--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hunger makes a thief of any man." description: "\"Hunger makes a thief of any man.\" — Pearl S. Buck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/pearl-s-buck-1024_hunger_hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man-16267_16267.png" --- # Hunger makes a thief of any man. ![“Hunger makes a thief of any man.” quote by Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/pearl-s-buck-1024_hunger_hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man-16267_16267.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/pearl-s-buck-1024_hunger_hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man-16267_16267.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/pearl-s-buck-1024_hunger_hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man-16267_16267.png) > “Hunger makes a thief of any man.” [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desperation can drive otherwise honest people to commit theft, showing how basic needs override moral standards. **In simple terms:** Need can corrupt integrity. Key Takeaway Scarcity erodes ethics. Themes human nature morality survival psychology social pressure Mood somber reflective Type proverb cautionary When to use this quote - facing poverty - during famine - in economic crisis - when resources are scarce Key Concepts need ethical compromise self‑preservation Practical Applications - social policy design - ethical training programs Questions to Reflect On - How does scarcity reshape personal values? - What safeguards can prevent desperation‑driven crime? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Hunger Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-makes-382945/) [Makes Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-thief-382944/) [Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief/) [Thief Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief-man-382943/) ## Related quotes > [Don't keep it up, don't keep it up. Thief a man, you're just a part of Babylon's plan. Thief a man, you even steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-isaacs/don-t-keep-it-up-don-t-keep-it-up-thief-a-man-you-re-just-a-part-of/) [Gregory Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-isaacs/) > [Opportunity makes the thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/opportunity-makes-the-thief/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [As an actor, I've learned to become a detective. You have to figure out who that person is. If the character is a thief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/as-an-actor-i-ve-learned-to-become-a-detective-you-have-to-figure-out/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Oppurtunity Makes the Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steig-larsson/oppurtunity-makes-the-thief/) [Steig Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steig-larsson/) > [Hunger makes you restless. you dream about food - not just any food, but perfect food, the best food, magical meals, famous and awe-inspiring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/hunger-makes-you-restless-you-dream-about-food-not-just-any-food-but/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Practice at hunger makes the fast easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-orringer/practice-at-hunger-makes-the-fast-easier/) [Julie Orringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-orringer/) > [A thief is a man in need. A liar is a man in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/a-thief-is-a-man-in-need-a-liar-is-a-man-in-fear/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [An art thief is a man who takes pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/an-art-thief-is-a-man-who-takes-pictures/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [It is opportunity that makes the thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-opportunity-that-makes-the-thief/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“The opportunity makes the thief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/the-opportunity-makes-the-thief/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Hunger makes the best sauce,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-mott-davidson/hunger-makes-the-best-sauce/) [Diane Mott Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-mott-davidson/) > [Hunger makes a fool of a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/hunger-makes-a-fool-of-a-man/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Write your sins away, believe in your dream. As money makes you thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/write-your-sins-away-believe-in-your-dream-as-money-makes-you-thief/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [Your hunger is what makes you stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuthirakani/your-hunger-is-what-makes-you-stronger/) [Samuthirakani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuthirakani/) > [Opportunity makes a thief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/opportunity-makes-a-thief/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More by Pearl S. Buck > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [War is the most devastating endemic and epidemic disease the human race has to endure, and yet too little has been done to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/war-is-the-most-devastating-endemic-and-epidemic-disease-the-human/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [In our changing world nothing changes more than geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/in-our-changing-world-nothing-changes-more-than-geography/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [No one really understood music unless he was a scientist, her father had declared, and not just a scientist, either, oh, no, only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-one-really-understood-music-unless-he-was-a-scientist-her-father/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Wang Lung sat smoking, thinking of the silver as it had lain upon the table. It had come out of the earth, this silver,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/wang-lung-sat-smoking-thinking-of-the-silver-as-it-had-lain-upon-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/the-secret-of-joy-in-work-is-contained-in-one-word-excellence-to-know/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/if-our-american-way-of-life-fails-the-child-it-fails-us-all/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Mind and body were well or ill together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/mind-and-body-were-well-or-ill-together/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“U meni postoji mjesto gdje živim posve sama; tu obnavljam svoja proljeća koja nikad ne presahnu”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/u-meni-postoji-mjesto-gdje-ivim-posve-sama-tu-obnavljam-svoja-prolje/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Brave young American men climbed the rugged slopes of Korean mountains and fought in homesickness and desperate weariness for the sake of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/brave-young-american-men-climbed-the-rugged-slopes-of-korean/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then; life is dull without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/truth-is-always-exciting-speak-it-then-life-is-dull-without-it/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“All scientific effort must now be concentrated in the area of defence (sic). We have learned our lesson. We, the most civilized of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/all-scientific-effort-must-now-be-concentrated-in-the-area-of-defence/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [to know how to read is to light a lamp in the mind, to release the soul from prison, to open a gate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/to-know-how-to-read-is-to-light-a-lamp-in-the-mind-to-release-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [A man is educated and turned out to work. But a woman is educated and turned out to grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/a-man-is-educated-and-turned-out-to-work-but-a-woman-is-educated-and/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) [Explore all 304 Pearl S. Buck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## More Hunger quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [I was focused on The Hunger Games movie with my director, with the studio, and with the cast and crew. We all just focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/i-was-focused-on-the-hunger-games-movie-with-my-director-with-the/) [Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/) > [You get those hunger pains. 'I am so hungry. We don't have any food. What are we going to eat?' Your stomach hurts. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mclemore/you-get-those-hunger-pains-i-am-so-hungry-we-don-t-have-any-food-what/) [Ben McLemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mclemore/) > ['The Hunger Games' takes place in Panem, a country which is part of America. It's post-apocalyptic. There's been a global war. The Panem country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/the-hunger-games-takes-place-in-panem-a-country-which-is-part-of/) [Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/) > [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“This, then, was hunger. This was what his mother had meant when she had said, "We'll all go hongry." He had laughed, for he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/this-then-was-hunger-this-was-what-his-mother-had-meant-when-she-had/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [We did a 'Vanity Fair' spread for 'The Hunger Games,' and we were on set, and I saw a little head pop up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-ludwig/we-did-a-vanity-fair-spread-for-the-hunger-games-and-we-were-on-set/) [Alexander Ludwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-ludwig/) > [Sometimes I close my eyes; sometimes I let my hunger rise. I think of all you are - you are the love of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/sometimes-i-close-my-eyes-sometimes-i-let-my-hunger-rise-i-think-of/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [Throwing a McDouble in the air at a fat camp and shouting, LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/throwing-a-mcdouble-in-the-air-at-a-fat-camp-and-shouting-let-the/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) [Browse all 2,576 Hunger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hunger makes a thief of any man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pearl S. 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