The phrase presents itself as a proverb expressing a meaning of equality between people who adopt the characteristics of a specific group of people and who must assume the archetype of that group, completely equaling its members. This means that when a person, of his own free will, wants to eat like normal people, that person is equaling normal people and therefore must take possession of this archetype and work just like them.
It is an example of, theme. Theme would tell you how the mood is set. <em />It's not symbolism, because there was no object to describe that moment, or any past moment. Hope this helps!