The Chocolate Ice Cream, The Hero, The Insight And The Human's 'Being'
As consumers of the media, it is important to be aware of the messages that are being told and how they affect us. The Chocolate Ice Cream, a short story written by M. K. England highlights just how influential the media can be in shaping our own views of ourselves. The hero in this short story is not actually named but rather referred to as "The Hero" therefore highlighting her role as someone who has saved herself from a life where she was unable to control her desires and needs.
This showcase will explore three key parts that make up this piece: The Chocolate Ice Cream, The Hero and Insight And The Human's 'Being'.
In the first part of the short story 'The Chocolate Ice Cream', there is a restaurant that serves delicious chocolate ice cream. It is so delicious to the point where it is addictive. It states that "If you eat the chocolate ice cream, you can't stop thinking about it" (page 8). This shows how attractive the flavour of this ice cream is which in turn gives an insight into how attractive and appealing this product/service is to its customers.
The hero in this story is also known as 'The Hero' and she's described as a young girl who has decided on not consuming chocolate ice cream ever again. The story is about her discovering a secret that she was unaware of until this point and also discovering that she had been changed for the better as a result of this discovery. She has realised that eating chocolate ice cream could have been the catalyst for her eating disorders.
It is extremely important to have fast and speedy services when it comes to anything, particularly medical treatment and in my opinion, this is one reason why the chocolate ice cream has spread like wildfire. It is highly addictive and once you start you can never stop. This not only shows how attractive these products are but also how consumers will act upon these products to complete their 'needs' i.e desire to eat them themselves.
The hero in this short story is not actually named and referred to as "The Hero" or HER which suggests her role in this short story. She has saved herself from a life where she was unable to control her desires and needs. The chocolate ice cream was a product that was so attractive that people would always try it, but never give up on it (similar to a drug). This is one of the main reasons why the hero saved herself from this product by realising it's addictive powers and negative impacts on the body.
Insight: Perceiving, understanding and being aware of something. Having perception; having knowledge or understanding; as, to have insight into a situation or problem.
Being: a state, manner or character of being; essence.
The Hero had insight into her eating disorder problems and the ice cream salesmen were shaping their customers perception of the chocolate ice cream. Pertaining to her eating disorder, she is witnessed by a doctor who tells her that she has completely recovered from all symptoms (similar to an insulin shot). These medical professionals were making a huge impact on how people were perceiving their products and how they were pleasing them. They are shaping what people believe is right and wrong.
The purpose of this part will be to explore the main messages that are portrayed in this short story. The message that I found to be the most interesting was how the short story was written from two different perspectives. You were able to read from the perspective of both the ice cream salesman and The Hero. The salesman represents how persuaded and captivated he can be by his own product. He uses certain tactics such as flattery, admiration or plain compliments to make his customers believe that they are doing something for themselves for example "Wanting is getting" (p11). He also uses different tactics such as suspense, humour or even telling a story to persuade customers into buying this product. This shows how there are so many methods of persuading people into doing something by using their imagination, one of the main things that can sell an idea or product.
The insight that the Human can have is considered to be the most important because it will influence how they live their life. It is what allows us to see the world around us and make decisions based on our own personal perception.
The insight of this story is seen in the end plot twist in which The Hero realises that she has been changed for the better and not for the worse by this seemingly enticing chocolate ice cream. This shows how media can expose you to something, but it also shows how you can gain a positive outlook from that exposure by twisting that exposure around to your advantage instead of your disadvantage.
The message that is portrayed in this short story and the way it is portrayed shows how media can be persuasive, but also how it can shape your perception.
This showcases will explore two key parts, The Chocolate Ice Cream and The Insight And The Human's 'Being'.
The first part of the short story 'The Chocolate Ice Cream' will be explored in this showcase. In this part of the story, there is a restaurant that serves delicious chocolate ice cream. It is so delicious to the point where it is addictive. It states that "If you eat the chocolate ice cream, you can't stop thinking about it" (page 8). This shows how attractive the flavour of this ice cream is which in turn gives an insight into how attractive and appealing this product/service is to its customers.
The hero in this story is also known as 'The Hero' and she's described as a young girl who has decided on not consuming chocolate ice cream ever again. The story is about her discovering a secret that she was unaware of until this point and also discovering that she had been changed for the better as a result of this discovery. She has realised that eating chocolate ice cream could have been the catalyst for her eating disorders. It states that "If you eat the chocolate ice cream, you can't stop thinking about it" (page 8). This shows how attractive the flavour of this ice cream is which in turn gives an insight into how attractive and appealing this product/service is to its customers.
It is extremely important to have fast and speedy services when it comes to anything, particularly medical treatment and in my opinion, this is one reason why the chocolate ice cream has spread like wildfire. It is highly addictive and once you start you can never stop. This not only shows how attractive these products are but also how consumers will act upon these products to complete their 'needs' i.e desire to eat them themselves.
The hero in this short story is not actually named and referred to as "The Hero" or HER which suggests her role in this short story. She has saved herself from a life where she was unable to control her desires and needs. The chocolate ice cream was a product that was so attractive that people would always try it, but never give up on it (similar to a drug). This is one of the main reasons why the hero saved herself from this product by realising it's addictive powers and negative impacts on the body.
Insight: Perceiving, understanding and being aware of something. Having perception; having knowledge or understanding; as, to have insight into a situation or problem.
Being: a state, manner or character of being; essence.
Conclusion
"The Chocolate Ice Cream" utilises insight and awareness to show how it can shape someone's perception of something. It also emphasises the way in which our behaviour can be influenced by media and advertising along with the perceptions we have of certain products/services.
What is your view on the use of this product? Do you think it was effective or not? Why? Do you think if you were in the same situation as The Hero, would or wouldn't you have different feelings about this product? Why or why not? Do you think that if this product were available for purchase tomorrow and it was about to be released into production, would the world feel differently about it now than how they do now? Explain your answer.