Essay on Artist Pain Exposed in Kafkas A Hunger Artist

Artist Pain Exposed in Kafkas A Hunger Artist 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 Kafka refers to the modern artists struggle between the need for fame and the need for isolation. As a modern artist, Kafka has experienced the qualities that characterize the modern artist and his experiences have greatly influenced his work,†¦show more content†¦In A Hunger Artist the artist joins the circus and wants to astound the world by setting a fasting record. However, the more the artist fasted the more the crowds ignored him. Critic R.O.C. Winkler suggests that the crowds ignored the artist because of a corruption in the relationships b etween humans.iii[iii] The corruption is seen when a passer-by stopped and looked at the old figure on the sign and spoke of swindling. The comment made by the passer-by cheated the hunger artist of his recognition, and showed the worlds inborn malice and indifference. The hunger artists eroded cage, comprised of dirty and illegible placards, the pointless sign tracking the days of the fast and dirty straw, further signified the corruption in the relationship between the hunger artist and the world. During Kafkas lifetime he saw a shift in his audiences attention and felt alienated by modern society.iv As the hunger artist sought the crowds attention he was also trapped in another struggle between his need for fame and his need for isolation. The struggle is seen when the artists cage was set up near the animals in the circus. As people walked to the menagerie they saw the artist and some stayed and stared and others rushed off to see the animals. Ironically, the artist disliked the people