A Hunger Artist

Study Guide by Course Hero

The title "A Hunger Artist" refers to the unnamed hunger artist
What's Inside in the story. The hunger artist completes fasts of endurance
both on tours and later as part of a circus.

j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1

d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
d In Context
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3

h Characters .................................................................................................. 4
Modernism
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 6
Literary modernism emerged as a genre in the early 20th
c Plot Analysis ............................................................................................... 7 century and continued through World War II (1939–45). It is
often defined by the American poet Ezra Pound's (1885–1972)
g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 12
call to other writers to "make it new" by leaving the traditional
l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 15 modes and subjects of writing behind. Modernist writers
experimented with different structures of writing to express
m Themes ........................................................................................................ 15 and describe the drastic political, social, and cultural changes
of the early decades of the 20th century. Many writers felt that
traditional literary modes and structures were no longer
adequate to reflect the new world in which they felt they were
j Book Basics living, and they sought new ways to express themselves. In the
decades before modernism emerged, many writers believed
AUTHOR that they must follow the traditions, structures, and forms of
Franz Kafka previous modes of writing. While the 19th century was
characterized by formal poetic structures and conventional,
YEAR PUBLISHED realistic narratives, modernism gave birth to radical new
1922 techniques such as free verse (poetry without a regular
metrical scheme) and stream of consciousness (narrative
GENRE
technique intended to mirror the flow of thought and
Allegory, Fiction
experience), as well as bold experimentation in subject matter.
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR At the same time, the field of psychology emerged with the
"A Hunger Artist" is told from the perspective of an unknown pioneering work of thinkers like Austrian psychoanalyst
third-person narrator. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
(1875–1961). This new way of understanding the human mind
TENSE began to influence the way writers portrayed the inner lives of
"A Hunger Artist" is told in the past tense. their characters, particularly in regard to their place within the
larger scope of humanity. In "A Hunger Artist," the main
ABOUT THE TITLE
character constantly grapples with a sense of alienation and
A Hunger Artist Study Guide
despair caused by the fact that his art is not understood. He
struggles to find his place in the world, and he is confronted
with an audience who loses interest in him when he refuses to
be a commodity.
Another impact on modernism was the catastrophe of World
War I (1914–18). The world had never before experienced a war
fought on such a scale of reverberating destruction. Many of
the writers and artists of the time struggled to depict the
profound sense of loss, fragmentation, and alienation that
shaped their generation. Much of modernist writing grapples
with the loss of faith in universal truths or belief in authority
and the lingering sense of disillusionment the war created.
Truth and authority became things to question rather than to
believe in wholeheartedly. Another effect of World War I was
the rise of industrialization, urbanization, and bureaucracy, all in
the service of capitalism. This led workers to feel increasingly
alienated from the goods they were producing for mass
purposes. "A Hunger Artist" demonstrates some of the
modernist ways of thinking through its depiction of alienation
and the way society's shifting attention leaves the hunger artist
behind. Other writers of the era include Irish author James
Joyce (1882–1941), British writer Virginia Woolf (1882–1941),
and American author Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941). Franz
Kafka's depiction of modern anxiety and alienation in his
writing led to the coining of the term Kafkaesque to describe
writing with the qualities of nightmares or lack of logic.
Allegory and Parable
An allegory is a kind of story in which people and symbols
stand for larger ideas in blunt, obvious fashion. Allegories are
often found in fables and parables, which offer morals or
lessons for the audience to realize through their
understandings of the allegorical characters and actions. As a
literary device, allegory can be found throughout the history of
storytelling, from Greek philosopher Plato's (c.
428/427–348/347 BCE) "Allegory of the Cave" (which depicts
the experiences of sense and reality for people living in a cave)
through popular stories and morality plays of the Middle Ages
(5th century–15th century). Most parables invite the reader to
look for hidden meanings represented by the literal characters,
setting, and action in a story. Often the story is told in a way
that readers can discern an obvious philosophical or spiritual
meaning from the story, which is why many parables endure as
stories that are told repeatedly in order to reinforce a lesson.
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In Context 2
The Christian Bible also uses allegory, and many of its readers
rely on allegorical interpretation to glean the morals of the
stories it contains. In "A Hunger Artist," Kafka makes allusions
to these biblical allegories in the character of the hunger artist,
yet his references hint at a different meaning.
Many of Kafka's stories have been compared to parables
because of allegorical characters such as the hunger artist, but
Kafka refuses to give readers obvious interpretations or easy
moral lessons. The ambiguity of Kafka's meaning is a hallmark
of literary modernism.
Performance Art and
Professional Fasting
Performance art requires an audience to witness it while it
unfolds, unlike a static painting or photograph that can be hung
in a museum. It requires the elements of time, space, the
