Summary

The play contains no true scene divisions, but for easier discussion, the rather long acts of this play have been divided into more manageable sections.

Act 1 of Curse of the Starving Class begins in a farmhouse kitchen. There is a pile of broken wood pieces indicating a broken door. Wesley is taking the pieces and putting them into a wheelbarrow to get them out of the way. His mother, Ella is winding an alarm clock as she enters and tells him it is not his job to clean up the mess since his father, Weston, was the one to make it. But since Weston has not returned to the house since he broke down the door, Wesley continues to pick up the pieces. He asks his mother if she called the police last night, and she says she did because she was afraid for her...