Franz Kafka as a Hunger Artist - 2806 Words

Through much of Franz Kafka’s writing, the reader can see how his personal experiences and viewpoints are clearly worked into his many stories. One of which 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 about his writing â€Å"the early manifestations of authentic originality were nurtured in solitary†¦show more content†¦Like the hunger artist, he too lived in a state of constant want for both food and recognition, as he longed for his father’s acceptance. From the very beginning of Kaka’s life, his fa mily had been organized by, around, and for the benefit of his overbearing father. As a result of his father’s constant criticisms, Kafka began to criticize himself, as he felt crushed by his ever present burden of guilt, which he turned into self-hatred. â€Å"One of the most significant influences on Kafka’s life and work was his domineering father. Kafka’s stories often contain themes drawn from the burden of his father’s tyranny in his home life, depicting settings of confinement as well as convoluted systems of punishment and other expressions of seemingly all powerful authority.† (Miline 100) He blames his father for having robbed him of his childhood, never giving him the attention he is starving for, and like the hunger artist, he spends his whole life seeking it. The most sustained account of Kafka’s childhood is seen by Kafka himself, contained in the fifty-pageShow MoreRelatedFranz 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 MoreThe Metamorphosis, A Hunger Artist, And The Trial1371 Words   |  6 Pagespain 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, where he was born, he saw the true face of his father within his household (Franz, par 1). A man who controlledRead 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). Unfortunately, his pride not only causes internal conflictsRead MoreEssay on Franz Kafkas Use of Humor1619 Words   |  7 PagesFranz Kafkas Use of Humor Franz Kafka, born on July 3, 1883 in Bohemia, in the city of Prague, has been recognized as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His works have been called cloudy, mysterious, inexplicable (Oates ix). Most people hear the term Kafkan or Kafkaesque and think of dark, fantastic tales with almost no basis in our known reality. But what of Kafkas sense of humor? I personally laughed out loud several times while reading Kafkas Amerika. Were these snippetsRead More Existentialism in Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist1401 Words   |  6 PagesExistentialism in The Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist       Existentialism is a philosophy dealing with mans aloneness in the universe. Either there is no God or else God stands apart from man, leaving him free will to make his own choices. From this basic idea of man being alone in an uncertain and purposeless world, many related ideas have developed. One great worry of existentialist writers is that life is becoming too complicated and too impersonal. People become more and moreRead MoreObservation In Franz Kafkas A Hunger Artist754 Words   |  4 Pages Observation In Franz Kafka’s â€Å"A Hunger Artist†, he describes the horrifying story of a man who imprisons himself in a cage for forty days without eating because of an inner desire to receive attention from others. The whole town flocks to watch the man accomplish his great feat, and he would â€Å"let them feel how skinny he was† to show off his great accomplishment (Kafka 322). However, the man finds it difficult to complete his fast when the watchmenRead 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 cre ativity. Kafka is known for his highly symbolic and oblique style of writing. It is no surpriseRead 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 andRead MoreEssay about Analysis of The Hunger Artist by Kafka1688 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis 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 this