The 1981 hunger strikes in Maze Prison are an example of the Irish essentially “re-appropriating” hunger through voluntary starvation for political gain instead of suffering due to British neglect. Bobby Sands, the leader of these hunger strikes, believed that he and his fellow compatriots were prisoners of war and deserved more rights while in captivity, such as the ability to wear their own clothes and have visitors. While the concept of hunger strikes has existed for ages and been used by people from Ghandi to Women’s Rights Suffragettes, any issue involving the Irish, British, and starvation invokes memories of the Famine. With the hunger strike, Sands was able to use intentional starving to provoke the sentiment left over from the forced starvation at the hands of the British during the famine for his own political gain. While Sands was not able to convince the British to change their policies before he died, his strike eventually succeeded and his methods provoked an increase in anti-British activity. Additionally, it is relevant that Lib, Anna O’Donnell’s British nurse in The Wonder, has much to eat while in Ireland, but despises both the food and the nation, leading to questions such as, “Wasn’t some
The 1981 hunger strikes in Maze Prison are an example of the Irish essentially “re-appropriating” hunger through voluntary starvation for political gain instead of suffering due to British neglect. Bobby Sands, the leader of these hunger strikes, believed that he and his fellow compatriots were prisoners of war and deserved more rights while in captivity, such as the ability to wear their own clothes and have visitors. While the concept of hunger strikes has existed for ages and been used by people from Ghandi to Women’s Rights Suffragettes, any issue involving the Irish, British, and starvation invokes memories of the Famine. With the hunger strike, Sands was able to use intentional starving to provoke the sentiment left over from the forced starvation at the hands of the British during the famine for his own political gain. While Sands was not able to convince the British to change their policies before he died, his strike eventually succeeded and his methods provoked an increase in anti-British activity. Additionally, it is relevant that Lib, Anna O’Donnell’s British nurse in The Wonder, has much to eat while in Ireland, but despises both the food and the nation, leading to questions such as, “Wasn’t some