Character Relationship Map: Hunger

Characters

• Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender) — protagonist

  A non-conforming prisoner who sparks the no-wash and no-wear protests. He defiantly resists prison officers, endures brutal beatings and forced cleaning, and later launches a hunger strike. After 66 d...

• Raymond's Mother (played by Helena Bereen) — supporting

  A catatonic resident of a retirement home visited by her son, Raymond. She becomes the tragic focal point of his death, as he is shot and collapses directly onto her lap, underscoring the collateral d...

• Raymond's Wife (played by Laine Megaw) — supporting
• Davey Gillen (played by Brian Milligan) — supporting

  A newly admitted IRA inmate labeled a non-conforming prisoner for refusing the prison uniform. Sent to his cell naked except for a blanket, his admission catalyzes the broader no-wash and no-wear prot...

• Priest (played by Rory Mullen) — minor
• Gerry Campbell (played by Liam McMahon) — supporting

  Inmate and cellmate to Davey Gillen. He participates in the no-wash protest by smearing excrement across his cell walls from floor to ceiling, illustrating the extreme physical resistance employed by...

• Gerry's Girlfriend (played by Karen Hassan) — supporting

  Smuggles a radio into the prison to provide news and morale to the inmates. She conceals the device by wrapping it and hiding it inside her vagina, demonstrating the desperate measures taken by suppor...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Raymond's Mother → Raymond's Wife (mother)
• Gerry Campbell → Gerry's Girlfriend (Romantic Partners) — She supports Gerry and the prisoners through a dangerous act of assistance.

  The plot identifies her as Gerry Campbell's girlfriend and shows her smuggling a radio into the prison.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Bobby Sands → Gerry's Girlfriend (Alliance Movement Supporter) — Her support reaches the broader prisoner movement in which Bobby participates.

  Gerry's girlfriend smuggles a radio into the prison to provide news and morale to the inmates, including prisoners participating in the protests.

• Bobby Sands → Priest (Social Spiritual Confidant) — The conversation gives Bobby a setting to explain the moral reasoning behind his strike.

  Priest visits Bobby Sands during the hunger strike, and Sands discusses the morality of self-sacrifice with him.

• Bobby Sands → Gerry Campbell (Alliance Fellow Prisoners) — They are inmates involved in the same escalating resistance.

  Gerry Campbell's no-wash protest and Bobby Sands's resistance occur within the same coordinated prisoner protests at Maze prison.

• Bobby Sands → Davey Gillen (Alliance Fellow Protester) — Both are connected to the prisoners' collective rejection of prison rules.

  Davey Gillen's refusal to wear the uniform catalyzes the no-wash and no-wear protests, while Bobby Sands participates in the prisoners' resistance.

• Davey Gillen → Gerry Campbell (Social Cellmates) — Their shared cell places Davey's arrival alongside Gerry's extreme no-wash protest.

  Davey Gillen is sent to a cell shared with Gerry Campbell after refusing to wear the prison uniform.

Story Analysis

The film portrays prison resistance, bodily suffering, moral conviction, and the political consequences of Bobby Sands's hunger strike.

Plot Progression

1. Uniforms and Defiance — Davey Gillen arrives at Maze prison and refuses to wear the prison uniform. His placement with Gerry Campbell exposes the extreme no-wash protest already taking place.
2. Violence Behind the Walls — Officers violently remove prisoners, cut their hair, and forcibly clean Bobby Sands. The prisoners answer with torn clothing and wrecked cells.
3. The Gauntlet and Retaliation — Riot police beat prisoners during a forced gauntlet and subject them to invasive searches. Away from the prison, an officer is killed beside his catatonic mother.
4. A Moral Decision — Priest questions Bobby Sands about the morality of hunger striking. Bobby's story of the wounded foal reveals his belief that deliberate sacrifice can end unbearable suffering.
5. Sixty-Six Days — Bobby's body deteriorates through the hunger strike, yet he continues to resist psychologically. He finally collapses and dies after sixty-six days.
6. The Political Aftermath — The epilogue records Bobby's election to Parliament, the deaths of other hunger strikers, and murders of prison officers. It concludes that most prisoner demands were later conceded.