Titus

Titus is the narrator and main character of M T Anderson’s Feed. He was genetically designed to look like Delglacey Murdoch, an actor who his parents thought was going to make it big. He is a despondent character who the reader can see is a victim of the time and place of the novel. In the opening scenes he is on his way to the Moon, and is melancholy. The juxtaposition of the sad passenger travelling to the Moon, a seemingly thrilling trip, adds to the ordinary nature of the futuristic world, also giving insight to Titus’ dissatisfaction with his own life. In many ways the typical teenager, Titus looks forward to partying on the Moon but also hopes to make a connection with a girl there. This shows a degree of loneliness even though he is with a group of friends at the time. Titus comes from a wealthy background which enables him to enjoy all that the futuristic society has to offer: jump cars, a trip to the Moon, getting ‘mal’ or high with his friends, and purchasing online when the feed finds something he likes.

Titus is open to change but struggles to break free from the world that holds him. When he meets Violet, a girl from a different background, he becomes open to questioning technology, global politics and the day to day consumerism which dominates the youth of the time, and tries to balance his new awareness with his long-held perspective, so entwined in what his friends have told him and the ever-present feed of information. This struggle in some ways is Titus’ maturing, his coming of age. When Violet becomes ill Titus fails the test of commitment, and returns to seemingly shallow pursuits of happiness.

Titus Quotes

So after the movie we went right to the conceptionarium and told them, ‘We want the most beautiful boy you’ve ever made. We want him with my nose and his dad’s eyes, and for the rest, we have this picture of DelGlacey Murdoch.’ (Titus’ mother) Part 3.8

I got up and went to my bedroom door. I just stood there, and didn’t push the button to open it. My hand was on the button, but I didn’t push it. I stood by the door. Part 4.14

It was like I kept buying these things to be cool, but cool was always flying just ahead of me, and I could never exactly catch up to it. I felt like I’d been running toward it for a long time. Part 4.17

I tried to talk just to her. I tried not to listen to the noise on the feed, the girls in wet shirts offering me shampoo. I told her stories. They were only a sentence long, each one of them. That’s all I knew how to find. So I told her broken stories. The little pieces of broken stories I could find. I told her what I could. (Titus about Violet) Part 4.20

Violet Durn

Violet is a young girl with a different upbringing to the other youth in the novel, having been home-schooled by her father who had traditional, seemingly out-dated, ideas. Independent, she travels alone and meets the group of young people, which includes Titus, on the Moon. Violet’s sheltered childhood has left her inquisitive and experiential, and she hopes to experience the sort of things other people her age have been experiencing. When Titus first sees Violet she is experimenting with bubbles of juice in a zero gravity bar, and he is drawn to her. This fascination sets her apart from the group with whom Titus travelled, who viewed the trip as so mundane they played up on the flight and were only interested in partying. Titus himself seems bored with the Moon and this contrasts with Violet’s keen interest, as well as her intelligence and constant seeking of new things to research.

Violet did not have her implant for the feed inserted as young as others, her parents being hesitant to connect her to the technology. It was only after her father felt a sense of disconnection from society when others m-chatted about him right in front of him that he yielded. The late insertion of the technology and the effects of a hacker disrupting her feed lead to dire consequences: she begins to deteriorate very quickly. Violet pushes Titus to question the world around him like she does. This means she doesn’t fit in well with the tight-knit group of Titus and his friends who are not interested in questioning the ‘normal’ but rather, in enjoying all that their privilege has to offer.

Violet is rebellious and tries to disrupt the feed by randomly looking at shopping items she doesn’t really want, which forces the computer algorithms to adjust, and in a game of cat and mouse try and figure out what they can sell her. The fact that technology itself leads to her death is emblematic of an unsuccessful struggle against the intrusive world of the feed.

Violet is in love with Titus and seeks opportunities to deepen their relationship. After being told she doesn’t have long to live she endeavours to be with him intimately but he refuses as he can’t get past the fact she is dying. They break up and this leaves Violet alone until her death.

