Richard = hungry

I'd say we can all agree that Richard is a very hungry kid. Here, the word "hungry" can be applied in both the literal and the figurative sense. It's very obvious that Richard is practically starving. He has a bowl of "mush" every morning before school, and various greens for dinner. Richard talks about how he must adjust to his meager diet (126). For lunch, all of Richard's schoolmates go and buy their lunch at the grocery store. Richard lies, and says that he is never hungry during that time of day. He desperatley wishes that he could eat lunch like the otherh kids.
Richard is also hungers for knowledge. Talking about school, he writes, "I studied night and day and within two weeks i was promoted to the sixth grade. Overjoyed, i ran home and babbled the news" (125). Richard is actually excited about learning, and we read about him seeking more knowledge when he burries himself in the magazine additions to the paper that he sells. He is enlightened by all of the worldly stories he reads, and says, "For the first time in my life i became aware of he life of the modern world, of fast cities, and I was claimed by it" (129). Along with knowledge, Richard craves answers. He asks many questions to his family, but they never really answer him because they think that he's too young to understand (24).

These hungers have both positive and negative effects. Constant physical hunger takes a toll on a person, and it causes lack of energy and lack of nutrition. Also, Richard's small size costs him job opportunities. For example, he is too small to work at the mill (170). On the good side of things, Richard's hunger for books and learning evoked his interest in writing. He decided that he wanted to become a writer, and go up north to write books (168). This gives Richard a goal and a purpose. By wanting to be a writer, Richard is being a non-conformist. He is doing what he feels in his heart, and that is a step in the right direction.