Food as a Major Cite for Culture and Identity: A Select Reading of Frances Mensah Williams’ Novel From Pasta To Pigfoot

Abstract

It is an unending attempt for the immigrant community to come out of the entanglement of identity issues, especially in postcolonial settings. Apparently, it appears to be more complicated for the second or third generation subjects of the settler’s family for they have zero firsthand experience of their home culture. Such issues of complicated identity are widely addressed in many of the postcolonial narratives and this paper attempts to trace similar kinds of concerns through the specific lens of food. The reason for which food is chosen as a focal point is that food stands as a striking symbol through which multiple aspects of the society like culture, ethnic identity, gender roles, politics, social order, etc., can be vastly interpreted. The novel From Pasta to Pigfoot written by Frances Mensah Williams has a greater scope on analyzing such concepts of culture and postcolonial identity through the representation of food. A deeper examination on the role of food played at various layers throughout the novel allows us to understand that the concepts revolved around the food like cooking, dining, choice of food, eating, food manners and many other culinary aspects subject to challenge an individual’s identity at a greater level. This article also seeks to examine the ways in which this complexity of individual identity could be at least balanced if not completely resolved.