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About this quote

What does it mean?
The poor use language as a means of survival, chewing words like food to fill their hunger.
In plain terms
For the hungry, words become a way to satisfy their need.
What can you take from it?
Language can be a tool for coping with material scarcity.

Where it applies

  • literary analysis
  • social critique

Putting it to work

  • listen to marginalized voices
  • recognize language as survival

Questions to consider

  • How does scarcity shape communication?
  • Can language alleviate material lack?

Another view

The metaphor may overstate the literal function of speech.

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