Bananas: An American History

There is much to encounter in Bananas, about their heritage, their maintenance and diplomatic power. In Bananas: An American History, author Virginia Scott Jenkins gives that information a platform to be shared on. There it is argued that Americans' insight on bananas- how to cook them, how to contain them, what they were good for - were invented over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, by advertisers and growers. The book commences by tracing the introduction of bananas in the United States in 1690 and discusses the time it took for them to capitalize after the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Chapter 2 proceeds to examine the development of banana-importing companies. There was a surge of encouragement in the Caribbean and South America to grow more bananas to satisfy the exports desired.

Chapter 3 explores the progression of the transportation systems- as in trains, steamboats, ships - and how bananas played a significant role due to them being a perishable commodity. To continue in Chapter 4, Jenkins supplies the marketing situation on bananas. They were made to be seen as the “poor man’s fruit” by United Fruit, an American corporation that traded latin american fruits. Chapter 5 then leers into the public health and sanitation issues connected to the advancement of the banana. The banana import is tied to the learning period of germs, tuberculosis, Americans were undergoing, and nutrition. In Chapter 6 there is a down-reaching perspective taken on the consumption of bananas. How bananas grow from a fruit snack to a dessert speciality to the different ways to preserve the golden item caused supermarkets to overstock.

Chapter 7 prolongs the specifics on the “Banana Capital” of the world. Being the twin cities of Fulton and South Fulton, where they held the International Banana Festival. Finally in this published work, there is evidence on how bananas have infiltrated their way into the life of Americans through film, and music, and how they became a symbol in American culture. To affiliate with informative literacy an author must be well-rounded in their field and possess a genuine argument. Jenkins's background includes a Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She is a scholar-in-residence at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum where she studies seafood industries. Therefore there is pre-research knowledge already acquired and she doesn’t go into writing the works competently lost. She is the author of another book, The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession, published six years before Bananas: An American History.

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Both books have won awards for best book on popular culture. This award supports the authenticity of the works and communicates to the readers that there is valuable information collected in them. Jenkins’ argument develops to also be that the creation of the capitalistic banana impacted American culture. An argument that holds validity since bananas remains relevant- they “have been recommended as the secret to longevity, the perfect food for infants, and the cure for warts, headaches, and stage fright” all daily struggles that Jenkins inputs in her writing to make us relate to the use of bananas. You may assume the book is all about bananas emporium and how it traces American identity stereotypes, but that would be incorrect. It is keen when it come to originality in her comedic delivery for the significance of bananas.

Not many books are out there that surprise you as much as Jenkins does about the importance of bananas. She structured the book in a way that every chapter holds its own motif. They individually explain different aspects and ensure you learn new content about bananas. It goes from general fruit to broader topics, as in their production to their meaning. The framework helps her argument by magnifying the subject to hold more truths and be inherently more interesting to the audience. The quality and organization is effective in providing the information and keeping the reader attentive from capturing the corporate ambitions and mysterious curiosities Jenkins is saying integrated American culture. Her argument is decisive.

It follows through the book to reach the conclusion. That keeps the narration in order and does not sidetrack the reader. Jenkins all throughout the book stabilized her ideas and delivered them aiming to entertain the reader. Despite Jenkins amusing structure and innovative delivery for her argument, some chapters do tend to overlap. The information in each individual chapter meanwhile being different becomes condensed into one repetitive report. Adding onto that, the analysis to prove her argument fails to reach any level other than factual evidence. That does make it simpler for the audience to get the information out of the test but it leaves out the possibility to see the passion she might have had behind the informative textbook-styled work. Leaving this piece to be just insulation is ridicule to its educational value and ignores how Jenkins did support her argument.

She may not have distracted it by including her opinions by comparing the importance to any other fruit or how corporate sanctions were handled but she did give the information she started out talking about was going to be discussed in the book. Although the book comprises of a plethora of knowledge on banana comedy, cooking recipes and music, it’s Jenkins's overview of the history of bananas through their production, marketing and transporting that makes this piece of text a candidate for the contribution to the growing field of food studies. The overview of the history of bananas is delivered by multiple sources of evidence. Compiled newspapers, journals, magazines, food science books and articles pertain to evidence styles she used in Bananas.

Citing an outstanding amount sources supports the result that Jenkins thoroughly researched the topic of the book and thought deeply about the text. Also provided are illustrations of banana plants and advertisements. Those help visual learners catch an easier understanding of the imagery she is imputing. They also set an entertaining tone and act as special effect add ons to engage the audience. A requittited source for Jenkins was Ann Lovell’s Banana Museum in Auburn, Washington. She collected photographs and historic background from the museum. Gaining first hand research she can interact with and express into the book. Her evidence, although plenty, defects by not emphasizing further into certain points that could have broaden the discussion. Jenkins only focuses her research on American studies not world wide impacts of the “impactful” fruit that changed United States culture. All the newspapers and entries are from the United States, American citizens and more importantly secondary sources.

That leaves off perspectives of other nations that might have been experiencing the same manifestation of progression. The secondary sources also leave out the first hand perspective and impact bananas could have been leaving at home, hearing from the American households themselves would have been evidence that could have thrived Jenkins argument. Also how the relationship of latin american countries and United States government interactions were left out yet there is talk about the globalization of bananas and the mishaps of growing them at home but no connection to why that was a reason for the rise in exports. It isn’t valuable information but it would have helped add depth to her argument. By including useful sources, Jenkins restates her claim and manifests her extensive argument. She does not further analysis the impact that the fruit has on other cultures and the economic relationships the banana ties together.

An American History is unique and compiles grand information of bananas uprising in their own production and importance in the American household. That grand information is mostly indicated as rare or unknown to many audiences. Even to historians, the connectors of the past and tomorrow, believe the book holds importance by teaching on an item that single-handedly changed the system of sustaining food to better the future. It can also be useful for undergraduates, scholars, or anyone researching on the subject of food or the banana’s history. Now a days research books on such particular subjects are lengthy and unenthusiastic, Jenkins manages to write an energetic cohesive book for all. One that overcasts the significance of bananas food studies in their economic, environmental and sociological values.

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