Journal 3: No Wonder They Call Me A Bitch

No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” – Ann Hodgman

(The Norton Sampler p.77)

Read the selection and write a one paragraph response to the following questions.

1.  Cite three specific examples of Hodgman’s descriptive imagery that you find to be particularly effective. 

1. “Up close my Gaines-burger didn’t much resemble chopped beef. Rather, it looked and felt like a single long, extruded piece of redness that had been chopped into segments and formed into a patty. You could make one at home if you had a Play-Doh Fun Factory” (78).
2. “In the world of canned dog food, a smooth consistency is a sign of low quality_lots of cereal. A lumpy, frightening, bloody, stringy horror is a sign of high quality_lots of meat” (79).
3. “One Purina spokesman told me that poultry by-prodcuts consist of necks, intestines, undeveloped eggs and other “carcass remnants,” but not feathers, heads, of feet. When I told him I’d been eating dog food, he said, “Oh, you’re kidding! Oh, no!” (78.)

2.  What do you think Hodgman’s purpose was in writing this essay?  What overall message/meaning do you take from the essay?  

-       I think that Hodgman’s purpose in writing this essay was to compare her better taste testing with a rather grosser food types. She is a former food critic, which means she has tasted some of the best foods. She is taking a different route to taste testing through this essay. I think she is challenging herself through test testing dog food. I think that the overall message of the essay is that we should try something different, just to know how lucky we are. Don’t take what you have for granted, because there is always worse. Example: dog food compared to human food.