And do YOU know what food our pets have to eat? The immediate answer would be definitely “yes”. We would say, that we buy this food, which exceeds the level of average price very often and that is why is considered to be of high quality and good taste. But the answer that lays on the surface does not always mean to be true. Ann Hodgman has proved this in full extent, having made an unbelievable week research, which turned our understanding of the subject upside-down.
Ann Hodgman is an American writer, the author of numerous articles and several books for kids and about food, who has gained her position by the peculiar manner of exploring the topic and solving the problem afterwards (Ann Hodgman).
“No wonder they call me a bitch” is another essay that touches upon the topic, which is hardly given attention to. Ann with a hilarious twist and a shade of sarcasm reveals the truth about dog and cat food – taste, texture, smell – and by overcoming herself gives a try to the most expensive and that’s why considered to be good canine food. So strangely exposed truth appeal to the broad audience – not only pet owners, who will now think twice before they buy something “palatable” for their four-legged friends, but also to the whole consumerist society. Perhaps, putting it the way, which Ann did it, will break the stereotype that everything expensive corresponds to the required quality.
The problem does not seem to appear vital, like the problem of global warming, but yet it is here to stay. Ann’s intention with this article was not to burst the society by never-heard-before facts, but simply to draw attention, to make think over the thing that we have simply become the victims of. The label promises that your pet will bark with excitement when trying this or that product – we believe. The label convinces that unearthly taste of beef waits for the pet, if his master has enough courage to give away the noticeable amount of money – we believe. But, actually, such hasty decisions can do nothing but harm the poor innocent pet. That is why we are to watch what we buy.
The author in some joyful, funny stories about her “little” ordeal somewhere hints, somewhere gives explicit examples of how we at times can become obsessed with the modern trends and imposed beliefs: “Of course Gaines’s burgers are neither mush nor nuggets. They are rather a miracle of beauty and packaging” (Ann Hodgman). “Dogs love real beef – the back of the box proclaimed proudly. That’s why Gaines’s burgers is the only beef burger for dogs with real meat and no meat by-products!” (Ann Hodgman). Pay your attention how convincing and alluring these slogans are and how bitter the reality turns out to be. The author does not say it but we can understand, that behind all this bravado and seeming to be quite an entertaining experience, the warning lies – do not let the pets being taunted – in the narrow sense, and do not get yourself fooled by the attractive cover and rhapsodic words – in the wider.
The main peculiarity of Hodgman’s essay is how scrupulously, methodically, without omitting any detail she describes the process of tasting and discovering the unpleasant truth about how practically blind she was. She does not criticize this food – all she does is describes her feelings before and after tasting, the colour of the thing, its consistency, its smell. The vividly imagined picture springs before our eyes and, no comments, no critique, no exclamations are necessary – even the ironic effect becomes shrouded by unpleasant facts (The vein in one of the morsels becomes much even for the sake of science). Ann Hodgman however, does not show her attitude explicitly – she takes everything with a shade of irony, turning the matter into a joke: “You know, I wanted to buy some meat but I just could not bring myself to bother the butcher” – these are her words after she discovers chicken instead of red meat in some kind of canned food.
The fact is that she describes everything that she sees or tastes, but her manner of exploration lacks in criticism. Humor, vivid pictures, some factual information about what the food for dogs should be – but almost no serious comments. While reading the article the first appeared feeling was that Ann did not expect much surprise from her investigation, like she supposed what results she was going to get. She lets the reader have his/her own point of view. On the one hand, it is quite useful, because when your own independent opinion is formed, you can decide how to react, what to undertake to improve situation for the better. But on the other hand, the article was meant to reveal the striking information to the society, to make it see how much of victims they have become. So the information is exposed, but no course of action is suggested. This way the article loses its value and continues its existence only like a kind of informative essay. It should have been more vigorous, more motivating to make the readers, the society in other words, feel the problem and take actions.
Ann Hodgman uses a strong technique in the very beginning, which instantly wins over the audience’s sympathy – she tells the story from her childhood about how she used to talk her mom into giving her money to buy the most expensive at that time dog food. She describes her feelings, compares them to the ones she experienced after having had disillusionment about what canine food is really like. The method worked perfectly to hold attention and managed to keep it throughout the whole article.
The author does not place the idea of being able to strike our imagination with the facts, the whole story was designed to awake our emotions, to create the vision of the problem and on the basis of it to decide, whether or not to take actions. She managed to cope with the task of conveying the essence of the problem, but at the same time the article leaves the only thought – not to torture our pets with that ugly food any more. In other words, the reader loses the focus of the main idea of how easily we can be influenced and it is slightly darkened with the feeling of compassion towards the furry friends.
All in all, “no wonder they call me a bitch” has rested our attention on at least two topics: the food our dogs simply suffer from, while we consider that our four-legged friends are on cloud nine, like all labels on canine food promise. And second – our society is too much obsessed with the modern trends and strives to catch the things that are not only unnecessary but also harmful in many ways.
Works cited
Ann Hodgman. Biography. 13 Oct. 2012
Ann Hodgman. No wonder they call me a bitch. 13 Oct 2012 < http://ebookbrowse.com/no-wonder-they-call-me-a-bitch-doc-d253372824>
