Hunger Artist

A Hunger Artist
In "A Hunger Artist" by Franz 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 is cheated because they do not receive his or her recognition. Finally, in "A Hunger Artist" Kafka refers to the modern artist's 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, particularly "A Hunger Artist".
This short story is hard to understand at first, after a few readings you can understand what Kafka meaning of hunger. The “Hunger Artist” was a fast excitement everyone want it to see him at least once a day. People would want to see him from early in the morning to late at night. They sold season tickets for the last few days. The “Hunger Artist” will go as long as forty days without eating. His ribs will be showing, his bones were noticeable he look ill. They had “permanent watchers selected by the public”(Kafka 404). Their task was to watch the hunger artist day and night.   There were three of them watching him at the same time just in case he had something suspicious going on with one. The “Hunger Artist” was happy to have this job to entertain people all around the world. He was fine being in a cage like an animal without giving anything but water.
He approaches his work with passion and devotion. He takes pride in his work and is disappointed by the limitations put on him by the audience. The hunger artist held a record for the longest fasting time but he was unable to beat it because his impresario prohibited it due to the fact the audience would lose interest. The man only wishes to be honored by the public. As he...