A Hunger Artist by Kafka

503 Words2 Pages

A Hunger Artist by Kafka

"A Man of Art and Spirituality"

In Kafka's " A Hunger Artist," art is not used in its conventional context. Kafka illustrates the interdependency of the audience and the hunger artist, and especially his need for attention. It is through the audience that the hunger artist is fulfilled, but because he cannot communicate the sincerity of his performance he is always left dissatisfied.

The definition of artist according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is "Any person who performs his work as if it were an art." This is a perfect example of the hunger artist as he approaches his work with passion and devotion. He takes pride in his work and is disappointed by the limitations put on him by the audience. The hunger artist held a record for the longest fasting time but he was unable to beat it because his impresario prohibited it due to the fact the audience would lose interest. The Hunger Artist was able to go so long because food was only a source of nourishment not a pleasure as it was for so many others. Indeed his pleasur...

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Sonny's Blues And A Hunger Artist

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    After a while the artist went to a carnival too fast for people who visited. He requested the carnival to place him next to the animals instead of being the center of attention. He requested the carnival to keep the number of days that he fasted, but after a few weeks the carnival stopped keeping track and so did the artist. At the end of the story the overseer asked why the hunger artist did what he did and the artist answered “because I couldn’t find the food I liked,” (Kafka 334). This shows that he was imprisoned himself due to the fact that he didn’t have the right kind of

    Read More

  • Obsession in A Hunger, The Penal Colony, and Metamorphosis

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “A Hunger Artist” Kafka portrays the artist as an obsessed person with starving himself. Not even death matter as long as he gets that attention he wants from society. Kafka wants society to be the reason that artist became they way he is now. “He worked with integrity, but the world cheated [the artist] of his reward” (Kafka 144). The Hunger Artist no longer has anything significant in his life but the only thing that makes him the way he is because he wants the public’s attention. Society demands are high and not easy to achieve, to the point where the artist was the center of attention in big cities with beautiful girls waiting to help him come out of his cage. But now he is in small cage, neglected by everyone, even when it comes to fasting “no one [counts] the days, no one, not even the hunger artist himself, [know] his extent of his achievement” (144). In the end, the hunger artist body could no longer sustain himself after the long-lasting fast, however society was moving on and he was not. Society was the downfall of his life, wanting public attention is not easy with a cruel society that demands change and new entertainment.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Metamorphosis Research paper Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis, explores two conflicting ideas through his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation created a whole life of distress for him, but on the other hand also formed a deeper and better relationship for the rest of the family. Gregor’s transformation to a Vermin created a new life of separation and isolation for him. Before Gregor’s transformation he already felt isolated and stressed out because he was the only one working and he didn’t have that good of a relationship within his family. Kafka states “Constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate.”

    Read More

  • The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafka's Life

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.

    Read More

  • The Metamorphosis by Kafka

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First, Gregor's family is only concerned with the effect Gregor's change will have on them, specifically the effect it will have on their finances and reputation. They are more than willing to take completely gratuitous advantage of Gregor; he works to pay their debt and they are happy to indulge themselves with luxury. Gregor is the soul employed member of his family and this is their primary interest when Gregor is transformed. Secondly, Gregor is penalized for his efforts to be a good son, and a good worker; his toils are completely taken for granted by his family. The Samsa family is not interested in Gregor beyond their own needs, outsiders are reverentially treated. Thirdly, it is displayed by the positive changes that occur in the Samsa family as Gregor descends into tragedy and insignificance. As Gregor's life becomes more painful, isolated, and worthless the Samsa family becomes more functional and self-reliant.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a theory that dream and myth are related which is conveyed through the writing of Douglas Angus’ Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale and supported by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The stories are very symbolic when conveying the metamorphosis of a human being. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the Metamorphosis some suggest love is received through acts of cruelty yet in actuality it appears that cruelty results in heartache. Due to being a beast, the repulsiveness requires genuine love which can achieve the “magical transformation.” This “magical transformation” is not achieved and creates a twist in the plot derived from the concepts in the “Beauty and the Beast.”

    Read More

  • ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘A Hunger Artist’

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many parallels and differences between Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and "A Hunger Artist". Kafka portrays these differences and similarities very effectively through his utilization of elements such as transformation, dehumanization, and dedication to work. Through his works, Kafka communicates with the reader in such a way that almost provokes and challenges one’s imagination and creativity.

