In “Cooking Time” by Anita Roy, the character Mandy stood up for something she believed in. In her world, all the joy that came from eating was stripped away. This causes Mandy to be obsessed with reclaiming this lost art of real food, so she rejects modernity, and goes off grid. Most people just live life eating the paste that is called Newtri. Many wish for better food, but do nothing to change this. Mandy was different, she wanted to eat real food, and risked everything to achieve this goal. From a young age, Mandy hated Newtri, or rather, she loved the concept of real food. This quote “We all grew up on Newtri. Marra said us younglings were always clamoring for our tubes, but Mandy? She’d have just faded away if Marra hadn’t practically injected it into her.”(Roy 15 ) is included by the author to reveal some of the extent to which Mandy hated Newtri. People all across the world disliked Newtri, so when a show involving contestants cooking real food began, the world seemingly stopped to watch. Mandy was enthralled by this show, as it gave her a path of rejecting the hyper-efficient food of the present and enjoying real food. …show more content…
For example, she made it to a top-three challenge that was to be aired on tv for the world to see. This is when Mandy, having had enough of modernity, truly stood up for what she believed in and went off grid. She damaged the time traveling machine, which further cemented her dedication to eating real food. Later, the author states “All I do know is that I want to live my life — and if I can’t cook real food, I might survive, but I think I’ll die.”(Roy 56) further showing Mandy’s raw determination to live her life in the way she wants. Where other people would have just accepted fate, Mandy stood up against the current, and risked it