Nothing to Eat

"Nothing to Eat" by Horatio Alger, in collaboration with Thomas Chandler Haliburton, is a humorous poem from 1857 that makes fun of rich people and how society works. The story is all about showing how different rich people's lives are from regular people's, especially when it comes to food and what they need to live. The main character, Mrs. Merdle, is a perfect example of someone in high society because she whines about not having enough food while she's actually eating a fancy dinner, she also complains about her husband chasing money while enjoying their fancy life. Through what Mrs. Merdle says and thinks, the poem cleverly points out how silly rich people can be and how fake social rules are, it also makes fun of how much people care about looks and clothes, showing how people suffer trying to keep up with a certain lifestyle, all while complaining they don't have enough. In the end, the poem makes you wonder what it really means to 'have nothing to eat' when there's so much extra stuff around.