Naked Lunch

Shifting from a characterization of the male to a characterization of the female in "Naked Lunch," Micheal Hollinger utilizes detailed characterization, extended metaphor and sarcastic irony to illustrate the complicated relationship between a dominant male and his submissive girlfriend.

Eating

Have you ever watched someone eat?
Some people do the napkin-on-lap-and-wrists-resting-on-the-edge-of-the-table thing, but you usually don’t see that unless you’re having tea with the Queen of England.
Next time you go out to a restaurant, observe the people around you. I guarantee you will see at least one of the three people I am about to describe.
First is the woman with a lip of fat slipping out of her purple shirt and over her green skinny jeans. Right off the bat you know something is wrong with the picture, but those pants do not fit her. Not only do the pants not fit, they are the complete wrong color to be wearing with her purple blouse and running shoes. They make her look like a combination of the two Fruit of the Loom grape characters—and she’s as big as them too.
This woman will buy a salad because she is out to lunch with her skinny friends, but everyone can tell that she is staring longingly at the extra large meat lover’s pizza at the table across the aisle. Practically salivating over it, not even being able to concentrate on the conversation her skinny friends are having.
Second is the old, happy-go-lucky man eating the endless buffalo chicken wing platter. Not only is the plate bigger and heavier than he is, but he will eat the whole thing, even if it takes him two to three hours. He does this once every week because it is his time to get away from his wife and do whatever he wants. He likes to reminisce with himself about his younger years and feel like he is 17 again and, to him, there is nothing like having a burning mouth and disturbed bowels for the rest of the night.
At the end of his meal he will have hot sauce on any number of different places including the top of his ear, the rim of his glasses, the tip of his nose, and on his pocket protector, but he doesn’t care. He just loves the feeling that it brings to him. The feeling that reminds him of the days when he used to go there for lunch with his buddies, none of them having a care in the world.
The next person that you will almost always see is the messy eater. The worst part is, is that they almost always cannot admit that they are the messy eater. You will probably see a mother yelling at her child to chew with his mouth closed, and rolling her eyes at the mess he is making. Mean while, she will be spitting bits of half chewed food all over the table and wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She will be the one to criticize everyone else, but refuse to take criticism from others.

So next time you go out to a restaurant, take a look around. Do some people watching. You’ll be surprised what you see.