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The Hunger Artist, and the Interpretation of the Cage

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Submitted By molhamhomsi
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The story “ A Hunger Artist” written by Franz Kafka presents a prophet like main character in a fictional manner exploring a world that isn’t so different from ours and yet very dissimilar in certain concepts that highlight the theme and moral of the story. Kafka seems to explore a misunderstood artist’s view of the world he struggles with and his battle with dissatisfaction. The story portrays a messenger like attribute to the artist, a sense of selflessness and desperation, as well as a clear sense of imprisonment both internally and externally. In “A Hunger Artist” Kafka explores how imprisonment could be on an internal, external, and social level using his symbolic depiction of the cage in the story.

Kafka begins describing the artist’s sense of emptiness and misery by stating “His inner dissatisfaction always rankled, and never yet, after any term of fasting –this must be granted to his credit-had he left the cage of his own free will” (Kafka 82-83). This passage describes his pride and his need to stay physically imprisoned as if to prove something to the society, something they still didn’t understand. The cage had been a point of interest in the town for most of the story, but when public interest died down it was merely present in the town but not cared for. This part of the story emphasizes the span of a certain entertaining act and art’s quickly changing trends. This contrast symbolizes the same format of a religious story, the people are interested in the prophet in the beginning of his time; however when times get tough society will simply overlook or disapprove of the message and outcast the messenger. The cage is not only a symbol of his imprisonment among others, but also his own dissatisfaction of his art, and of the limitations and disbeliefs people feel towards his craft. The cage is a literal symbol that represents the artists’ internal

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