Hunger Pains: An Essay on Renato Trujillo Poem “Hunger”
...a part of his poem through their ability to relate to this feeling. The word “hunger” is also effective because of the strength of the word itself. Had Trujillo used words such as “famished” or “starvation” which are longer and have a more diluted sound, his argument would not have the same fortitude. The simplicity of “hunger ”and its repetition strengthens the metaphors that Trujillo incorporates. These metaphors are extremely important in illustrating the devastating effects the hunger crisis in Chile. One example of Trujillo’s use of repetition can be seen as he writes: the hunger of millions of Chileans makes my spine shiver when I sit down to write a poem (5-7). This illustrates the strength of Trujillo’s metaphors in contrast with the simplicity of the word “hunger”. This metaphor relates to his feelings of guilt and frustration. The hunger does not pertain to him; however he is affected by his own feelings of helplessness as a result. Trujillo’s frustration is also expressed through curse words, which one would not conventionally find in a poem. Trujillo writes “son-of-a-bitch” (9), further illustrating his feelings of frustration. This is effective as he is demonstrating his feelings as and extreme, making the audience understand the extent of his emotions. The audience is also able to relate, as Trujillo is putting onto paper what people would say in their everyday lives. Again, this helps his readers to relate to his emotional stance on the issues that are taking place in Chile. A powerful political message runs throughout the poem. This acts as a reminder to the reader what is occurring in Chile , however Trujillo realizes that the real problem is not the politics of Chile, but simply the distress of the citizens suffering in their individual circumstances: selling Solidarnozc posters, Che Guevara t-shirts and other Paraphernalia. But that doesn’t bother me so much but the hunger of those in Chile that makes me despair (11-16) Trujillo suggests that the tourists who are purchasing souvenirs seem oblivious to the fact that Chileans are much less fortunate that they are. He writes about this in an attempt to open his readers eyes and turn raising awareness as to what hardship the citizens of Chile are dealing with. Trujillo recognizes the problem of hunger, and seems to wish that he possessed skills needed to help this impoverished society. He feels as though he is litt...