Hunger

The hunger experienced by Frank, his family and many of his childhood friends and neighbors is palpable in this book. Frank is constantly in search of food, both for himself and for his siblings, and they all at one time or another are forced to steal and beg for anything to eat. On the holidays, they eat the heads of animals – the only part cheap enough to buy from the butcher.

Everywhere in the book, we are reminded of how destitute and hungry the McCourt family is. When Frank’s teacher offers an apple peel to the class, the boys salivate at the thought. When Frank and Paddy skip school, they pick apples and milks cows to satiate themselves. And Frank’s constant state of hunger is a symbol of the hunger of Ireland, long suffering after the potato famine of the 1800s that wiped out entire populations...