HUNGRY

Eli Pardue
2/25/08
AP Lang Comp
LaMags

Why is Richard really hungry?

The literal answer to the question is that Richard and his family, being poor, never had much to eat. Richard never ate the food that was offered to him, and so he was constantly hungry. Richard was hungry for things other than food. He was hungry for attention. He made that clear through burning the curtains (which escalated into a house fire) and killing the mewing kitten. We were shown that he did not receive the attention that he thought he deserved after the house fire, when he was beaten and punished for his antics.
He was also hungry to get back at his father, whom he hated. His father ordered him to kill at kitten that was keeping him up at night, and instead of shitting the cat up, as his father certainly was hoping for, Richard took the literal translation and hung the cat from a tree. He did this to get back at his father, for his father could not punish Richard for doing something that he technically ordered him to do because it would compromise his position of authority. When Richard refused to eat the food that was offered him, I think that it was because he was hungry to show his parents that he was independent of them, specifically his father. At the orphanage, and at other places, Richard still refused to eat as an after affect of his feelings toward his father.