hunger artist
In life there are many codes that define us as individuals and as a society. In order to further discuss the code we must first establish the definition and nature of a code and what it entails. It is an unspoken oath to an idea or way of life to which we feel dedicated and devoted. The way we are influenced by our surroundings and the way we react or feel we are supposed to react to them are a result of our interpretation of that code. While the code is artistic at the same time it is cruel. It can embody its disciple with such an overwhelming grip that they feel they can never get out of its cage. The misinterpretation of the code is easily achieved. In the case of the Hunger Artist, the code of his artistic ability to fast produces self-enlightenment to insight. As a result it reveals to him his hunger is for answers. It reveals self-definition for him as an artist and as a man. Furthermore it reveals to him his hypocrisy and fraudulence. All of which leave him feeling unsatisfied and hungry.His hunger for answers is his journey for truth and meaning in life. He needs to feel accomplishment and self worth but is faced with the sad but true fact that no one will give him the recognition he feels he so rightly des
As a result of these insights he comes to the realization of the unproud fact of why he will always be hungry and never be able to find the food he likes. Fasting is his search for hunger; his hunger for answers. Not the answers to why can't I find the food I like, but why can't I feel satisfied with myself? Why can't I fill the hunger I have in my life? I can't find the soul food I am looking for to be satisfied. Answers to questions which he already knows the answer but does not want to accept because of the reality of their validity. The search to discover that he can't find the soul food he likes leaves him always looking ahead to a place where he will achieve what he wants. If only he could just do a little more he would be satisfied. But tragically enough this is something he will never achieve. He will never be able to get enough or feel enough accomplishment for the fraudulent task he has trapped himself in performing. While fasting is something he feels he must perform, because of his dedication to the code, it will never satisfy his hunger. He feeds off of fasting, but will always have to keep eating because he can never get enough food. His appetite will never be satisfied; never satisfied because he is eating off of an empty plate. Kafka, Franz, comp. A Hunger Artist: The Riverside Anthology of Literature Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 1997 220-227. Mitchell, Breon, comp. Kafka and the Hunger Artists: Kafka and the Contemporary Critical Performance Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987 236-255. erves. He wants answers to why the crowds of people and the impresario can never praise him enough even if he h
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Approximate Word count = 1105
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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