Franz Kafka's A Hunger Artist - Book Report/Review Example

Kafka felt isolated and alienated as a modern artist of his time, so the novel depicts his own actual personal feelings (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). The novel is depicted in a retrospective fashion, looking back on several decades in the past. Hunger artists were those artists who could fast for days at a time, and there was an intense interest in these individuals in that day. As the novel progress, the interest in such an individual wanes. The story starts out talking about the professional in general, and then begins to focus on a single performer, or the protagonist.

Kafka himself was a hunger artist, so it can be said that the description and illustration of the art depicted in this novel was autobiographical (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). There was a 40-day limit imposed on hunger artists for their overall safety and to keep them from breaking records, even though the time limit made the artists angry. Crowds of many gathered around the cages in which they performed to ensure that they were not eating food. Even those who did not take their eyes off of the hunger artist had a hard time believing that he or she went for as long as he or she did without food.

At the end of the 40 days, the starved artist was carried from his cage and forced to eat (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). A hunger artist, such as Kafka, would perform an act such as the aforementioned one and then take a period of recuperation. Then, he would repeat the act. This would go on over and over again throughout the artist's lifetime. Kafka, like most hunger artists, felt misunderstood and was not fully satisfied. This appeared to be sadness to spectators, who would often try to cheer hunger artists up only to be greeted with anger and rage.

The irritability and sadness of the hunger artists was often chalked up to the fact that he or she was fasting for long periods of time. In reality, he or she was most likely sad because he or she could not fast beyond the allotted 40-day time limit (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). The popularity of hunger artists went out of style almost overnight. Many joined the circus, but were displeased with their new surroundings. There was noise, distractions, animals being fed, and eventually the artist was completely ignored.

The story even tells of one hunger artists who starved to death in his own cage and was replaced by a leopard, which was much more popular (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). Hunger artists like Kafka have been criticized by many. Some see them as saintly-type heroes like Christ, whereas others see them as people with severe eating disorders or a grand desire to do whatever it takes in order to become famous. Yet others see hunger artists as misunderstood individuals. The reason why "A Hunger Artist" is often read as being an autobiographical work is that it was written near the end of Kafka's life and he was known to be a misunderstood and alienated artist.

It seemed to fit him and his meager life in a perfect fashion (Kafka, 1996 and Booth, Hunter, and Mays, 2005). People can look at Kafka's striving as it appeared in his life also as it was represented in "A Hunger Artist" in a couple of different ways. They can see it as a spiritual journey. Alternatively, they can see it as an artistic journey. Either way, the leopard depicted in the