performer's body, and an audience. In this way, it is an event
rather than something permanent, though it is often
documented through a medium like photography. In "A Hunger
Artist," the nameless hunger artist's performance is defined by
the 40-day fasting limit imposed on him, as well as observers
and an audience who watch him in his cage while his body
dwindles away. Performance art is a tradition in many cultures
around the world and is often associated with religious and
ritualistic practices in its early inceptions. It often contains
elements of dance and theater, but it is usually less
conventionally defined than those two disciplines alone. In the
20th century, the modernist art movement led to a resurgence
in performance art. Groups of artists, including those
influenced by futurism and Dadaism, performed art pieces at
public events for audiences to witness. Futurism, a visual style
that emerged in Italy after World War I, was especially
interested in the speed of modern life and the importance of
the machine. The Dadaists called for new modes of artistic
expression to challenge conventional artistic modes and
represent the new, fragmented post-war society.
Fasting as a public spectacle emerged in Europe during the
19th century, and during Kafka's time, hunger artists were
found throughout Europe and America. Its greatest popularity
was during the 1880s, and like the hunger artist in the story,
fasts were usually limited to 40 days. One of the most popular
performers was an American man named Dr. Henry S. Tanner.
Another famous hunger artist was Giovanni Succi, whom critics
A Hunger Artist Study Guide
consider the inspiration for "A Hunger Artist." Succi began his
fasting performance career when he was 32 and conducted
more than 30 fasting performances over the course of 20
years. Hunger artist performances were controversial due to
the difficulty of ascertaining whether an artist had truly
abstained from eating. At the time, it was considered an
endurance sport akin to weight lifting. Yet public interest in
hunger artists waned by the 20th century, possibly due to the
rise of political protesters who used hunger strikes to call
attention to their causes.
a Author Biography
Early Life and Education
Born July 3, 1883, Franz Kafka grew up in a middle-class
Jewish family in Prague, the capital of Bohemia, which was part
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague became the capital of
the Czech Republic in 1993. Kafka's family spoke German at
home, and his father, a successful businessman, worked as a
retailer of men's and women's clothing. Although Kafka was
born into a Jewish family, he declared himself an atheist by the
time he was a teenager. Still, given the cultural context
dominating Western Europe, Kafka was likely aware of the
wrathful God of the Old Testament. This angry, punishing, and
seemingly capriciously cruel God who demands strict
obedience to His laws no doubt influenced Kafka's view of
authority and law as arbitrary and irrational.
Kafka had an extremely troubled relationship with both of his
parents. His mother was narrow-minded and could not
comprehend his fascination with literature and the arts, nor
could his materialistic and domineering—some might say
tyrannical—father. In his posthumously published "Letter to His
Father," Kafka described feeling persecuted and belittled by
his "overwhelmingly powerful" father. Kafka had to struggle
against this fearsome authoritarian, though he often felt that
his struggle was futile. Kafka blames his overbearing and
disapproving father for many things in his life, such as his
perceived failures and his deep sense of unworthiness and
uselessness. For example, Kafka's father pressured him to
abandon his interest in literature and writing—pursuits at which
he scoffed—and instead to focus on a lucrative legal or
business career. Kafka's father was, in the author's mind, an
unforgiving and cruel authority figure despite his own decision
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Author Biography 3
to live near his parents and remain in close contact with them.
Kafka's deep resentment and anger at his father is woven into
many of his writings, especially in the cruel and arbitrary
authority of the law as described in The Trial.
A good student, Kafka attended a German school, Charles-
Ferdinand University of Prague. He started out pursuing
chemistry but switched to law, giving himself some latitude to
take courses more to his liking while keeping his family happy.
He joined the university's literary club and thrived because of
his participation in it. After graduating in 1906, he worked as an
unpaid law clerk and then as a lawyer with an Italian insurance
company.
Struggling with Anxiety and
Emerging as a Writer
Kafka's legal work left him with no time or energy to cultivate
his own writing. Kafka's unhappiness with this job and the fact
that he was unable to pursue his own interests because of the
hectic work schedule is reminiscent of the character Gregor
Samsa in Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis (1915). Also much
like Gregor, Kafka suffered for years from depression and
anxiety. He found a more manageable position with a
government insurance institute, receiving several promotions
over the years and finding time for writing in the off-hours,
usually late at night. As often as he could, Kafka met with other
writers to share and discuss their works. Through these
meetings, he developed close friendships with Max Brod
(1884–1968), a Jewish writer who became his biographer, and
Felix Weltsch (1884–1964), a Jewish philosopher, writer, and
editor.
While his legal career paid the bills, Kafka's real passion was
writing. His familiarity with the law gave him deeper insight into
its frequent injustices. It also gave him first-hand experience of
how an ordinary person might get snared in its intricate,
incomprehensible procedures. Kafka started publishing short
stories and stuck to a rigorous writing routine that enabled him
to amass an impressive body of work. While he never married,
he spent time in brothels and fell in love with a Jewish woman,
Felice Bauer. The two were engaged twice, but Kafka broke off
the engagement each time, believing marriage was not the
right path for him.
A Hunger Artist Study Guide Characters 4

