A Hunger Artist PDF

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Humphrey-Isaac 1 Nicholas Humphrey-Isaac Professor Treis English 102 28 March 2020 The Alienation of The Hunger Artist “A Hunger Artist” is a short story created by Franz Kafka to show a man's way of expressing himself in his art and his outlook of reality. This man's art ultimately leads to only pain and suffering. Hunger is a way of feeling when a person needs food. This man's hunger is different in so many ways - he is literally starving for attention. This story is about a man who starves himself for up to 40 days, locked in a cage, in front of an audience. Strangely, he is being fed from the attention of the public and seeks no reward from it. The way the public reacted was not what the artist was aiming for. The artist wanted to receive praise, love and fame, instead he was called a cheater and people often questioned his abilities. The hatred from the audience led to the artist's constant feel of alienation and loneliness. Although he was always being watched by someone, not having their love and support made the artist feel alone. Even though his initial response from crowds was horrible in which he would have to part ways with his manager, he decides this is his only option in life and becomes so desperate he joins the circus. He gets the same response from crowds, they are bored of him so they don’t even check on him. When someone finally does check up on him he is about to die and it’s too late. In the story, “A Hunger Artist” Kafka show’s readers that alienation is what led to the artist's downfall which was ultimately his death. Even at the peak of his popularity, still no one would take him seriously. People would go to watch, but no one was impressed. The author states, “And so he lived […] in apparent glory,

Humphrey-Isaac 2 honored by the world, but for all that usually in a melancholy mood, which grew increasingly so because no one was able to take it seriously” (Kafka 4). The artist saw how no one would take him seriously, either everyone doubted him or thought that he was a joke. The artist is living in self-denial trying so hard to prove to others that he is entertaining and worth watching. When the show was at its best he should have been feeling his best, but rather he felt alone. Even with the audience present, he still felt isolated because no one was cheering him on, they were bringing him down. The audience always questioned the hunger artists’ abilities and did anything to catch him cheating. Kafka states, “[…] there were also permanent watchmen, chosen by the public – oddly enough, usually butchers – whose job it was, always three at a time, to watch the starvation artist day and night […]” (Kafka 2). The public was more entertained by the thought of him cheating, instead of his actual talent and abilities. They would rather waste their whole day and night instead of enjoying him trying to entertain them. The man only wanted attention and praise from the public and they only brought him down. Their constant questioning made him feel alienated from the rest of the world. When the audience was bored of him, he would often sing to try and hold their attention over. Kafka states, “[…] sometimes during the hours of the watch, overcoming his weakness, he sang for as long as he could so as to show these people how unjust their suspicions were […] they were merely amazed at his dexterity in managing to eat even while singing. (Kafka, 2). Even though the audience was impressed that he could sign while starving himself it still wasn’t enough to keep them interested in staying and watching. People simply don’t believe him that he’s truly starving and in a way the singing really makes them think he’s not starving. No one can relate to this man's pain, so naturally they despise him. He will go to extreme measures to get

Humphrey-Isaac 3 the audience's attention, but it ends up making him feel more alone. His self denial keeps pushing him forward as he’s lying to himself. He pushed himself far for people's attention; it killed him. Although the hunger artist was desperate for attention he was truly performing a very honest act. Kafka states, “And when once in a while an idle passerby stopped to make a joke about the outdated number and spoke of cheating, this was the stupidest lie that indifference and innate cruelty could devise, for it was not the starvation artist who was cheating, he performed his work honorably, it was the world that cheated him of his reward” (Kafka, 8). This shows how society saw him for taking the odd road of life, never really giving him a chance. What the audience did to the hunger artist made him feel lonely even when all eyes were on him. As this man is dying of starvation, he confesses to one man that this was not by choice and he feels like a coward. The author states, "[…] I could not find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I would not have caused a sensation, and I would have stuffed myself just like you and all the others." (Kafka, 9). The hunger artist admits he could never find a food that he liked and feels more alone than ever. He feels like the only thing he can offer the world is his act of starvation. He thought that was all he was worth, but the world did not even support that. He was isolated in the world and even felt it inside of himself. He was never understood and made himself alienated, leading to his downfall. Following the artist's death, he is immediately replaced by a panther. Kafka states, “Into the cage they put a young panther […] he did not even seem to miss his freedom; this noble body, equipped just short of bursting with everything it needed, seemed to carry its freedom around with it […] (Kafka, 10)”. The artist and the panther are very much alike. The panther is misunderstood by society the same way the artist is. They are both caged from the world which symbolizes the freedom they were both lacking. The hunger artist was nothing but an animal to

Humphrey-Isaac 4 everyone else. Rather than helping a human clearly in need, society made this man feel more alone than probably ever had. The hunger artist is ultimately responsible for his own death, but his perspective of life only got worse the more people shamed him. The artist only wanted some love and appreciation but no one could give that to him. If one person just showed some pride and respect for the man he may have lived a longer life. Kafka was a brilliant man for his time period, always throwing shade at the realities of the world we live in leaving readers in despair. The hunger artist practically killed himself due to how lonely and unloved he felt. In today’s world there are treatment centers and more awareness about eating disorders in which society now takes the matter more seriously.

Works Cited

Humphrey-Isaac 5 Kafka, Franz. A Hunger Artist from The Complete Stories. New York : Schocken Books, 1971, Pgs. 1-10...