3 ms·

English is not my native language. What is bread in this article?

w0de0 5y ago
It’s bread (that is: pan, wheat or similar milled and leavened) but it’s more a euphemism of the author’s own design. To me it was a reference to - something - in the American millennial zeitgeist that congealed just about mid-pandemic when half our social media seemed to be about people making and bragging about bread at home.
- rakoo 5y ago
  I feel it's that one: all the people were talking about during the first phases of lockdown was how to make the best of this moment, surrounded with all this newfound available time and knowledge a few clicks away. Stories of starting a new hobby, learning a new language, playing an instrument. It was all temporary anyway, so we might as well use that time. But the diversion wore off, as time went on, deaths kept piling off, countries were fighting each other over sharing vaccines and their patents, half the country still believes it's all a hoax... there's only so much bread that will keep you busy while no one outside shows any sign of pondering on our faults as a society and we are just waiting for the old days to come. Who cares about bread anymore. Maybe I'm putting some of myself here, but so many parts of this society look too much like dumb tasks coming again and again with no end in sight, and for what result? Become a prince if you have the good friends/luck/money, or vanish into the void of being forgotten. Stop being diverted by quirky social media phenomenons: fix the system, or leave it to make your own. Abort the fairy tale.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sigmaprimus 5y ago
I am not completely certain but I believe the authors' mother was saying "F the bread it is over" as a sort of metaphor regarding last years fad of baking bread during the lockdown and how it is no longer important. It could also be a commentary on the ketogenic diet movement gaining ground in recent years. Bread is also slang for money so it could be refering that the author cant make any money but thats a stretch. On a side note, one of my favorite science/fantasy fiction authors is a professor at Brigham Young University. He completed possibly the greatest fantasy series every written, so I don't see any reason why a class about fairytales wouldn't work.
- krapht 5y ago
  It's way more than that. The author explicitly compares making bread with heroic trials princes perform to win princesses. She is referencing her struggle to get a tenure track position in academia.
  - sigmaprimus 5y ago
    Oh OK, I suffer from being to literal. Metaphors and symbolism are difficult for me grasp, especially when reading for some reason.
- soupfordummies 5y ago
  > On a side note, one of my favorite science/fantasy fiction authors is a professor at Brigham Young University. He completed possibly the greatest fantasy series every written, so I don't see any reason why a class about fairytales wouldn't work. Uh, did I miss something or who’s this author you speak of?
  - sp332 5y ago
    I'm guessing it's David Wolverton, although he is not currently teaching there.
    - sigmaprimus 5y ago
      Brandon Sanderson Maybe he is not actually a prof. Finished The Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away.
    - sigmaprimus 5y ago
      I actually haven't read RuneLords but am looking for something to unwind with before sleep. Would You reccomend?
spoonjim 5y ago
This article is probably hard to get much out of if you're not natively fluent or at least extremely fluent in English.
legohead 5y ago
She is concerned about finding flour to make bread, like she is concerned about passing these interviews to become a professor at a university. Fuck the bread - fuck the position. Times are [always] changing, you should re-evaluate everything you were so convinced about. You can make something else, you can be something else, or maybe you don't need it to begin with.
- Joker_vD 5y ago
  Oh. Finally, someone in this comment section managed to explain what the hell was this truckload of words about, instead of commenting about "beautifully written prose". Now that I understand the essence, I think I can actually enjoy the shape. Still, simply telling an a->b story seems to be both an easier and more sure way to convey/evoke emotions than this "stream of consciousness" style or whatever it actually is.
infradig 5y ago
Sometimes bread is just bread.
hnarn 5y ago
There's a difference between "understanding" a language and "understanding" prose in that language. Any work, whether it's written in a language or painted in a style or whatever, is always open for interpretation, as long as that interpretation isn't based in a complete misunderstanding or lack of language proficiency.

It’s bread (that is: pan, wheat or similar milled and leavened) but it’s more a euphemism of the author’s own design. To me it was a reference to - something - in the American millennial zeitgeist that congealed just about mid-pandemic when half our social media seemed to be about people making and bragging about bread at home.

rakoo 5y ago
I feel it's that one: all the people were talking about during the first phases of lockdown was how to make the best of this moment, surrounded with all this newfound available time and knowledge a few clicks away. Stories of starting a new hobby, learning a new language, playing an instrument. It was all temporary anyway, so we might as well use that time. But the diversion wore off, as time went on, deaths kept piling off, countries were fighting each other over sharing vaccines and their patents, half the country still believes it's all a hoax... there's only so much bread that will keep you busy while no one outside shows any sign of pondering on our faults as a society and we are just waiting for the old days to come. Who cares about bread anymore. Maybe I'm putting some of myself here, but so many parts of this society look too much like dumb tasks coming again and again with no end in sight, and for what result? Become a prince if you have the good friends/luck/money, or vanish into the void of being forgotten. Stop being diverted by quirky social media phenomenons: fix the system, or leave it to make your own. Abort the fairy tale.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

sigmaprimus 5y ago

I am not completely certain but I believe the authors' mother was saying "F the bread it is over" as a sort of metaphor regarding last years fad of baking bread during the lockdown and how it is no longer important. It could also be a commentary on the ketogenic diet movement gaining ground in recent years. Bread is also slang for money so it could be refering that the author cant make any money but thats a stretch. On a side note, one of my favorite science/fantasy fiction authors is a professor at Brigham Young University. He completed possibly the greatest fantasy series every written, so I don't see any reason why a class about fairytales wouldn't work.

krapht 5y ago
It's way more than that. The author explicitly compares making bread with heroic trials princes perform to win princesses. She is referencing her struggle to get a tenure track position in academia.
- sigmaprimus 5y ago
  Oh OK, I suffer from being to literal. Metaphors and symbolism are difficult for me grasp, especially when reading for some reason.
soupfordummies 5y ago
> On a side note, one of my favorite science/fantasy fiction authors is a professor at Brigham Young University. He completed possibly the greatest fantasy series every written, so I don't see any reason why a class about fairytales wouldn't work. Uh, did I miss something or who’s this author you speak of?
- sp332 5y ago
  I'm guessing it's David Wolverton, although he is not currently teaching there.
  - sigmaprimus 5y ago
    Brandon Sanderson Maybe he is not actually a prof. Finished The Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away.
  - sigmaprimus 5y ago
    I actually haven't read RuneLords but am looking for something to unwind with before sleep. Would You reccomend?

spoonjim 5y ago

This article is probably hard to get much out of if you're not natively fluent or at least extremely fluent in English.

legohead 5y ago

She is concerned about finding flour to make bread, like she is concerned about passing these interviews to become a professor at a university. Fuck the bread - fuck the position. Times are [always] changing, you should re-evaluate everything you were so convinced about. You can make something else, you can be something else, or maybe you don't need it to begin with.

Joker_vD 5y ago
Oh. Finally, someone in this comment section managed to explain what the hell was this truckload of words about, instead of commenting about "beautifully written prose". Now that I understand the essence, I think I can actually enjoy the shape. Still, simply telling an a->b story seems to be both an easier and more sure way to convey/evoke emotions than this "stream of consciousness" style or whatever it actually is.

infradig 5y ago

Sometimes bread is just bread.

hnarn 5y ago

There's a difference between "understanding" a language and "understanding" prose in that language. Any work, whether it's written in a language or painted in a style or whatever, is always open for interpretation, as long as that interpretation isn't based in a complete misunderstanding or lack of language proficiency.