Conclusion

Overall I have looked at seven quite different books however they do have similarities when it comes to the representation and meaning of food. The Railway Children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Oliver Twist all use food as a way to represent the struggle and poverty the characters live in. Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter focus on the more magical effects of food, foods no one has heard of before and foods that make you grow and shrink. The representation of food in Heidi shows that just because food may appear simple it does not mean it’s any less delicious than what others would consider treats. This then brings me onto my next point, what foods are considered treats? Through my research I have found that anything can be a treat it is up to the character who defines whether or not it is a treat to them. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe use food as a way to foreshadow bad events, emphasising that food is not always as it seems. It may be delicious and wonderful to eat what you like  but it is not always the right thing to do. Edmond gets his brother and sister’s trapped because he’s too selfish to think about anything but Turkish Delight. As I have looked at books over a vast period of time you would think descriptions of food would differ over time. The only thing I really found that differed was the purpose of food in each book and what is signified. I’m not certain that had anything to do with the time period but rather the purpose differed due to the different story lines and ideas in each book. 

Works Cited

Lewis, C. S., and Pauline Baynes. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: A.A. Levine, 1998. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. N.p.: Wordsworth Edns., 1993. Print.

Dahl, Roald, and Joseph Schindelman. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. New York: Knopf, 1964. Print.

Spyri, Johanna, and Ruth Sanderson. Heidi. New York: Ariel /Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. Print.

Nesbit, E., and C. E. Brock. The Railway Children. New York: Knopf, 1993. Print.

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1941. Print.