Bread

Bread is one of the most basic foods we eat and is a  symbol of many different ideas.  

When Asagi christens Beneatha as "Alaiyo" or "one for whom bread – food – is not enough", it is truly an apt description of her character. Bread used to be the staple food in the diets of ancient civilizations and because of this bread can be interpreted as a symbol of substance or life. So, Asagi essentially describes Beneatha as someone for whom life by itself is not satisfying enough. This is true because she is always questioning her surroundings, and she constantly changes from hobby to hobby such as horseback riding, acting lessons, and guitar lessons. This shows Asagi's high opinion of her because he believes that she is an intellectual person just like him and this is why he is attracted to her. Her journey of fulfillment and self-expression is mocked by others in the family, but she still wants to broaden her mind.  

In the Bible, bread is also used to symbolize a financial investment. This correlates to Walter because he wants to invest in a liquor store that he believes will bring money to the family. The other side of Beneatha's nickname is that it also applies to Walter because he is also not satisfied by his life and he wants to be more successful. For both of them, their bread is their way of life or the ghetto. Since they are both not satisfied with this, they want to use the check to escape their current lives and to explore the world further. Thus, the nickname given by Asagi shows how Walter and Beneath are simply two sides of the same coin.  

Eggs

I come in many different shapes and sizes: hard-boiled, sunny side up, scrambled, and poached are just a few.  

Although I am just a food, I am a symbol of  new life and the cyclic nature of humanity. I am also a symbol of fertility as people used to eat me to ensure that they would be blessed with children. To many, I have a religious significance because I am painted during Easter in order to symbolize the emergence of Jesus. My yolk represents inner beauty and the light people contain on the inside.  

When Ruth tells Walter to "eat his eggs", he gets upset because he believes that she is preventing him from accomplishing his dreams. This is very ironic because Walter is preventing Beneatha from accomplishing her dreams of becoming  doctor by taking the check. Not only does he do this, but also he implies her dream is not achievable because she is a woman by saying "ain't many girls who decide to be a doctor." Since the eggs symbolize new life and doctors are the protectors of life, he hates to see his American Dream deferred in favor of Beneatha's.  He is against eating the eggs because it means that he would  have to accept the way his life is and that he wouldn't be able to change it. Also, gender roles are enforced because Ruth is the one who is cooking while Walter laments his situation. Since eggs show female fertility, Ruth is expected to show Walter that she has eggs because women only had worth once they had proved that they could have children. Eventually, this results in Ruth's pregnancy and her desire to have an abortion.  

Pastry Pigs and Turkeys

"On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold" (Fitzgerald 40). 

In Gatsby's parties his wealth is always ostentatiously displayed, and this instance is no exception. Hors d'oeuvre are typically served for very rich people, and in Gatsby's parties they are also glistening.

Also, the hams are crowded which shows Gatsby's tendency to always strive for the maximum quantity and not settle. The fact that the salads have a harlequin design shows how the salads are more for show than they are for actual eating; thus, Fitzgerald reveals how one of the central ideas of the 1920's was style over substance. Additionally, the turkeys were bewitched to a dark gold which creates an image of the turkeys having a spell cast upon them by a witch who turned them gold. It almost elevates the status of the turkey just because it has reached this magnificent gold color. The word bewitched suggests that the turkeys reached that color unnaturally, which is similar to the illegal way in which Gatsby came into his fortune.

This sentence is a hyperbole because no one actually has this kind of opulence at parties, and Fitzgerald is mocking Americans for believing that wealth will solve their problems. Despite this being a hyperbole, people completely ignore Fitzgerald's mocking tone and attempt to live the lavish lifestyle of Gatsby by throwing Gatsby-themed parties because they are so obsessed with the lifestyle of the twenties. This ignorance shows humanity's propensity to emulate the rich despite Fitzgerald trying to show us the superficiality of Gatsby's life.