staff and the audience largely ignore his feat. He is often

A Life Cut Short deeply unhappy with himself and the lack of attention and
respect he feels from others—it seems to be the only validation
In 1917 Kafka became sick with tuberculosis and took leave for which he exists, even while he abhors it. In this sense, the
from his insurance position. He spent a great deal of time hunger artist is alienated from everyone else who encounters
resting, under the care of his sister Ottla. Meanwhile, he had a him—yet he is the mastermind of that alienation.
brief but fervent relationship with journalist Milena Jesenská
(1896–1944). Later he met and fell in love with a Jewish
kindergarten teacher, Dora Dymant (sometimes spelled
Diamant) (1898–1952), who had socialist leanings—believing in
Impresario
government ownership of the means of production and
The impresario is set up as a foil to the hunger artist—he
distribution of goods—much like his own. The two moved to
represents someone who is interested only in the business and
Berlin, where Kafka concentrated on his health and
fame side of things. Although he presents himself as the
writing—and for the first time, lived away from his family.
hunger artist's partner, he actually exploits the hunger artist,

When his condition worsened, Kafka returned home to a who will continue to fast as long as possible for the sake of his

sanatorium (facility for long-term medical care) in Prague, art and devotion to fasting. The impresario literally profits off

where he died at age 40 on June 3, 1924. Many of Kafka's the hunger artist's deprivations. The role of the impresario

short stories and novels had not yet been published and were reflects the way in which people profit off other people's

incomplete at the time of his death. The Metamorphosis, his suffering for financial gain—something the hunger artist cares

only completed novella, was written in 1912 and published in little for. The two part ways when the hunger artist begins to

1915. Kafka did not become a well-known author until after his lose his profitability with the audience. However, the impresario

death. The Trial was published posthumously in 1925. also keeps the hunger artist alive so he may profit, force-
feeding him when he reaches the point of death.
Kafka left explicit instructions with friend and fellow author
Max Brod for his work "to be burned unread." Brod went
against Kafka's wishes, publishing several of his friend's novels
and stories over the next decade, including The Castle (1925)
and Amerika (1927).

Brod's move created a legacy for his friend; little known before
his death, Kafka is now considered a master of 20th-century
German literature.

h Characters

Hunger artist
The hunger artist sees his life as a performance to which he is
devoted. His very identity is linked to his self-perception as
someone who starves himself for his art, and he is constantly
striving to fast for longer periods to prove something both to
his audience and to himself. Although he is met with hordes of
fascinated crowds early in his career, he eventually parts ways
with the impresario and joins a circus, where both the circus

