Mary Angelique C.

Labanon
12STEMB12
“We Ate the Children Last”

The first literary approach that is applicable in this story is the Marxist criticism, when the porsicure procedure

was approved by the government, a lobby group for the poor applied to this wondrous medical solution though

they all know that this will cause them to eat garbage then the rich people who promote that procedure by

saying that the chance of malnutrition will be lessen in the society. Yes that’s one of the advantages of

undergoing to that procedure, but the truth is, those rich people who did not undergo to that procedure will

get more benefits compare to the poor people who risk their lives for the sake of the “perfect society” that we

were attaining. And by that, it sums that there will always be a separation between the higher class and the

lower class. The lower class is the bait and the higher class is the hunter, when things will slip out of hand

that bait will only suffer.

The second literary approach that is applicable in this story is the biographical criticism. Yann Martel

parents are peripatetic, means that he lived in different countries and in the year 1986, Felipe González

became the Prime Minister of Spain, and Yann martel lives in spain by that time (actually Yann Martel was

born in Spain). And in Gonzalez term, several measures were adopted, but with moderation, it was

something with the Marxist Ideology but much more radical. In that period the abortion were legalized,

increased personal freedoms. And to grow up with that kind of society it will really live a mark into a

person’s mind. And before Martel committed himself in writing, he worked variously as a tree planter,

dishwasher and security guard. Martel’s first book, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, It is a

collection of short stories about, dealing with such themes as illness, storytelling and the history of the

twentieth century; music, war and the anguish of youth; how we die; and grief. The second book that he

wrote is Self that deals with the loneliness of youth the melancholic hankering after a greater purpose, and
the essential absurdity of longing and sexual desire. Followed by Life of Pi, it’s about survival. And of

course, We ate the children last. The kind of society that he grew up with and the experiences that he been

through, reflects his work.

“I write to understand issues that are important to me, to express my creative energies and to pass the time

in a meaningful way.” – Yann Martel