This symbolizes the beginning of Richard’s realization of his position in life and why he is always physically hungry. Richard has many questions as he tries to understand his world. He begins to experience the cast system, and starts to differentiate white people from black people and his place in society. He sees white people have a completely different life from his and is curious to find out what leads to this difference. In the dinner scene, he knows he has to wait until the whites finish their meal to eat and does not understand, “Why some people had enough food and others did not,” (19). From this point, Richard starts to show discrimination towards white people, in his line, “Whenever I saw the “white” people now I started at them, wondering what they were really like” (24). The process of learning and uncovering his world is Richard’s response to his hunger. He gradually learns about social rules and develops a sense of freedom and fight. As Richard comes out of his illness and trauma, he shifts into a long series of natural observances. The natural world offers him solace in harsh times and a source of comfort. Richard has a sensibility that responds to beauty and Haiku gives a sense of order to a chaotic existence. Haiku appears after his tortuous episode as the story changes from a chronological account of his youth to a list of sense impressions. Richard remembers the same, “cryptic tongue,” (7) with which adults spoke about
This symbolizes the beginning of Richard’s realization of his position in life and why he is always physically hungry. Richard has many questions as he tries to understand his world. He begins to experience the cast system, and starts to differentiate white people from black people and his place in society. He sees white people have a completely different life from his and is curious to find out what leads to this difference. In the dinner scene, he knows he has to wait until the whites finish their meal to eat and does not understand, “Why some people had enough food and others did not,” (19). From this point, Richard starts to show discrimination towards white people, in his line, “Whenever I saw the “white” people now I started at them, wondering what they were really like” (24). The process of learning and uncovering his world is Richard’s response to his hunger. He gradually learns about social rules and develops a sense of freedom and fight. As Richard comes out of his illness and trauma, he shifts into a long series of natural observances. The natural world offers him solace in harsh times and a source of comfort. Richard has a sensibility that responds to beauty and Haiku gives a sense of order to a chaotic existence. Haiku appears after his tortuous episode as the story changes from a chronological account of his youth to a list of sense impressions. Richard remembers the same, “cryptic tongue,” (7) with which adults spoke about