Once upon a shop: Jeanette Winterson

Modern society and modern life with a modern market. The small and private owned little shops, we’ve seen them all. In every town, every city, right next to the big grocery stores Tesco or Sainsbury’s they are located; unable to compete with these international and wide-spread super-markets. Stores with irresistible low prices and kilometre wide range of food variants, such as Jeanette Wintersons’ vegetable shop” Verde”, which she writes about in her personal essay” Once upon a shop”, aren’t able to cope with. An analysis of “Once upon a shop” shows which challenges small private shows have in the food industry today, and through Jeanette Winterson’s argument-tation we get an insight into her attitude toward the subject and what she advocates for.

As modern people we might take it as “that’s how the market works”, but Winterson’s see the domi-nance of big food chains as a problem. Her personal essay is an advocating essay where she ex-presses her opinions about food industry and how it has changed. Thereby, it is interesting to take a look at how she argues. Is her arguments present in a way that works advocating and actually makes the reader think and act different in proportion to the food industry?
If you look at her way of arguing, then the most prominent element in the argumentation is her way of using own experiences and making it clear to the reader that it is her own view on the situation, which is clear when she writes: “We do not do as other countries in Europe do and implement a sliding-scale business rate, so Verde has to pay the same money as an estate agent or a mobile phone outlet. I think this is wrong. If we want the delightful sustainable small shops we all adore in France or Italy, we have to persuade the government to be realistic about the rates.” (page 3, line 13-16) Her argument is that the government have to be realistic about the rates in the food industry if we want to have these delightful sustainable small shops we adore so much. Her clear and precise way of arguing makes it very clear what her agenda is – to persuade the government to be realistic about the rates. She is also using a very subjective style by mentioning her own shop “Verde”. The subjecttive style makes the reader sympathy with Jeanette Winterson, because we get to see the challenges she has as owner of a little private shop.
Another argument that follows Toulmin’s model for argumentation is:” Good food need not be ex-pensive, but it cannot be so cheap that the land is degraded, the workers underpaid, and the animals reared and slaughtered in a way that would make any decent person sick with disgust.” (page 3, line 22-24) First of all, is her claim that good food doesn’t need to be expensive, but she uses the word “but” as rebuttal to say that it can be too cheap. Her data is shown in a quote later on, where she writes: “Ethical eating means factoring in real costs and real conditions” (page 3, line 26) Thereby, the warrant becomes: “Factoring in real costs and real conditions doesn’t make food expensive” and the backing is, if it’s too cheap there will be unpaid workers and in general bad working conditions.
All over, the main opinion of the author is shown by two quotes: “My view is that if we want things to be different we should use all our effort and ingenuity to make things different” (page 4, line 32-33) First of all, she wants things to be different and she want’s us too feel the same way. Thereby, she advocates the reader to choose between two options: “We can let big business bamboozle us into believing that small is self-indulgent and ineffective, or we can look closer, and take back some power.” (page 4, line 38-39) A quote that urge us to take action, but Winterson’s also splits it into two groups – the big business and and small business. It is clear she wants “us” to go on the side of the small business. She actually mentions the reader as a part of the small business by using words as “we” and “us” that appeal to it as something the reader is doing together with Jeanette Winter-son and all small business.
Similarly, is her attitude toward the subject interesting and important to focus on, because she experienced the chance herself, which has an influence on her credibility: “I prefer individuality and eccentricity and self-determination all the things the free market is supposed to deliver, and never does because markets soon become homogenous and anti-competitive” (page 4, line 13-14) In this quote, Winterson’s uses positive connotation, as “individuality”, “eccentricity” and “self-deter-minations”, to say how the free market should be, but instead it has become: “Homogeneous” and “anti-competive”. This makes her opinion seem logical, because it without any further cere-mony makes us prefer the positive; individuality, eccentricity and self-determination.
As mentioned earlier, her style of writing is characterised by it’s subjective and informal style. Jeanette Winterson’s has a personal and an emotional attitude toward the subject, which we see here: “I wasn't a saint or a do-gooder, or even much of an activist, but it seemed to me that food was more important than anything” (page 2, line 11-13) We see her subjectivity in her way of referencing to “I” and “me”. In general, she uses a common language, which we can relate to. So it is Winterson’s writer and journalist competences that becomes apparent in the language. We also see that in her use of descriptive language and empirical know-ledge. “Aromas of warm food bubble up from the pans of soup, and the Parma ham is sliced fresh and see-through from a hand-operated bright red Italian slicer. Buy some-thing or don't, walking past Verde makes you feel better. There isn't a way of pricing that.” (page 3, line 35-37) As seen in this quote - tons of adjectives and figura-tive language. Winterson’s has a quite emotional and personal attitude against the subject, so this descripttion really strengthens the clearness of her passion for food. By that, I will conclude she is a reliable writer because of her experiences, and thereby she becomes a kind of expert on this front. Having said that, not everyone has the same passion for food, and because of that she relates food politics to more general themes: “What is the point of being human if you cannot live your own life in your way? It is such a simple obvious ambition – and so hard to achieve.” (page 4, line 21-22) She shows how the politics of food has a relation to all over politics about freedom, which is much more relatable for the majority.
To sum up, Winterson’s personal essay is very advocating because it is urging the reader to take ac-tion. She want’s everyone to do things in their own way and not choose because of price, but be-cause of “ethical eating”. The argumentation is characterized by subjectivity and personal experi-ences. Equally, is her attitude toward the subject very personal and partly emotional, because of her experience and passion for food and commitment in the politics of food.