Violet Durn Quotes

She was the most beautiful girl, like, ever. She was watching our stupidity. Part 1.2

We were all just kind of staring at her like she was an alien. She smiled. We kept staring at her. (The group watch Violet) Part 1.4

‘What I’m doing, what I’ve been doing over the feed for the last two days, is trying to create a customer profile that’s so screwed, no one can market to it. I’m not going to let them catalog me. I’m going to become invisible.’ (Violet) Part 3.5

She said, ‘It makes good times even better when you know they’re going to end. Like grilled vegetables are better because some of them are partly soot.’ (Violet) Part 3.12

I want to get older. (Violet) Part 4.8

The Hacker

The hacker is an older man whom the group encounter at The Rumble Spot club on the Moon. He is a member of The Coalition of Pity, a rebel group that aims to educate society on issues such as the feed, the environment and consumerism. The old man presses a metal rod against Titus and his friends’ heads, except Loga who wouldn’t let him near her because he ‘looked creepy’, and they begin to broadcast his message: ‘We enter a time of calamity. We enter a time of calamity.’ The hacker is beaten by the police but not before disrupting the group’s feed. The disruption proves fatal for Violet, which in some ways is ironic as Violet was the most rebellious toward the societal flaws and most likely to agree with the ideas of The Coalition of Pity. Violet, whose parents had resisted the feed, and the hacker, who disagrees with the feed, are victims in the novel indicating the harsh consequences for critical thinkers in a superficial world.

The Hacker Quotes

The old man reached out and, with a metal handle, touched me on the neck. Suddenly, I could feel myself broadcasting. I was broadcasting across the scatterfeed, going, helplessly, We enter a time of calamity! We enter a time of calamity! I couldn’t stop. And he had touched Violet now, and Link, and Marty, and from all of them, it was coming, We enter a time of calamity! We enter a time of calamity! Part 1.5

They said that they had identified him, and that he was a hacker and a naysayer of the worst kind. Part 2.4

One was a message from the crazy asshole, which said, You have been hacked by the Coalition of Pity. The other was a good sale at Weatherbee & Crotch, which, by this time, I had probably missed. Part 2.6

‘He was beaten to death at the club. We saw it. The police, remember? They beat him over the head.’ She reached out and took my arm. …. I bought the Dodge. (About the hacker) Part 3.9

Titus’ Family

Titus’ father, Steve, is a corporate worker in the banking sector. He is constantly on the feed for work and rarely present to guide or help Titus. This isn’t unusual in the future as deep discussion seems to have been replaced with light entertainment, shopping, and light banter. Titus’ father arrives on the Moon after the incident with the hacker and flexes his authority, acting ‘business like’, but this is contrasted by his dialogue which sounds more like a stereotypical teen surfer, emphasising how language has so quickly deteriorated in the future setting.

Titus’ mother is seen as a doting woman who is constantly doing things for her children, and appears to be spoiling them. She spends a lot of time with Titus’ brother, constantly holding him and squeezing him and attending all of his sports, and is quick to buy Titus an ‘upcar’.

Titus’ younger brother, known only by his nickname ‘smell factor’, is already addicted to the feed and spends a majority of his time tuned in to music or children’s programs, paying little attention to the family.

Titus’ Family Quotes

When my father got there the next morning, he didn’t stay long. He was being very powerful and businesslike. He was dressed up, and he looked like he was ready to give some orders and sort things out. He looked like everyone around us was stupid and he was going to roll up his sleeves and do some real clarity work. Part 2.8

My father nodded and smiled at her with this meg condescending smile on his face, and was like, ‘Dude, I remember when I was like you.’ (Titus’ father to Violet) Part 3.10

‘I want to get worried. If there’s like some meg thing wrong.’
…. My mom reached over … ‘You’re safe.’
Dad said, ‘You have an upcar.’ Part 3.10

Violet’s Father

Violet’s father is a college professor, immersed in the study of ‘dead languages’ that are computer languages, and openly critical of the way society has progressed. He is initially seen as eccentric, and deliberately resisted joining the mass communication of the novel’s world. He would have resisted the feed entirely but felt pressured when it seemed necessary to not be excluded from work and other people entirely. As such, he has an external feed and had his daughter’s implanted later than most children. When Violet’s technology malfunctions, slowly taking her life, he blames himself for the late installation. He is seen as more caring than most and tries to balance his disapproval of Titus with his daughter’s happiness. Faithful to his daughter to the end, Violet’s father is another example, along with the hacker and Violet herself, of the consequences of non-conformity.