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Impresario
Businessman

Manager

Supervisor Employee Hunger artist Watchmen

Circus manager Professional faster Observers Skeptical butchers

Escorts

Young ladies
Sympathetic women

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide
Full Character List
Character Description
The hunger artist is a man who tours as a
Hunger
performance artist; in his performances,
artist
he fasts for up to 40 days.
The impresario is the hunger artist's tour
manager who takes him all over Europe
to perform his fasting. He allows the
Impresario
hunger artist to fast for only 40 days,
because the audience loses interest after
that.
The supervisor manages the circus, and
forgets about the hunger artist's
existence until he is dying. While listening
Supervisor to the hunger artist's last words, he
silently indicates to the other workers
that he thinks the hunger artist is
mentally ill.
The watchmen are hired to ensure the
hunger artist doesn't sneak food after
the audience has left. The
watchmen—who, ironically, are butchers
Watchmen
by trade—don't believe the hunger artist
is truly starving himself. They even turn
their backs so he can "sneak" food,
which causes the hunger artist despair.
The young ladies escort the hunger artist
from his cage after his fast is over. They
Young ladies
are frightened by his appearance, and
one begins to cry after touching him.
k Plot Summary
The Spectacle Begins
An unnamed narrator describes how in the last few decades,
interest in hunger artists has declined. In its early days, hunger
artists made good money by putting on major productions, but
things have changed. Entire cities were once captivated by the
spectacle, with people staying all night to watch. The adults
consider it a joke, but the children are amazed. All that
furnishes the hunger artist's cage is a clock and a small glass
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Plot Summary 6
of water. Three observers are chosen to watch the hunger
artist day and night to ensure he doesn't eat anything. Yet this
is only a formality, because the honor of being a hunger artist
forbids eating. The observers don't always understand this, so
sometimes they are lax in their vigilance, pretending to allow
the hunger artist to sneak food. This depresses the hunger
artist and makes his fasting difficult. Sometimes the hunger
artist will sing in order to prove he is not eating. Indeed, the
hunger artist prefers the observers who watch him closely, so
he can show them he is fasting in a way no one else can. Yet
he is most happy when morning comes and a lavish breakfast
is brought for the observers at his own expense. Because no
one is able to watch the hunger artist day and night, no one
can truly know whether his fasting is uninterrupted. Only the
hunger artist can truly know; therefore, he can be the only
spectator truly satisfied.
The Motivations of the Hunger
Artist
The hunger artist knows something that not even the initiates
of hunger artistry know—it is easy to fast. The impresario has
set the maximum length of fasting time at 40 days. This is
mostly for the reason that people only stay interested in the
fast for that amount of time before its popularity declines. On
the 40th day, the door of the cage is opened, and an
enthusiastic audience fills the amphitheater while a military
band plays. Two doctors enter the cage to measure the hunger
artist, and the results are delivered to the crowd. Two young
women lead the hunger artist out of the cage to a table where
a meal has been laid out, and it is at this moment the hunger
artist tries to fight back. He feels he could have kept going, and
it is a waste to stop now. The hunger artist wishes to surpass
himself, feeling there are no limits to his capacity.
The impresario comes and raises his arms over the hunger
artist, lifting him into the arms of one of two specially selected
waiting women. She begins to cry at the immensity of her task
and is relieved by an attendant who leads him to a table laden
with a small meal. The impresario puts some food in the mouth
of the hunger artist, who is nearly unconscious. A toast is
proposed to the public with a fanfare orchestra. Only the
hunger artist remains dissatisfied by the spectacle.
A Hunger Artist Study Guide
The Hunger Artist's Disillusion
and Audience Indifference
The hunger artist lives this way for many years, taking only
small breaks. Yet despite being honored for his
accomplishments, his mood only grows worse, because he
believes no one takes the meaning of his performance
seriously. He feels he has nothing left to wish for and nothing
to give him consolation. The impresario blames the hunger
artist's outbursts on his hunger, and tells the audience that the
hunger artist could starve himself longer than 40 days. Yet he
also shows them a photo of the hunger artist on the 40th day,
looking nearly dead. The hunger artist sees this as a perversion
of the truth, and it strains his nerves, since people believe that
the length of his fast is the reason for his strain when actually it
is the premature ending that strains him. When the people who
witnessed these scenes think back on them years later, they
are unable to understand it. Over time, the audiences abandon
the hunger artist, even while the impresario takes him around
Europe one more time. The hunger artist feels he cannot lower
himself to performing in show booths at small fun fairs, and
also that he is too old to find a different profession. He says
farewell to the impresario and joins a large circus, refusing to
even look at the terms of his contract.
The Final Act
The hunger artist sees the large circus as an opportunity to
truly amaze people for the first time with no limitations on his
fasting. Yet the circus doesn't place his cage in the center of
the arena as a main attraction. Instead, he is located along the
way to the animal cages, which means people rarely linger to
see him in their eagerness to get to the wild beasts. Every now
and then, however, a father will point out the hunger artist to
his children, describing what he does and his history. The
hunger artist doesn't dare ask the circus management to move
him, though, as he fears being moved to an even more obscure
location. The signs on his cage become dirty and illegible, and
the board on which the days he has fasted are tallied is no
longer updated. The hunger artist continues to fast, but no one
realizes he has broken his record—not even him.
Finally the hunger artist's cage catches the attention of a
supervisor, who believes it is empty and unused. Another
worker finally remembers the hunger artist, and they find him
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Plot Analysis 7
underneath the straw. The supervisor asks him if he is still
fasting, and the hunger artist asks him to forgive him
"everything." The supervisor guesses the hunger artist is no
longer of sound mind. The hunger artist reveals that he could
not do anything else but fast because he never found a food
that tasted good. Had he found such a food, he tells the
