Franz Kafkas A Hunger Artist - Assignment Example

Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" is, despite its length, rich in meaning. Examining the human condition from the absurdist philosophical perspective,"A Hunger Artist" emphasizes the senselessness of the world and the extent to which man is misunderstood and incapable of making himself understood. The protagonist, locked in a cage, is a professional self-starver, capable of fasting for periods longer than forty days. While the protagonist views his capacity for self-starvation as an art which he is trying to perfect, an achievement, the townsfolk either do not believe that he is truly fasting or see him as a freak,' not as the artist he perceives of himself as. Insofar as his purpose is not understood and his act of starvation is viewed suspiciously, the hunger artist emerges as an absurd figure. The absurdity of the hunger artist, however, is the absurdity of the human condition and of life itself. To this extent, and despite the unrealistic nature of the story, "A Hunger Artist" can be interpreted as a metaphor for life, a realistic exposition of the human condition, and a parable. The Hunger Artist's inability to communicate the intent of his act of starvation to the people and his commitment to his art does not simply imply the absurdity of his life's work but highlights the meaninglessness of life itself. Kafka's protagonist, a painfully thin man, is locked in a cage by his manager, his impresario, with whom he signed a contract giving him the authority to lock up and starve the artist for a period of forty days. Day after day, for forty days, he just sits in his cage, fasting, watching others watch him, and admire his ability to starve. Meanwhile, three butchers supposedly watch over him to ensure that he does not cheat and break his fast but, instead of keeping an eye on him, they deliberately let him alone. Although they do this out of kindness and to give him an opportunity to eat from the food they believe he has hidden somewhere in his cage. However, the hunger artist views this as an insulting lack of appreciation for, and belief in, his art. When the forty days are over, he is let out of his cage and led into the town with a marching band. After a few days of rest and food, he begins his fast again. In other words, he is trapped in a continuous cycle of forty days fasting, brief break, forty days fasting and so on. His work/art, insofar as it is not understood as an art, is absurd; his unique ability for self-starvation is absurd as there are many who do not believe he is truly fasting; and, ultimately, his life is reduced to an absurd and meaningless cycle of starvation. As incredible as "A Hunger Artist" and its protagonist are, it is a realistic, although metaphorical, representation of life and the human condition. The story is about the concept of achievement, of doing something incredible and, accordingly, attracting recognition and respect. The protagonist's unique ability, however, is not viewed as an accomplishment worthy of respect but as something fascinating which, at best, will only attract disbelieving stares. The point here is that we, as the readers, should not just see this incredible accomplishment as simply referring to starvation and fasting but as referring to many things, whether they are ideas, inventions or even services that one person has done for men. In other words, this story can be read as focusing on the fact that most people no longer give others, or great things, the appreciation that they deserve. In that case, doing something great or extending an important service to the world becomes absurd and meaningless. For one, people will search for the weak points in that great accomplishment or service, such as when the butchers assumed and believed that the Hunger Artist was cheating and eating. That is, some people will search for the flaws and bring that great thing down, making it loose some of its value. Others will exploit it, as the impresario did with the Hunger Artist. This is exactly what Kafka is saying and important to quote in this respect is the following thoughts from the hunger artist himself: "this perversion of the truth, familiar to the artist though it was, always unnerved him" (201). Even though the Hunger Artist knows that the intention of his fast will be misinterpreted, he refuses to surrender. Therefore, he starves time after time in an endless cycle but his starvation is absurd because it aims to achieve recognition and respect which it will not. It is in this way, and if we expand the focus of the story to include all human accomplishments, that we can interpret it as a realistic metaphor on the absurdity of life. In addition to interpreting this story as a metaphor on the absurdity of life, "A Hunger Artist" can also be read as a parable that communicates a lesson on life. As a parable, the story will be read as it is; a man starving himself for a specific purpose that is always misunderstood and misinterpreted. However, by reading it as a parable, we can draw important lessons from it, first of which is that a person must not assume that others should understand his intentions but clarify them. Secondly, if something we do proves to be useless, either because it is not appreciated or because it is completely misunderstood, we should not trap ourselves in a circle of repetition. Instead, we should move onto something else. Otherwise, like the hunger artists, we may become addicted to that activity and continued with it endlessly until we die. In other words, as a parable, this story communicates some important lessons on life. However, because it is so rich in meaning, this story need not be just interpreted as a parable or a metaphor but as a being a realistic story. To do so, we have to be a bit creative and replace the idea of starvation and fasting out of personal free will, with the idea of acting without free will. Basically, when the Hunger Artist explained himself to the overseer in the end, he said: "I always wanted you to admire my fasting but you shouldn't admire it because I have to fast, I can't help it because I couldn't find the food I liked" (204). The Hunger Artist acted in the way that he did because life forced him to. This is very realistic and many can sympathize with the idea of not doing something out of free will but because we are forced to by circumstances. In a few short pages and focusing on just one character, Kafka wrote a story which is extremely rich in meaning. To understand this meaning, the reader must not focus on the story itself, or on the actions of the protagonist but, on what the story and the protagonist represent. Should the reader do so, he will comprehend this story as a realistic look at the human condition, a metaphor for life and a parable. More importantly, the reader will understand Kafka's views on the absurd nature of life. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. Read More