Hunger

Wright is hungry for attention. From the first chapter, it appears that he has never had a truly constructive relationship. On page 16, he writes that he associated his hunger with his father. This was directly after his father abandoned him. The hunger persisted as his mother worked long hours and could not care for her children. His need for human interaction is expressed in his exploration of saloons and bars. At first he resisted the men, knowing that he was breaking the rules, but as he drank, even as a 6-year-old, he was able to find release and affection by doing as the drunkards asked. When he learned obscene phrases from the older students at school, Wright lashed out and wrote them across the windows of the buildings around his house. Actions like these are common among children who do not get the attention they need at home;negative attention is better than none at all. It is reflected again when he associates "hunger and fear" with the orphanage. The orphanage was where he was again abandoned by his mother. Wright's hunger for a caring figure manifests itself as physical hunger. No matter how much he eats, he would be unable to quiet his gargling stomach, unless the food was given to him out of love by a trusted person.