Hunger
The narrator tells us about the poverty that his family experienced, using imagery to emphasize this. For example, he describes how "we knocked the butt ends of our forks against the table, tapped our spoons against our empty bowls; we were hungry." In this passage, their hunger and desperation are emphasized by the use of imagery, describing empty bowls and the frustration caused by hunger.
Skinniness
As a result of having little food, the boys were also very skinny. This is described using imagery in the following quote: "We wanted muscles on our skinny arms. We had bird bones, hollow and light, and we wanted more density, more weight." Describing their bones as being "bird bones" really enforces how skinny and hungry they were.
Coldness
In addition to being hungry, the boys were often cold as children. This is also emphasized by the use of imagery, including the following passage: "When it was cold, we fought over blankets until the cloth tore down the middle. When it was really cold, when our breath came out in frosty clouds, Manny crawled into bed with Joel and me." Describing their breath as being like "frosty clouds" particularly highlights how cold they were.
