In this thesis, the author assembles a methodology to view the family mealtime, to describe the values and experiences of the middle-class family, and to understand how they are simultaneously changing. The author argues that the meal is central to building a sense of identity on both personal and group levels. It parallels the values, beliefs, and structures of the family's lifestyle as well as their conscious and unconscious association with class membership. The representations and understandings of food and the meal's role in the sociology of the family are complex and diverse inform. Specifically, this paper focuses on three areas of discussion and interpretation because they form the basis for constructing a thorough understanding of the increased recognition and complexity of the meal's position within the middle class household. The three areas of investigation of this thesis are nutrition, social interaction, and gender ideology, focusing on the symbolic roles of each in transmitting messages of larger social forces to members of the middle class household
