Sinful Selling

Gluttony

Hidden Valley Ranch: Window
Author: Kelly Colchin
Date: 2010
Place of Publication: San Francisco

At first glance, this advertisement appears to be an innocent snapshot of a little boy cautiously taking vegetable salad resembling a green pie. The boy has a surprised expression and  is looking anxiously through the window. A collection of a porcelain hen, metal container and salt and pepper shakers with cherry designs. The clock points to approximately 11:12 and the sunlit background outside the window indicates the photo took place in the morning. A bottle of ranch dressing is set on the red counter with a caption reading, “Where Vegetables Are Delectable”. This signifies that the ranch dressing on the usually unappealing “vegetable” salad changes its appearance and taste to that of a sweet treat. Hence, the child is trying to steal the “delectable” (a word often associated with tasty unhealthy food) salad instead of being forced to eat it by his parents.

However, under closer inspection, one can make out the subtle and hidden messages being conveyed in the image. First off, the red-white color scheme and antique porcelain decorations give away the fifties time period when all that was in fashion. In regards to the ad’s deeper meanings, the ad is deeming it acceptable, and to some extent desirable, for children to sinfully steal from others. Furthermore, the fact that a food is the object of thievery in this case, the advertisers are consciously or unconsciously promoting gluttony for the viewers. This deceitful form of persuasion means that if you take and eat food from someone else, it is considered cute and harmless, when in fact, gluttony can lead to obesity, diabetes, and death. While Junior in the photo could be pondering the long term consequence of his poor decision, he is most likely trying to avoid detection from within the house. Based on his wide eyes and gaping mouth, the youngster probably sees somebody walking around inside or has just been caught.

This old-timey piece has a nostalgic effect on the reader as it brings him or her back to a simpler time in one’s childhood. It reminds the viewer how they used to steal the pies and other sweets their mother or grandmother would make. The wow-factor is that the ranch can evoke a similar sense of desire but in a much healthier fashion. That being said, the intended audience of the photo are parents with young kids who are picky-eaters.  Parents will assume that the sweet-tasting Ranch will entice their children to eat healthy greens that they would normally reject. These young parents would be from any socio-economic background due to the cheap pricing of ranch, but if I had to choose one, I would say middle-class because of the fifties middle-class layout of the house and small yard outside. The audience would most likely have to be aware and cultured of fifties lifestyle to grasp the nostalgic reference the ad is making.

Can't bury these tales: Canterbury Tales & Jane Eyre

.

5. In the passage, Mr. Brocklehurst is mercilessly chastising little Julia Severn for having naturally curly hair while his wife and children are wearing false add-on curls to their own hair. The blatant irony somehow surpasses the “pious prick” (literally just came up with that) when he says that no girl should conform to nature, but rather to Mr. Brocklehurst’s own liking. He even goes as far as to say she must have her entire head shaved off. Yet a bald head will not allow poor Julia to have her hair “arranged closely, modestly, plainly.” The sheer hypocrisy of the notion iterates how society treats the upper class and lower class so differently.

Author Charlotte Brontë conveys that women of the upper class are allowed to express themselves with far more distinction than women of the lower class. Apparently, wearing curls is a sign of distinction, which is solely reserved for the wealthy folk. Mr. Brocklehurst, being a staunch follower of societal norms, tries using the Bible and Christianity as a means of justifying why curly haired Julia must be punished. The man even acknowledges the social status of the orphans by informing Miss Temple his “plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence” (Brontë). He is saying that the girls were into poverty and must learn to live such a life, as if they are stuck in that class forever. Although Brocklehurst elaborates on the necessity to suffer through life just as Jesus and his disciples did, he doesn’t even notice the fallacy when his glamorously clad, curl toting girls walk through the door. The author makes light of the ironic situation when she says, “They ought to have come a little sooner to have heard his lecture on dress” (Brontë).

 During this time period, there was a wide disparity between social classes, especially since a large middle class had yet to be formed. Quite possibly, the orphanage owner could be afraid of some of the orphan girls competing in beauty with his own upper class family members. Not only would that be a huge embarrassment, but the parentless girls would have subtly been given the confidence and power needed to rebel and stir trouble in the establishment. In this sense, the orphans represent the lower class being pushed down and normalized by the jealous, fearful upperclassmen, represented by Mr. Bocklehurst and his family.