supervisor, he would have eaten like everyone else. These are
his last words. The supervisor has the workers bury the hunger
artist and put a young panther in his cage, which draws large
crowds.
c Plot Analysis
Religious Allegory and Parable
There are many elements of religious allegory and parable
woven into "A Hunger Artist." The hunger artist himself
demonstrates many elements of suffering and martyrdom that
can be found in religious allegory—in this case, he suffers for
the sake and purity of his art. The hunger artist seems to be
searching for some kind of transcendence he believes fasting
will bring him, but even until the moment of his death he
remains unsatisfied. Franz Kafka uses the story to create a
parable about the belief that suffering can bring about
transcendence. For the hunger artist, it only brings a
deepening sense of alienation. However, the hunger artist also
reveals fasting is easier than anyone knows, and therefore
Kafka turns the allegory on its head. There is a long-held
stereotype of the "suffering artist," but here Kafka reveals the
hunger artist is not suffering for the reasons his audience
believes he is—he is suffering precisely because they don't
understand him or his art. In this light, the hunger artist's
fasting is just an outward demonstration of his internal
suffering. And here Kafka raises an even bigger question:
whether the hunger artist is the architect of his own suffering.
Although parables often offer a clear-cut moral or lesson,
Kafka chooses to leave the meaning of "A Hunger Artist" open
to interpretation.
The fact that Kafka doesn't assign any names to the
characters in the story also feels reminiscent of an allegory, in
which characters often stand in as ideas or archetypes. The
setting and era of the story are also ambiguous, which lends
the story an aura of a parable or myth. Kafka aims to make the
story timeless so that it feels universal and relatable when it
A Hunger Artist Study Guide
comes to the philosophical questions of art and suffering.
Kafka also uses the hunger artist as a kind of parable about
the stereotype of the "starving artist," meaning an artist who
eschews monetary gain and easy fame in order to remain true
to their art. Yet Kafka offers no easy answers or morals in "A
Hunger Artist," which ends with the hunger artist literally dying
from starvation. Kafka instead invites the reader to consider
how much free will goes into a person's decision to suffer for
their art. In this light, the story can be considered a kind of
parable for modern times in which capitalism and
industrialization play a larger role in shaping the artists and
audiences of the world.
Effects of Capitalism on Art
The enduring tone of "A Hunger Artist" is one of pessimism,
particularly on the part of the hunger artist himself. Through
this lens, Kafka comments on the modern human condition in
which the hunger artist refuses to give in to capitalism. He
denies himself not only food but also all possessions. Nor does
he enjoy any human intimacy outside of conversation with
spectators, which he engages in to ensure witnesses of his
fasting. He chooses destitution, hunger, and his art above all
else, though his choices do not bring him fulfillment first
because of his profound alienation from the rest of the world
that lives according to capitalist rules and structures and
second because of its refusal to believe in or care about his
art. It's significant that the story starts after the hunger artist's
decline in popularity, as though Kafka intends to show the
inevitable decline of capitalist enterprises. It also creates a
tension between art for art's sake versus art for profit and
entertainment.
At the beginning of the story, the hunger artist is bound to the
40-day fasting limit the impresario places on him. This limit isn't
for health reasons but for moneymaking reasons, as the
audience tends to lose interest in the fast after 40 days. When
the hunger artist parts ways with the impresario and joins the
circus, he is finally able to fast as long as he wants to.
However, he is again confronted with the fact that his "art"
cannot be fulfilled, as crowds merely rush past him on the way
to see the animals at the circus. The hunger artist doesn't even
read his contract with the circus, which seems to be a direct
comment on the tendency of capitalism to attempt to control
and monetize art.
Kafka offers the parable of the hunger artist as commentary
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Plot Analysis 8
on who and what define art in a capitalist society. The tension
lies in the fact that the hunger artist requires an audience to
perform, yet bristles against being sold as entertainment as
well as the fact that no one seems to take his art seriously.
However, the hunger artist also reveals a secret that brings the
relationship with commodification into view—fasting is easy.
His act relies on the illusion that it is difficult, so the audience
feels they are "getting" something for their money: to see
someone suffering through great endurance in a way they
believe they never could. Since the audience equates fasting
with suffering, the hunger artist hints that the suffering is
easier than anyone realizes.
After his death, the hunger artist is replaced with a panther.
The audience is struck by the panther's vitality, which appears
to reside especially in his teeth. Their taste in art has swung
from suffering to a celebration of health and power. However,
it is clear they do not realize that the appetite of the panther,
as it paces its cage and stares intently, includes them.
Artist and Audience
The audience is a largely nameless, faceless crowd, with an
uneasy relationship to the hunger artist. Although the hunger
artist needs the audience to witness his art, he abhors them for
their lack of understanding. Since there is also constant
suspicion the hunger artist is cheating, he resents them for not
believing him—and is upset that even those watchers chosen
to observe him turn their backs to him out of misguided
compassion, because they think they are allowing him an
opportunity to cheat. This tension between the hunger artist
and his audience means they will never fully understand one
another, since the hunger artist is the only person who can
truly witness and understand his own performance. Kafka
highlights the fleeting nature of satisfaction on the part of both
the artist and the audience. The hunger artist is never truly
satisfied because he feels the audience will never truly
understand his art. Although the hunger artist's external
suffering is on display as performance, his greatest suffering is
internal and hidden from the audience. Part of the hunger
artist's suffering is the knowledge that he needs the
recognition of an audience who will never truly understand his
art. This locks him into a kind of eternal private conflict of
despising the very audience he craves. The great irony is that
the hunger artist's performance is unrecognized by his
audience as art. Kafka underscores the irony by showing how
A Hunger Artist Study Guide Plot Analysis 9