Violet’s Father Quotes

‘He’s a college professor. He teaches the dead languages.’ (Violet about her father) Part 2.11

Her father looked like a crank. Part 3.11

‘He says the language is dying. He thinks words are being debased. So he tries to speak entirely in weird words and irony, so no one can simplify anything he says.’ (Violet about her father) Part 3.11

.. it was pretty clear he was thinking, My daughter is spending these last like precious hours with some malfunctioned asshole. (About Violet’s father) Part 4.12

Titus’ Friends: Calista, Quendy, Loga, Marty and Link

Titus’ friends are a close-knit group that attends school together. The group members are wealthy and hedonistic in their pursuits, looking for opportunities to have fun, throw parties, attend the clubs on the Moon and get ‘mal’ or out of it. Titus is linked to all the girls in some way, having dated or being intimate with each of them at some time. The group displays the effects of the feed and the implied consumer society that exists in the world; they instantly shift to meet any new ideas, changing hairstyles or clothes as the trend dictates. The group is unquestioning in its lifestyle and finds the intrusion of the non-conforming Violet as uncomfortable. Calista and Quendy eventually have a clash with Violet, who accuses the group of being food for the machine and that rather than the group possessing the feed, the group is the feed. Quendy is called a monster for accentuating her lesions to appear cool without questioning why she is sick.

Calista, Loga and Quendy move almost as one, highlighting the narrow way of thinking and the lack of individualism under the new world system. Calista and Link take the lead for their respective genders, and portray a kind of bullying group, only willing to accept like-minded people into its parts and circle. Everyone in the group, except Loga, is attacked by the hacker in the club on the Moon. Their reactions show their dependency on the feed; immediately they feel bored without access to the latest games or sales, like they are missing out, and watch Loga for clues on how to act while she continues to make changes according to the feed. The group members eventually have fun in a way which resembles normal teens, making a game out of some medical equipment, laughing together and talking. However as soon as the feed is restored they quickly transition to their old ways, perhaps only Titus having taken the down time to question the norm, largely due to Violet’s influence.

The boys include Titus, Marty and Link. Link Arwaker is typical of the group and highlights the importance of wealth and conformity at the time. Link is actually a genetic clone of Abraham Lincoln, this is where he gets his name and his height. The irony in his genetics is that Link is a slave to the feed, a narrow minded, self-obsessed teen in stark contrast to the open-minded, martyr-like former president who worked tirelessly to free slaves. The girls include Calista, Loga and Quendy. They appear close, as they are always together, but their relationship is more clearly seen when Loga, unaffected by the hacker, visits her friends in the hospital and is unable to show genuine compassion or sympathy, her attention instead focused on m-chatting with her friends via her feed and catching up with the latest episode of ‘Oh? Wow! Thing!’. The depth of their relationships is also seen through the group’s members having drifted in and out of relationships with each another over time, both formally and intimately.

Titus Friends’ Quotes

The waitress came by and Link stopped and smiled at her and she was like, What a nice young man.
That was because he purchased like a slop-bucket of cologne from the duty-free. Part 1.1

Once, she went to the bathroom, casual-like, and came back with her hair parted a different place. Calista and Quendy watched her. Later, without saying anything, they went and did theirs different like that, too. Part 2.7

‘Oh, sorry. I thought it was good to use stupid, long words that no one can understand.’
Calista laughed and looked backward, going, ‘Shhh. She’ll hear you and have an alpoduffin … fleatcher.’ (Loga and Calista tease Violet) Part 3.14

‘You don’t have the feed! You are feed!’ (Violet to the group) Part 3.20