Kafka's Hunger Artist
Kafka, in his masterpiece "The Hunger Artist," suggests that humans can never satisfy their desires. This is illustrated through the metaphorical hunger artist for whom nourishment is not being nourished at all. The viewing public's interest is derived from their desire to see the hunger artist cheating, but to view this would put an end to that desire. Finally, Kafka presents this idea while the artist is at the circus and describing when people wish to view the starved man.
The hunger artist's nourishment is spiritual. The man only wishes to be honored by the public. As he continuously spirals downward in his health, he looses all forms of material nourishment. As the days go on, there is conflict between the artist and the audience, as they do not believe him honest in claiming not to have eaten. By searching for the audience's approval, a symbol for spiritual nourishment, he loses both material and spiritual nourishment. The climax of the story occurs when he finally achieves his final goal which he believes will give him ultimate satisfaction: a fast until death. As Kafka so grotesquely illustrates, the frail and bony man believes he will finally receive the nourishment he wants when he has fasted until death, at which point he has lost all nourishment and dies. The conflict between the audience and the artist adds to the artist's dissatisfaction with his nourishment.
The audience viewing the artist feeds upon the belief the artist is cheating. They continually view the artist only wishing to find him cheating. They express conceit at being confident he is cheating yet no one is ever able to find any form of proof. The butchers desire to know the artist is cheating and ignore him to comfort their suspicions. These internal assurances of the public which pleasure them so also bother them because of the failure to confirm these suspicions. Yet, if the suspicions were to be confirmed, the audience would not be satisfied, and, in fact, feel cheated and frustrated. Humans' conflicting desires is further shown through the viewing public when the artist is exhibited at the circus.
As people file past the hunger artist, they only wish to view him when they cannot and when they can, they do not view him. Through imagery, Kafka shows us the people striding past the cage containing the weak artist when the path to the menagerie is clear. However, when there are many people pushing behind on their way to the menagerie, many people wish to stop and observe the fasting artist but are unable to. Why do humans have these conflicting desires? Kafka asks. Although written in a third-person omniscient narration style, Kafka does not answer this question. One can interpret Kafka's goal through this piece to make his audience ponder this intrinsic question.
On an ulterior level, religious analysis of this piece may answer the question. The hunger artist begins the short story as a symbol for Christ. Christ fasted for forty days, just as the hunger artist does. Kafka presents numerous images of the artist appearing as Christ such as when the women try to help him out of the cage, he outstretches his arms, appearing as if he is on the cross. We find no solution to the human riddle as a result that Christ was a martyr who die to lessen others' suffering, and this draws no parallels to the martyrdom the artist suffers from: he is a victim of himself and his death provides no appeasement of suffering for others. Why must humans continually suffer?
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