I absolutely agree, bookowlie, that Connie is the main culprit here. Like LivreAmour217 has also said it's not an issue that has happened overnight. It's something that from a very early age, he's learned to live this way. He seemed to have the childhood where he was ignored and therefore has some deep emotional issues as well, which doesn't help.bookowlie wrote:I still think Connie is the main culprit. A teenager (Jeremy) is not the one bringing home the groceries or, for the most part, preparing meals. Connie just kept grabbing fast food or high-calorie, greasy leftovers from where she worked.
Cozy Rozy (welcome to the forums!) - I agree with you that there is an emotional component to Jeremy's overeating, but it would have been easier for him to lose weight if his mom had healthier meal choices in the house.
I can understand that it's tough for Connie being a single mom and having two jobs, but with the time she spends in grabbing a large of amount of fast food every night, why doesn't she stop at grocery store one or two nights a week and grab a couple of healthier options? Maybe after/before work on the weekends?
If she thought about it a little more, then by the time Jeremy turned 15, he would be able to go pick up groceries himself and help around the house more to ease the burden of mom.
I don't blame the food industry. They do what they to sell, just like clothing, furniture, books, etc. Growing up where McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts were right down the street, I never had the issue of overeating. Did I have them occasionally? Absolutely! However, did I crave them everyday? No. The biggest point I'm trying to make is that if Jeremy was nurtured, taught and was paid attention to more growing up, then he wouldn't have ended up where he did throughout most of the novel.