My chosen rhetorical artifact is the fork – simple, always present, even mundane. Instead of a single person creating the fork, it simply developed through the ages. The shape of the fork has been used for serving food since ancient times, but it was not used for everyday eating until the Middle Ages. Even then, the fork struggled to become part of our cutlery set. One critic, St. Peter Damian, observed a Byzantine-born Venetian princess in the 11th century eating with a fork and commented, “God in His wisdom has provided man with natural forks—his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to Him to substitute artificial metal forks for them when eating.” Other superstitions, such as British sailors refusing to use forks because they were “unmanly,” opposed the progress of the fork. Eventually, by the Industrial Revolution, the fork became a common household item.

The development of the fork was largely fueled by the spread of the idea that one should not eat with their hands. According to many sources, Catherine de Medici brought the fork to France when she married King Henry II, and her eating habits spread to the upper class throughout Europe. America did not widely use forks until the 1700s, when blunted knives (the new style from Europe) could not spear food, thus creating the need for the fork. The popularity of the fork was also tied to the increase in homes with separate dining rooms during the Industrial Revolution. Dining reached “theatrical levels” in Europe, and soon every different type of food was eaten with a different type of utensil. The aristocracy and middle class used forks as a way to differentiate themselves from the lower classes; they developed intricate rules of etiquette that only members with the same social status could follow. However, in modern times, the fork is an everyday staple that no one thinks about much; the fork is the acceptable avenue that food takes to reach our mouths.

For different groups of people, the fork has different meanings. To most people in the Western world, the fork represented civilized company (until it became immensely popular); if one ate with a fork, he or she had the privilege to own one and recognized the appropriate manners. Today, the Western world still recognizes the fork as a symbol of civilization. Other cultures, such as those in India, China, Japan, and other parts in Asia, forego the fork and eat with their hands or chopsticks. These differences between the Western and non-Western worlds lead to the commonplace beliefs generated by the simple fork.

The fork promotes the separation of social classes. In the Gilded and Victorian Ages, one’s social status was represented by how many forks one owned and if the cutlery could be used properly. This social determination can still be seen today: a good home always has sparkling silverware and refined table manners. Those who do not use forks, such as Asians and Indians, are seen as uncivilized by the Western world simply because their culture dictates a different way of eating.

Though the fork may seem simple, it is civic in its own compelling way. Thanks to the blunt knife making it to American colonists before the fork, Americans developed the “zig zag” method: they used the spoon to steady the food while cutting with the knife in their right hand, then switched the spoon to their right hand to scoop up the food. This technique then transferred to the fork when it came to America, creating a “fork-switching method” that is uniquely American and commonly critiqued by Europeans. Schudson, in his article “How People Learn to Be Civic,” categorizes one way to develop civic-ness through everyday activities, such as eating with a fork. Americans often pride themselves on being civilized no matter where they stand in the social structure, meaning they will choose to eat with a fork rather than with their hands. When children are little, their parents reinforce the idea of not playing with food and using utensils instead. The American culture is united under the Western idea of refined eating with a fork.