Oh, land of the sun! i dream of seeing you, now that i find myself so far from you, shopping in a foreign supermarket. everything is so coldly organized, sterile, functional that i am horrified. i ask myself what the hidden reason is behind this system of shopping. it seems that presenting food products in this manner has the objective of numbing our will and happiness. upon seeing carrots, corn, lettuce, even cilantro, disguised to appear real even though they’ve been frozen for months, one feels that it’s all part of a big set for an american movie. it’s as if we are part of a huge superproduction in which we act as if we are choosing, buying, and eating these foods, but everything is simulated. in mexico i am accustomed to going to the market every day, chatting with the merchants, tasting bites of fruit (real fruit) at each stand, running into my neighbors and talking to them among the magical smells and colors that are found only there. i am, essentially, accustomed to life.

source: esquivel, laura and stephen a. lytle. “lowfat mayonaise.” between two fires: intimate writings on life, love, food and flavor. new york: crown, 2000. 125-26. print.

how is theme related to historical and social context in the excerpt above?

esquivel is homesick and doesn’t like frozen food.
esquivel misses tasting real fruit for free at the market.
food in mexico was cheaper and more satisfying than in the united states.
small things like grocery shopping represent larger differences.
mark this and return