Hunger is the mother of all curses

In an American film, Beautiful Boy, one character says to other, “I know I need to find a way to fill this big black hole in me.”

A Tale of Two Cities — a novel written by Charles Dickens and published in 1859 — is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution and explores themes of resurrection, sacrifices and social injustice. Dickens uses the French Revolution as a backdrop to explore the consequences of social inequality and political unrest. He contrasts the turbulent events in Paris with the relatively stable, albeit imperfect, society in London. Dickens employs foreshadowing throughout the novel to create suspense and anticipation. The famous opening line “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” sets the tone for the novel’s contrasting themes. Dickens uses irony to comment on the absurdities of the time. For example, the aristocracy’s frivolous lifestyle contrasts with the suffering of the masses. He criticises the social injustice of both England and France. He condemns the brutality of the ruling class in France and the callousness of the English aristocracy.

Ferdinand I, Holly Roman Emperor, had made a statement in the 16^th century, which can be translated as, “There must be justice even if the world is destroyed.”

The basic unit of society is man and society is made up of human beings. Social justice is the foundation of any prosperous society and restful human being. In any society, nothing is so keenly seen and felt as injustice. The application of intense consciousness of open injustice applies equally to all human beings.

The term social justice was first introduced in 1780 by British philosopher Thomas Paine. By social justice, he meant that there should be no difference between the rich and the poor; men and women should have equal rights; no one should be allowed to exploit another person; education is for all and is the same; law should be followed in all cases and no one should be above the law; there should be no influence on the justice system on the basis of caste, religion, colour and region; and there should be equal distribution of resources and wealth.

Ever since the beginning of social life in the world, there have been such intellectuals, philosophers and thinkers in every age and every society who, in their own way, have done their best to implement the values and laws of social justice in society. Social injustices give birth to hunger and the hunger swallows people and society. Like termite, it licks people and society and make both of them hollow, and then both become beasts.

We live in a world where people are touching the last frontiers of development. Man has reached the centre of the earth, but it is the knowledge of humanity that the poor population of the world is dying of hunger, poverty and injustice. This process started several hundred years ago and continues till now.

Hunger was Knut Hamsun’s first novel and earned him the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920. The novel is about a polite, hardworking and independent person; but when the hunger strikes him and continues for weeks and months, the horror of hunger falls on this innocent person, and he becomes a beast among humans. Since he is not in his senses, he wants to kill himself. He even hits his head with an electric pole several times. He torments himself, bites his tongue with his teeth, but the beastliness in his life does not come to an end.

American psychologist William James says; “God can forgive our sins, but the nervous system never does.”

When cruel Chinese warlords wanted to torture their prisoners, they used to tie their hands and feet and make them sit under a tub of water and the water drips on their head drop by drop. The prisoners would feel being treated with the blows of a hammer, and they would lose their senses slowly and gradually. This method of torture was also used in the concentration camps in Spain and Hitler’s Germany.

Troubles, injustices and confusions are like drops of water falling on the head. The continuous rain of troubles and injustices pushes a person to frenzy, crime and suicide. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer says, “The worst human trait is to enjoy the suffering of others.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2023.

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