Knut Hamsun's Hunger: Critical Book Review

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------------------------------------------------- Hunger: psychosis or starvation? By Anthony Morelli April 14, 2015 St. petersburg college PSY 1012; Dr. Liebert April 14, 2015 St. petersburg college PSY 1012; Dr. Liebert In order to determine whether or not the narrator in Knut Hamsun’s Hunger is truly dying from hunger or is suffering from symptoms of psychosis, the definition of psychosis must first be understood. Psychosis is not a mental illness; rather, this is the name used to classify different symptoms of mental illness, such as delusion and hallucination. Throughout his novel, Knut Hamsun provides evidence to support both sides of the argument. However, an incredibly logical explanation could be that, though it is very plausible that the narrator is suffering from starvation, he may very well be extremely depressed and delusional, which factor in with his deepening psychosis. In addition, these psychotic conditions could very well result from the effect that starvation has on his brain, as they both have much in common. There is much evidence in this novel that points to the fact that the narrator is delusional. The narrator qualifies for all of the early warning signs of a psychotic break. These include such phenomena as being uneasy or short-tempered with others, such as when the narrator has an altercation with a passerby; spending much time alone (our narrator spends much time alone with his thoughts, and only sees others when he goes outside); and experiencing strong and inappropriate emotions, such as when the narrator laughs hysterically and uncontrollably when he “tricks” a policeman into believing that there is something inside of a paper cone (Psychosis, NAMI, 2015). There are also several points in the story when, whether through his pride or his delusion, the narrator intentionally makes decisions against his best interest,

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