    Read More

  • Definition Essay - Does Art Defy Definition

    457 Words  | 1 Pages

    According to Webster’s Dictionary, art is “human expression of objects by painting, etc” (10). The words “human experience” adds meaning to art. Artists reveal their inner thoughts and feelings through their work. When we study a painting by Salvador Dali, the strange objects and the surrealist background portrays the eccentricity of the painter. Some ideas cannot be explained verbally. They can only be shown via a medium. We can get across what is in our minds or our hearts by a stroke of a brush, a drop of paint, a row of words, or something else. But to express ourselves, we do not need to limit what we call art.

    Read More

  • The Secret Society Of The Starving And The Hunger Artist

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    And at this moment the hunger artist always fought back... Why did people want to rob him of the fame of fasting longer, not just so that he could become the greatest

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...Once more the odious courtesies began, the first handed the knife across K. to the second, who handed it across K. back again to the first. K. now perceived clearly that he was supposed to seize the knife himself, as it traveled from hand to hand above him, and plunge it into his own breast. But he did not do so, he merely turned his head, which was still free to move, and gazed around him. He could not completely rise to the occasion, he could not relieve the officials of all their tasks; the responsibility for this last failure of his lay with him who had not left him the remnant of strength necessary for the deed....

    Read More

  • The Metamorphosis By Frank Kafka

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Working a job, you hate just to support your family is a big sacrifice and is the real meaning of love, this reality is made clear in frank Kafka’s excerpt from his story call The Metamorphosis. In this story, a traveling salesman, wakes up in his bed to find himself transformed into a large insect. He hates his life as a traveling salesman and wishes he could quit only if his parents and sister did not depend so much on his income. he spends his time listening through the wall to his family members talking. They often discuss the difficult financial situation they find themselves in now that their son can’t provide for them. The father wishes their insect son would just leave. However, he understands and goes to his bedroom. There, determined to rid his family of his presence, he dies. Both the son and his family have a difficult time accepting his transformation from

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Hunger Artist by Kafka

    1699 Words  | 4 Pages

    The food was never the issue. The Hunger Artist was never interested. Instead, what the artist hungered for was his fans that appreciated his talent of being able to fast for such long periods of time. Kafka writes, ? Back then the whole town was engaged with the hunger artist; during his fast, the audience?s involvement grew from day to day.? (Kafka, 255) In fact, the Hunger Artist was at first a spectacle. Some fans would come more than once a day to see the Artist perform, some even reserving special viewing seats to enhance the artistic experience. The Artist made eve...

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's Judgement

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    Franz Kafka's Judgement & nbsp; This short story by Franz Kafka is really a challenging one to interpret, but apparently there are some contextual clues that enable us to draw some logical conclusions out of the story. Firstly, we should handle this story in terms of human relationships; there are 3 kinds of relationships represented in the story. The first is the relationship between George (the main character of the story) and his friend in Russia; the second is George's relationship with his fiancée and the third is his relationship with his father. Each exposition of these relationships contradicts the persons involved. That is, while George is devoted to writing to a friend whom he hasn't seen for 3 years, he doesn't write about important events.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's Life and Work

    2208 Words  | 5 Pages

    No person that leads a normal life is likely to write a metaphorical yet literal story about a man transforming into a bug. That being said, no person that leads a normal life is likely to alter a genre as much as Franz Kafka did. With the unusual combination of declining physical health and a resurgence of spiritual ideas, Franz Kafka, actively yearning for life, allowed his mind to travel to the places that his body could not take him. In his recurring themes of guilt, pain, obscurity, and lucidity, are direct connections to his childhood and daily life. His family dynamic, infatuation with culture and theater, and his personal illnesses all shaped his imagination into the poignant yet energetic thing that made him so well-known. With all of his influences combined, Franz Kafka developed a writing style so distinct that he founded a semi-genre all his own: kafkaism.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Art In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

    1881 Words  | 4 Pages

    The beauty of a portrait, the adventure of a saga, the delicacy of a porcelain vase, the emotion of a symphony – all forms of art, all forms of expression. Art, as Oscar Wilde explains it, is the “most intense mode of individualism that the world has ever known” (Wilde, The Soul of a Man Under Socialism). Art allows one to express themselves through a thousand mediums, using all five senses. It allows words that are not meant to be spoken, to be expressed, and ideas not meant to be thought, imagined. Perhaps the most prevalent form of art in today's society is literature, as is the most direct form of art.

    Read More

More about A Hunger Artist by Kafka

Open Document