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@article{185252,
        author = {Jithika Jose and Dr. Annie Rajani Priya},
        title = {Hunger as a Multifaceted Metaphor in Roxane Gay’s Memoir Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {5},
        pages = {1362-1364},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=185252},
        abstract = {This paper explores how Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body employs the concept of hunger as a layered metaphor that signifies much more than physical appetite. For Gay, hunger speaks to her lived experiences of pain, self-protection, yearning for acceptance, and struggle against rigid societal expectations. The study examines how her decision to eat compulsively was not merely a bodily response but a deliberate act of creating safety after trauma, turning her body into a protective shield. At the same time, hunger emerges as a symbol of her desire for love, belonging, and emotional connection in a world that often rendered her invisible because of her weight, race, and difference. Furthermore, the memoir critiques dominant cultural pressures to conform to unrealistic beauty ideals, showing how societal messages reinforce shame and perpetual dissatisfaction with one’s body. By analyzing these dimensions, this paper demonstrates that hunger in Gay’s narrative is not a singular concept but a complex metaphor that reveals the intersections of vulnerability, survival, and the deep human need for recognition and acceptance.},
        keywords = {hunger, trauma, metaphor, self-protection, emotion Full Paper},
        month = {October},
        }