Vjylku

Often reading analyses of books and films, I find that the analytics derive conclusions from the specific food or beverage that a character consumes. The food appears to always be symbolic of something.

Now, I'm not completely oblivious to what food says about a character. But here's the problem: in my fantasy novel, I have people eating fruit, decorating rooms with flowers, using plants in metaphors - I'm giving flora a strong presence, because I want to emphasise the society's strong bond to the earth and the earth's natural cycles. So, I am, in fact, using fruit as a symbol.

But then, exactly because that's how I use fruit, my character might be eating a banana because a banana is what's in season. No phallic subtext intended.

Which leads me to the question - can a banana ever be just a banana? Or do I always need to be aware of all the messages each bit of food brings with it, and write under those constraints?

(This question is not specific to bananas. Freud just made bananas funny.)

I work with teenagers (language classes). 'Banana' is a terribly unfortunate word that will kickstart a flurry of giggling and joking. Woe befall the poor soul who says they like bananas!

Hopefully, readers will be easier to deal with.

In your particular case, you can use the symbolism to your advantage. If there are moments when the chosen fruit is clearly symbolic, it'll be easier to point out when it isn't. I'll carry on with the 'banana' example in homage to my students.

She reached for the fruit bowl and her hand hovered over the banana. If her brother were to see her, she wouldn't hear the end of the jokes. But the apples and pears on the bowl looked so unappealing. She picked the banana up and sat down, peeling it. Sometimes she wished people would just stop taking simple actions for secretly meaningful nonsense.

A bit on the nose but you get the idea.

In cases where symbolism plays no role in the plot, it is trickier. Perhaps making sure the character's thoughts are on something completely unrelated is enough.

She sat down with the banana to watch some TV. Oh, a horror film was on! She took a bite and relaxed as the protagonist screeched in terror at the axe-wielding clown.

Another option is to make it clear why the banana is a sensible option rather than something else.

She was getting hungry while typing the report. Almost without thinking, she reached for the fruit bowl and got a pear, but then stopped herself. Those pears were really juicy and it would end up dripping onto the keyboard. Better to eat a banana instead.

Although, if the reader has a teenage brain, there's nothing anyone can do. You can, of course, simply avoid mentioning the heavily symbolic food, but be warned! Even avoiding mentioning bananas while talking of fruit isn't a failsafe in a class of teenagers. If a reader really wants to read something into its presence and absence, there's nothing anyone can do.

To make it worse, if you're writing for a global audience, there's no way you can predict all the dangerous innuendoes. For example, tomatoes and eggs are a common way of referring to testicles in Portuguese and Spanish respectively and I have come across some situations where an innocent use of those two ingredients got a chuckle out of me. A male character can innocently claim he's out of milk, but not that he's out of eggs or tomatoes. It's inevitable, I suppose.

On the other hand, smirking at the possible naughty idea isn't the same as thinking there's a hidden reason for the use of that particular food. At least, not if the context clearly shows the guy is talking about the ingredients for his lunch rather than his body parts or his courage.

There's not much you can do about it other than controlling the tone of your scenes and making sure your characterization is stronger than your fruit.

If your reader is prone to connecting bananas to genetalia that's what they bring to your book. You can't deprogram them.