lightheartedness with her about Jewish affairs” (Roth 87). Neil’s prudence when talking to Mrs. Patimkin shows his willing to leave a good impression on her, but Mrs. Patimkin serious reaction, to a large extent, destroys Neil’s faith in his relationship with Brenda. Neil’s expectation changes from wanting to know Brenda to wanting to gain her families’ recognition, achieving the latter one is full of difficulty, which takes away the pure taste of the relationship. This change also denotes Neil’s feelings towards Brenda. In the story, Neil states,“I have to admit it, I cracked my frail bowel, and would have to spend the following night, sadly, on the wagon”(Roth 54). Neil thinks he has had enough Patimkin fruits, damage to his health would be caused if any more consumed. His boredom with Patimkin fruits represents a decreased affection Brenda has on him. After he feels heavy pressure from Brenda and her family, Neil changes his attitude for Patimkin fruit from “partially wooed and won on Patimkin fruit” (Ruth 77) to “the meals lost their Patimkin fullness” (Roth 101), also this change is embodied in the way Neil treats Brenda.
What is the reason that causes the problem of Nail and Brenda’s relationship? Description of meals and talking at the table show the two families, the Patimkin and the Klugman, are in two totally different social classes, and the truth that Neil and Brenda grow in these two social classes later on becomes one of the reasons they break up. In “Household Income Disparities In Fruit And Vegetable Consumption By State And Territory: Results Of The 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System”, Kirsten A Grimm proves that, “low F/V (food/vegetable) intake overall with lower intakes among individuals in households living with greater poverty compared with those with least poverty, with this trend in vegetable intake observed in most states” (Grimm). In the context, the article link up social classed and foods, families from lower social class possess much less food than families from higher social class. Food, here again plays the role of a symbol, reflecting a social class a family is in. In Roth’s story, the Patimkin and the Klugman families are different in their foods. The plenty of fruits in the Patimkin house makes Neil cry out in alarm “oh Patimkin! Fruit grew in their refrigerator” (Roth 43). However, Aunt Gladys’s fruits are not as good as the Patimkin’s. Neil mentions, “Though I am very fond of desserts, especially fruit, I chose not to have any. I wanted, this hot night, to avoid the conversation that revolved around my choosing fresh fruit over canned fruit, or canned fruit over fresh fruit” (Roth 6). Fruits here in this context show the different social and economic level these two families are in, the Patimkin family obviously belongs to the upper level, the rich level, but Aunt Gladys, whose “Greatest joys were taking out the garbage, emptying her pantry”, is just enough to making a living, belongs to lower level. Neil and Brenda live two different worlds, which is, in turn, a good explanation to their disagreement on the library job, as well as to Mrs. Patimkin’s indifference to Neil. Brenda, as a lady from a delicate family, has no burdens from life, so it’s hard for her to put herself in Neil’s shoes to understand why he chooses to work in a library. As for Brenda’s inability to understand, Neil says, “She didn’t. And that she didn’t pained me; I allowed myself the minor subterfuge, however, of forgiving Brenda her obtuseness” (Roth 52). Brenda’s lack of understanding regarding the difference in their social classes hurts Neil. Neil thinks it’s the best way to forgive that lack of understanding by hiding himself. The issue of social class is like a gap between Neil and Brenda. Brenda has much more space to make choices no matter on fruits or jobs because of her high social class family. Her richness eliminates pressure and concerns from making a living. But Neil is from a different world with Brenda, he is always faced with the choice of canned fruits or fresh fruits because of his poverty. Even worse, Neil has no choice on his job in the library. In the story “Goodbye, Columbus”, which talks about the changes of the relationship between Neil and Brenda, the foods symbolism as a clue grows and accrues meaning across the whole story. When the couple is in a loving relationship, the author mentions cherries a couple of times. It is a metaphor for their relationship that they become more intimate, and when Neil was obsessed with Brenda. The author, through description of the change on Neil’s attitudes toward Patimkin fruits, implies that the relationship between Neil and Brenda is broken. The author depicts food from Neil’s family and Brenda’s family as a clue to guide readers to discover the embedded meaning of social class. Food, as the most commonly things in life, is a very good symbol that helps readers understand the social class issue lurks in Neil and Breda’s relationship. Different social class provide people with different lives, people from high social class can choose to live the way they prefer, but people from low social class have no privilege like. That’s why Neil eventually gives in to the truth that Brenda and him are from different social classes.

Work Cited
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Baker, Dan, and Cameron Stauth. "Caught In The Happiness Trap?" Prevention 55.2
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