A Hunger Artist by Kafka Essay example - 505 Words

A Hunger Artist by Kafka A Man of Art and Spirituality In Kafkas 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†¦show more content†¦The Hunger Artists primary interest was in the recognition from the crowd, an achievement never completely fulfilled because of the crowds inability to understand the passion he had in his work. The audiences fascination with the Hunger artists fasting is what the artist lived for. In the beginning of the story the hunger artists desire for attention is illustrated when the narrator said much more to his taste were the watchers who sat close up to the bars #8230; He was quite happy at the prospect of spending a sleepless night with such watchers.(299) Even the guards who were appointed to watch over him were enough to quench the artists thirst for attention. When the Hunger Artist was no longer a source of entertainment a circus hired him as a minor attraction. There the story says, When the public came thronging out in the intervals to see the animals, they could hardly avoid passing the hunger artists cage and stopping there for a moment; #8230; And that was the reason why the hunger artist, who had of course been looking forward to these visiting hours as the main achievement of his life, began instead to shrink from them.(303) At the end I believe it was the lack of attention that caused him to die for it was the way the world was cheating him of his reward(304) This meant the artist was never satisfied with the amount of attention he had received and he wanted more. And the artists audience over time had lost interest in his art, andShow MoreRelatedFranz Kafka as a Hunger Artist2806 Words   |  12 Pageswhich stands out is his story A Hunger Artist. In this story Kafka speaks through the hunger artist of the alienation and isolation he feels in his own body, as well as the emptiness he feels as a result of the disconnected relationship he and his father share. Ironically this emptiness manifests itself quite literally at the end of Kafka’s life, when he dies as a result of tuberculosis of the larynx, which causes him to literally starve to death, just as the hunger artist in the story. It was said aboutRead MoreEssay about Analysis of The Hunger Artist by Kafka1688 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysi s of The Hunger Artist by Kafka Hunger is a term that is often defined as the physical feeling for the need to eat. However, the Hunger Artist in Kafkas A Hunger Artist places a different, more complex meaning to this word, making the Hunger Artists name rather ironic. The hunger of the Hunger Artist is not for food. As described at the end of the essay, the Hunger Artist states that he was in fact never hungry, he just never found anything that he liked. So then, what does thisRead MoreFranz Kafka s A Hunger Artist And The Metamorphosis1155 Words   |  5 Pageswhole life and leaving this world as a nobody. The writings of Franz Kafka not only spoke of the absurdity of life, but also about who he was. They told about what type of human being he was, and how he was feeling. You can see this in both of his well known short stories, A Hunger Artist and The Metamorphosis. I believe that there is a personal link between author and character and that it can be found in most of his works. Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, in Prague. The writer grew up in a middle-classRead MoreEssay on Artist Pain Exposed in Kafkas A Hunger Artist794 Words   |  4 PagesArtist Pain Exposed in Kafkas A Hunger Artist      Ã‚  Ã‚   In A Hunger Artist, Kafka comments on the life of the modern artist through the life of a hunger artist. Kafka comments that the modern artist is always dissatisfied with his or her art. The modern artist also is trapped in a harsh and capricious world, in which the artist struggles to maintain his or her audience by pushing the extreme, but are cheated because they do not receive his or her recognition. Finally, in A Hunger Artist KafkaRead MoreFranz Kafka an Artis Hungry for Pride867 Words   |  3 PagesIn Franz Kafka’s short story, â€Å"A Hunger Artist†, Kafka introduces an eccentric man known as the Hunger Artist. The Hunger Artist has committed his entire life to the art of fasting, allowing himself to be caged and displayed to the public as if he were a painting (Kafka 198). Despite all the emotional turmoil he endures, he takes a great amount of pride in fasting and believes that he can fast for extremely elongated periods (Kafka 200). Unfortunate ly, his pride not only causes internal conflictsRead MoreThe Metamorphosis, A Hunger Artist, And The Trial1371 Words   |  6 Pagesnot to talk to strangers or play with fire. Unfortunately, it is difficult to explain the feelings of pain than it is of joy. Franz Kafka explores these feelings. Franz Kafka journeys and displays the complicated genre of alienation and psychological tribulation of mankind in his stories, The Metamorphosis, A Hunger Artist, and The Trial. On July 3, 1883, Franz Kafka was born to a mother who was oblivious to his ambitions and to a father who held the family with vises. In the city of Prague, whereRead MoreThe Hunger, By Kafka And Gabriel956 Words   |  4 PagesIn the short stories written by Kafka and Gabriel readers witness to characters strongly familiar to suffering and accustomed to being misunderstood and being isolated, furthermore both authors displays the cruelty of mankind, â€Å"pleasure-seekers† who get a rush out of seeing characters suffer for their own enjoyment. In Kafka’s short story his character the hunger artist represents a man who’s misunderstood by society for his strong desire to fast, the artist believes he’s trying to find spiritualRead MoreNo Chance Against Society Essay703 Words   |  3 Pagesthese obstacles spring from the pressures of the popular society. Within the short story, A Hunger Artist, by Franz Kafka, the author proves and disproves a point best stated by Robin George Collinwood, that; Perfect freedom is reserved for the man who lives by his own work and in that work, does what he wants to do. The protagonist, within this short story, freely chooses his career path as a hunger artist, but as the story continues, the audience begins to see that it is not as much an admiredRead More‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘A Hunger Artist’980 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many parallels and differences between Franz Kafka’s â€Å"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. Kafka is known for his highly symbolic and oblique style of writing. It is no surprise thatRead MoreGregor Is A Type Of Creature1688 Words   |  7 PagesGregor’s new transformation and had no patience. After rejecting Gregor’s useless being his father demonstrates impatience through physical action, he â€Å"was throwing one apple after another,† (493) and eventually, â€Å"[one] penetrated into Gregor’s back. Kafka parallels this universal image of a human trying to get rid of a pest, with that of Gregor’s father trying to get rid of him, and it helps give the reader the perspective of the father as well as Gregor’s by simply describing his attempt to flee and