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Thesis
Bite Me: Food as Symbolic Exchange in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us and Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
05/2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007505
Abstract
This thesis explores the symbolic role of food in literature and video games, focusing on The Last of Us Part I (TLOUP1 or L1) by Naughty Dog and The Name of the Wind (TNOTW) by Patrick Rothfuss. Through the lens of food studies and literary analysis, this project examines two distinct modes of consumption: "honor eating," as theorized by Robert Appelbaum, and a newly proposed concept, "gratitude eating." Honor eating involves the consumption of another being, often cannibalistically, as a means of reverence and communal bonding. In contrast, gratitude eating, which is rooted in Homeric traditions of hospitality and social obligation, refers to the act of consuming food under societal expectations, reinforcing power structures, survival hierarchies, and narrative tension. This study argues that both forms of symbolic eating function as speech acts that shape narrative structure, character development, and cultural critique. By analyzing the ways food structures relationships and power in these texts, this thesis contributes to the broader discourse on food symbolism, sociological hierarchies, and alternative eating practices in contemporary storytelling.
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Details
- Title
- Bite Me
- Creators
- Allison L Riechman-Bennett
- Contributors
- Donna Potts (Chair)Jon Hegglund (Committee Member)Rebecca Mouser (Committee Member)Rachel Sanchez (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of English
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 66
- Identifiers
- 99901225853801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis