Violet’s father Character Analysis in Feed

Violet’s father is one of the novel’s most poignant characters. A highly intelligent, often argumentative man, he teaches “dead languages” (mostly computer languages) at a university. He’s extremely critical of his own society, especially the overpowering culture of conspicuous consumption. However, Violet’s father also recognizes that having a feed is a necessity in America: he gets his own feed, which he carries around on his back (giving himself a permanent hunch) and arranges for a feed to be implanted in Violet’s brain. Toward the end of the novel, when complications with Violet’s feed threaten to kill her, Violet’s father personal blames himself for his daughter’s suffering. While Titus initially thinks of Violet’s father as a “weird” old man, it slowly becomes clear that he’s one of the only characters in the book who understands how horrifying the society of Feed really is.

Violet’s father Quotes in Feed

The Feed quotes below are all either spoken by Violet’s father or refer to Violet’s father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

He said in a high-pitched voice, like a teensy-weensy kind of voice, "Ooooooh! Observe the remarkable verdure! Little friend, I am master of all I survey."

Related Characters: Violet’s father (speaker), Titus (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 137

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Titus meets Violet Durn’s father, a quirky character who speaks in an intentionally erudite vocabulary. When Titus tells Violet’s father that they’re going to drive around the country in Titus’s new upcar (i.e., flying car), Violet’s father doesn’t reply in any of the usual ways—instead, he squeaks, “Observe the remarkable verdure!” (i.e., greenery). As with much of what Violet’s father says, his outburst is a bit hard to understand, but actually somewhat insightful if you think about it more. Violet’s father could be interpreted to be making fun of Titus for the way he chooses to romance Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accus

"It's almost time for foosball. It will be a gala. Go along, little child. Go back and hang with the eloi."
"What are the eloi?"
"It's a reference," he said, snotty. "It's from The Time Machine. H. G. Wells."
I stepped closer to him. "What does it mean?" I asked. "Because I'm sick of—"
"Read it."
"I'm sick of being told I'm stupid."
"So read it, and you'll know."
"Tell me."
"Read it."

Related Characters: Titus (speaker), Violet’s father (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 291

Explanation and Analysis:

In this tense passage, Titus faces off against Violet’s father, an eccentric academic who despises his society. Violet’s father blames himself for his daughter’s fate (he was the one who had a feed installed in her when she was a child), but he also seems to blame Titus for “corrupting her” and taking her to the club where her feed was hacked. Violet’s father sneers at Titus and compares him to the eloi, the fictional race of weak, shallow, pleasure-seekers in H.G. Wells’s early science fiction classic The Time Machine. Wells’s novel was a major inspiration for Anderson’s own—both books Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut.

Violet’s father Character Timeline in Feed

The timeline below shows where the character Violet’s father appears in Feed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Apathy, Happiness, and Satisfaction Theme Icon

...dad does “some kind of banking thing,” and that his mom is “in design.” Violet’s father is a professor who teaches dead languages, such as BASIC. Violet also shows Titus that... (full context)

...chatting with his friends. He sees his family, but doesn’t really talk to them. His father doesn’t talk much, and his mother spends most of her time with Smell Factor, sometimes... (full context)

Violet introduces Titus to her father, who uses complex vocabulary that Titus can’t understand. Titus notices that Violet’s father carries an... (full context)

...more interesting than his, but he enjoys conversing with her. However, in Titus’s opinion, Violet’s father is “an insane psychopath.” (full context)

Violet’s father arrives at the hospital shortly after Titus gets there. After speaking to a doctor, he... (full context)

...Violet could be “uninsane” again. Just then, the nurses announce that Violet is awake. Violet’s father goes to see her, leaving Titus alone. (full context)

Titus watches as Violet and her father try to petition FeedTech for free repairs, since Violet’s father can’t pay for the tests... (full context)

...that her mother never had a feed because she didn’t want a “brain mole.” Violet’s father’s parents didn’t have the money to buy feeds. So both of Violet’s parents went through... (full context)

...Violet’s house, and she’s waiting outside. She tells him not to come in, since her father will know he’s mal. Titus tells Violet that her to-do list will take about five... (full context)

...has a headache. He finds that he’s still on the lawn, next to Violet. Violet’s father stares out the window, clearly unhappy that his daughter is spending so much time with... (full context)

...returned to Violet’s house, Violet climbs out of the upcar, and her arm freezes. Violet’s father tries to help her, but she insists on climbing down from the upcar on her... (full context)

...in California and mysterious explosions in New Jersey. When he arrives at Violet’s house, Violet’s father lets him inside and takes him to Violet. (full context)

Violet’s father explains that Violet can barely speak anymore. He recalls how, years ago, he decided that... (full context)

Titus can only say, “I’m sorry,” but Violet’s father replies, “Sorrow comes so cheap.” He accuses Titus of taking Violet to the club and... (full context)

Violet’s father Character Analysis

Violet’s father Quotes in Feed

Part 3: Observe the Remarkable Verdure Quotes

Part 4: The Deep Quotes

Violet’s father Character Timeline in Feed