The concept of hunger can be used to represent many different things, whether in a physical, emotional, or conceptual sense . In Natalie Diaz's poetry, hunger is used to represent ideas in both physical and psychological ways. She skillfully places the concept of hunger in her works in When My Brother Was an Aztec, in a way that reveals the psychological meanings of hunger under the guise of physical hunger. In her work, Diaz truly embodies the idea that she is “not afraid to be hungry…not afraid to be full” (Harjo). There is a certain sense of hunger present in his poetry, but there is no fear of dissatisfaction. Poems like “No More Cake Here” and “Why I Hate Raisins” incorporate such a sense of physical hunger which, in turn, represents a deeper psychological hunger. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Video Violent”. Shouldn't Games Be Banned?Get Original Essay "No More Cake Here" illustrates the duality of the meaning of hunger in Diaz's poetry. In the poem, the focus is on a party the speaker is throwing in honor of her brother. However, the reader learns from the first line that this is not a jovial birthday party, but a celebration of his brother's death. However, the speaker describes the holiday in a joyful manner, which gives the poem a sense of unease. Although the description of the holiday is festive, each facet of the holiday has a darker connotation. For example, the speaker states that she sent “a hundred invitations,” but that she did so “while she was on the phone with the morgue” (Diaz 3-4). She also explains that she "put mom and dad in charge of the balloons", but goes on to say that she "let them blow so many years of my brother's name, / prisons, twenty dollar bills, calls telephone calls at midnight, / fights and emergencies. visits as they could let go” (Diaz 11-13). The descriptions of the holiday are dynamic in the sense that they are both celebratory and sinister. The same duality could be said of the “cake” that the speaker prepares for the party (Diaz 27). The first time cake is mentioned is in lines 27-29, and the speaker states, “I made my brother's favorite cake (chocolate, white frosting). / When I counted, there were ninety-nine of us in the kitchen. We all stuck our fingers in the mixing bowl. These lines are the first time the concept of hunger is referenced in the poem. On a physical level, everyone dipping their fingers into the bowl to taste the cake batter is a representation of indulgence, much like the way the speaker's brother indulges in meth. There is a huge temptation to try some cake batter, just like there is the brother's temptation to use meth. The fact that the party patrons try the cake batter is a direct parallel to the brother's meth addiction; the temptation is just too great. Cake not only represents physical temptation, but also represents a deeper, more psychological hunger. The cake in the mixing bowl represents the feeling of relief felt now that the brother has passed away. Now that he is dead, no one will have to fear what he does next, and the act of putting his fingers in the bowl represents the party-goers collectively indulging in the relief they feel over the brother's passing and not having more to face him. However, the speaker mentions that there are "ninety-nine" people in the kitchen, but one hundred invitations have been sent out. The missing party girl is the speaker's mother, who "sleptten years – / she missed the whole party” (Diaz 16-17). The mother did not taste the cake and did not give in to the relief of her son's death because she was heartbroken over losing her son, and her sleeping for ten years represents the depressive state or exhaustive into which she sank after her death. In the last stanza in the poem, the speaker mentions cake again, but this time it represents a different type of psychological hunger. At the end of the poem, the speakers say, “The worst thing he said was that he wasn't even dead. I think he's right, but maybe/the worst thing is that I can still imagine the party, maybe/the worst thing is that I can still taste the cake” (Diaz 61-64). In this case, the cake does not represent relief from her brother's death, but the speaker's desire to actually feel relief from her brother's death. When the speaker says she can "still taste the cake," she reveals that she can still feel the relief—and perhaps satisfaction—from her brother's death. The lingering taste represents the speaker's thirst for freedom, which can only be truly satisfied by the death of her brother. The speaker and his family would no longer have to carry the burden of his meth addiction and could finally live without fear of his next move. The duality of the meaning of hunger is also embodied in the poem "Why I Hate Raisins." The speaker of this poem details the struggle of daily life, particularly the lack of food. She states that even on days when they had “no shopping,” there was always the box of raisins (Diaz 3-4). One day the speaker complains of being hungry and her mother feeds her the box of raisins. The speaker eats the raisins too quickly and becomes ill, illustrating that the raisins “settle like black / clay in the depths of my belly / making it sore and swollen” (Diaz 9-11). On a physical level, the speaker's hunger and the resulting heaviness in her stomach represent the cycle her family has fallen into regarding their food situation. The speaker's hunger represents the family's need to receive food from the government, and the heaviness in her stomach represents the heaviness the family feels when their food supplies begin to dwindle. Not only does it take a toll on the family to have to ration their food, but it also takes a toll on them to depend on government food supplies to survive. The heaviness in the speaker's stomach may also represent how much the shame of eating all the raisins – and ultimately letting her own mother go hungry – weighs on her. The Chinese philosopher Menicus asks the question: “And is it only the mouth and the stomach that are injured by hunger and thirst? » The answer to this question is the shame the speaker feels upon eating all the raisins and later realizing that she let her mother go hungry, which hurts her psyche and causes her more pain than her pain. 'stomach. Just like the cake in "No More Cake Here," the raisins in "Why I Hate Raisins" also represent a complex psychological hunger in addition to a physical hunger. It's easier to understand exactly what it is about the raisins dry represent psychological hunger, because in line 13 the speaker states, "I just want a sandwich like the other kids." His mother then responds, "What other kids?...You mean the white kids you want to be." a white child? (Diaz 15, 17-18) Although it may seem that the speaker's hunger is to be a white child, that is not the case. is the privilege afforded to white children When the speaker says she wants a sandwich, on a physical level she wants a sandwich, but..