Hunger · Theme
Psychological Fragmentation
How Hunger develops Psychological Fragmentation.
The narrative delves into the protagonist's unraveling mental state, marked by irrational impulses, delusions, mood swings, and a loss of coherent identity, reflecting the impact of extreme poverty on the psyche.
Where it surfaces
- Prefatory Note
Egerton highlights Hamsun's mastery in probing 'unexplored crannies in the human soul' and the 'mysterious territory of uncontrollable, half-conscious impulses'.
- Hunger
The narrator experiences hallucinations, irrational thoughts, and a deteriorating sense of self.
- I
The narrator experiences vertigo, nervousness, and a sense of his brains 'running out,' reflecting his deteriorating mental state.
- II
The narrator experiences hallucinations, feverish laughter, and suicidal thoughts, reflecting his deteriorating mental state.
- IV
The narrator's inability to add simple figures and his hallucinations of Ylajali indicate mental breakdown.