Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit by Cheryl Peck Book Analysis

Cheryl Peck, a novelist, from Three Rivers, Michigan, published her Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit in 2005. ‘Fatso’ was an essay pulled from her book and draws attention to societys’ toxicity towards bigger people. Her message targets people who would not share the same discriminative situations. Peck utilizes anecdotes and anaphora to portray the world’s corruptive society, dispersed by her sarcastic tone throughout the essay. 

Anecdotes start the essay off by discussing a friend’s friend of hers and their discrimination experience. All because of something this person does “not need to eat”, bias to their size. Peck then goes on to question what right does anyone have to tell another person what they should and should not eat. She further dwells on how the comment might have not been told to a thin person creating the discussion of discrimination. Peck refers back to a time when she was only twelve, simply just trying to buy a pair of shoes. However, the remark of the salesman, meant to be humorous, created room for body dysmorphia. Or referring to the event of picking up a magazine with a “person of substance” on the cover, then the magazine addressing the flaws of that woman. Talking about how someone of her size should “go on a diet” or “demonstrate some self-control” or else they are going to develop health conditions. Peck reacts to this article with disgust, claiming how health does not rely on weight. This experience relates to how toxic society is towards people of size. 

Peck utilizes anaphora throughout her essay. She draws a sharp distinction between her imagined existence, in which she repeats the phrase "I have never," and her real life, in which she is discriminated against because of her weight. This phrase has repeated a total of 18 times, along with other variations. Through her tone, the reader picks up on her sarcasm and how all the experiences listed are situations she has been through. People believe she has never faced discrimination because she is a white middle-class woman. Another reason she employs the words "I have never" so frequently throughout the essay is because of this. "I've never been called derogatory terms like "fatso" or "lard-bucket." This comment implies that she has been called these things previously, and that it has impacted her life in some way. This utilizes sarcasm, used to hide the truth that she was upset about how society regards plus-sized people.

Sarcasm and tone played an essential role in conveying Peck’s message. She distributes her sarcastic tone as she states “ I have never been called crude names, like “fatso” or “lard bucket.”. In actuality, she has been referred to by all of those derogatory terms. She does not want other people of her size to be called the same names she is. The crude names that others have called Peck portray her point of view on the discrimination against people of size. These terms have been created by our society solely to discriminate. She also goes on to list all of the “I have never” events however all of these did happen. Peck draws the attention of the reader by using this phrase and brings out empathy. She talks about how even in the safe environment of a friend’s house she has been “directed to the safe chairs” as if she is “incapable for gauging for herself”. By stacking these personal experiences, it heightens just how shaming affects people of size. Her wording makes it so her point can get across without the sense of complaining. Peck wants to raise awareness of the suffering that people of a certain size face.