During mid-nineteenth century Paris, Where Emile Zola’s Belly of Paris takes place, Napoleon III's reign had caused the French economy to prosper due to the extraordinary need for French goods, a brand-new finance structure, and a substantial plan for public work. This new-found prosperity turned the city of Paris into the envy of the entire world around it. It was entirely restructured and upgraded by essentially gentrifying poor neighborhoods and replacing its archaic history into new residences for the bourgeoisie. The city was manufactured for expensive brownstones, architectural elements, and newer, wider, boulevards for all to see. This began to allow the rich to drench all throughout the remodeled city, pushing the workers and lower
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Zola’s Belly of Paris explores the dichotomy between the oppressed and the complacent by introducing Florent Quenu as a character that, although once was repulsed by the bourgeoisie, eventually becomes complicit in the subjugation he was destined to reverse. In a world alienated into categories of ‘Fats and Thins’, Florent has experienced both sides of the spectrum in an aspect when taking a job as a fish inspector; ultimately becoming his own enemy. With Les Halles being run by the fats for the profit of other Fats; Zola illustrates the markets’ over indulgence of food as a ridiculous insult to the very apparent multitude of Parisians that were too unfortunate to feed themselves. Those who did have a surplus of wealth to consume well were too appeased by the market’s supply to even consider the political cruelty they grieved under Napoleon’s regime, nor the physical deficiencies of those beneath …show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, we learn that he has just illegally escaped seven years in exile; where he had been sent after accidentally being framed with murder and contributing to a street rebellion organized against Louis-Napoleon in December of 1851. We can automatically gather that Florent is a dedicated socialist, who is willing to self-sacrifice himself for what is morally correct – He is angry, forward thinking, and out spoken. He is consistently shown to be very unhappy about the primary social involvement of the bourgeoisie overindulging themselves in food while the economical break between the working class and the rich perpetually expanded. Paris begins to become a food dominated society, where those that are respected are classified as ‘well-fed’ and those who are not are considered “backwards men” (82). Fats are seen as self absorbed and unaware to the distress of the working class, much like Florent who is characterized by his strikingly frail frame. He is weak and unbelievably skinny due to starvation and a consistent diet of rice filled with maggots and rotten meat (82) while away on exile. His anxiety is evident as he strays through the unrecognizable Paris streets, famished, perplexed, and uncontrollably overwhelmed by the smells of different foods. He found it “fat and sleek, overflowing
Zola’s Belly of Paris explores the dichotomy between the oppressed and the complacent by introducing Florent Quenu as a character that, although once was repulsed by the bourgeoisie, eventually becomes complicit in the subjugation he was destined to reverse. In a world alienated into categories of ‘Fats and Thins’, Florent has experienced both sides of the spectrum in an aspect when taking a job as a fish inspector; ultimately becoming his own enemy. With Les Halles being run by the fats for the profit of other Fats; Zola illustrates the markets’ over indulgence of food as a ridiculous insult to the very apparent multitude of Parisians that were too unfortunate to feed themselves. Those who did have a surplus of wealth to consume well were too appeased by the market’s supply to even consider the political cruelty they grieved under Napoleon’s regime, nor the physical deficiencies of those beneath …show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, we learn that he has just illegally escaped seven years in exile; where he had been sent after accidentally being framed with murder and contributing to a street rebellion organized against Louis-Napoleon in December of 1851. We can automatically gather that Florent is a dedicated socialist, who is willing to self-sacrifice himself for what is morally correct – He is angry, forward thinking, and out spoken. He is consistently shown to be very unhappy about the primary social involvement of the bourgeoisie overindulging themselves in food while the economical break between the working class and the rich perpetually expanded. Paris begins to become a food dominated society, where those that are respected are classified as ‘well-fed’ and those who are not are considered “backwards men” (82). Fats are seen as self absorbed and unaware to the distress of the working class, much like Florent who is characterized by his strikingly frail frame. He is weak and unbelievably skinny due to starvation and a consistent diet of rice filled with maggots and rotten meat (82) while away on exile. His anxiety is evident as he strays through the unrecognizable Paris streets, famished, perplexed, and uncontrollably overwhelmed by the smells of different foods. He found it “fat and sleek, overflowing