Week 5 Davis

    In chapter four of Eating Animals, "Hiding/Seeking," Safran Foer details an eventful night sneaking onto a factory farm with his mysterious acquaintance C, in attempt to gain a behind-the-scenes view of the practices conducted within. Organization is key in this passage, and the farm's infiltration is covered in only 1/5 of the chapter's effectively utilized sub-sections. The other 4 sections provide, respectively, an autobiographical account from C detailing her brief history and motives, a similar account from the point of view of a factory farmer, a strictly informative segment detailing the origins of factory farming and its methods, and then closes with another introspective section from the point of view of "the last poultry farmer." This style is used to great effect by Safran Foer, as the farm infiltration initially seems to be the primary focus of the chapter, although in the end it serves as a catalyst for informing the reader of heavily varying perspectives involved with the issue at hand, as well as certain progenitorial elements responsible for creating said issue. Lastly, Safran Foer's placement of "the last poultry farmer's" account at the very end of the chapter serves perfectly as a juxtaposing introduction to the proceeding chapter, "Influence/Speechlessness," which focuses largely on the policies held by corporations and the government on the issue of factory farming.