Trimalchio's Dinner

I had a very hard time reading and understanding the roman novel Trimalchio’s Dinner. I found myself reading the same sentences several times because the tone, dialog and language flew over my head.  There were many words throughout the reading that I had no clue what they meant such as paterfamilias, which is a man who heads the household or the father of the family.  It started off a little weird to me as well especially when there was a slave holding a pot for Trimalchio to relieve himself.  He was also rood and uneducated using zodiac signs to describe people and food.  An important fact I did gather from the reading was the correlation between Satyricon and many of the books we have read and discussed in class.  There is a disconnection between the wealthy and the poor. Big corporation and rich people like Trimalchio have all the power over the weak and the poor, such as the slaves mentioned throughout the reading. He throws a lavish feast which represents dishes from the zodiac signs.  It also reminds me how we are so wasteful such as Trimalchio’s hundred year old wine that sours and our abuse of wealth.