What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?
Throughout the novel, Richard develops a hunger for many things. An obvious hunger that Richard has is his physical hunger for food. Whenever Richard works, his money goes to feeding himself and his family because of their lack of food. A figurative hunger that Richard has is his need to be with people. As Richard states, "Nevertheless, I was so starved for association with people that I allowed myself to be seduced by it all, and for a few months I lived the life of an optimist" (Wright 151) he is telling how he longs to be with people. He is already ignored by everyone in his family except for his mother and wants to be accepted. One more hunger Richard has is his longing to get out of the house. He expresses his wish to go north when he states, "I dreamed of going north and writing books, novels" (Wright 168). A final hunger that Richard develops is his hunger for justice. The principal want Richard to recite a speech that Richard did not write and Richard refuses as he says, "Professor, I'm going to say my own speech that night" (Wright 175).
Most of the effects of his hunger are negative. By being hungry for food, Richard's hard earned money goes to his and his family's stomachs, not to his savings for leaving home. When Richard longs to be with people he becomes lost as to what his real aim is of going north. In the example of the speech, Richard loses all chances of becoming a teacher by refusing to recite the principal's work. Most of the effects of hunger are negative.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Nice quotes and proof David, I agree with your idea's of Richards hunger. Both the physical need for food and figurative hunger for people to care for him and/or be with him. I do believe he also hungers for knowledge, so I think his hunger is positive also.
Emotionally drained. That's me right here. Great work buddy. Keep it up!
I liked your three categories that Richard hungers for: food, family exceptance and justice. I thought that those were the main things that Richard hungers for as well and you did a great job using quotes to back up your evidence. I agree with Ross when he says that his hungers are also positive because they will help him learn from his experiences and mistakes.
You did a really good job siting sources. Great ideas! I disagree though about the effects of hunger being mostly negative. Isn't it Richard's hunger for knowledge that leads him to accel at school and read all those books? You're right in saying hunger has negative effects, but I think that hunger can be a really good thing too. It's helping him to become and individual
Post a Comment