the audience itself gradually loses its appetite for watching the
hunger artist, commenting on the fickle nature of an audience's
capacity for attention and voyeurism. In this equation, the
audience expects entertainment and shock value, while the
hunger artist requires appreciation and understanding of his
suffering as art. The two can never be reconciled.

The hunger artist's final fast that leads to his death is his
longest and therefore probably the most meaningful to him, yet
the irony is there is no audience to witness and validate it.
Concealed in a pile of dirty straw in his neglected cage, he has
been all but forgotten until a circus worker decides the cage
should be put to use. Kafka again highlights how much the
hunger artist relies on the audience to validate his art, yet
ultimately he performs for himself alone. The fact that the
hunger artist's death is neither acknowledged nor mourned by
the audience shows just how disposable and forgettable he is
in a world that prizes entertainment, and this makes his life's
work seem futile. The fact that the hunger artist dies with no
real audience demonstrates the possible meaninglessness of
his art to anyone but himself.

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide Plot Analysis 10

Plot Diagram

Climax

Rising Action 4 Falling Action

6
3

2 7
1
Resolution
Introduction

Falling Action
Introduction
6. The hunger artist is buried.
1. The hunger artist begins his career.

Resolution
Rising Action
7. The hunger artist is replaced by a panther.
2. Audiences see the hunger artist.

3. The hunger artist ends his fast.

4. The hunger artist joins the circus.

Climax

5. The hunger artist dies.

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide Plot Analysis 11

Timeline of Events

In the beginning

The hunger artist is a popular attraction.

In the beginning

The hunger artist is observed to make sure he doesn't

eat.

After 40 days

The hunger artist must end his fast.

Many years later

The hunger artist and the impresario part ways.

Soon after

The hunger artist joins the circus.

A few months later

The hunger artist is forgotten.

In the end

The hunger artist, discovered in his cage, dies.

Last

The circus puts a panther in the hunger artist's cage.

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide Quotes 12

that they don't take their job seriously upsetting—they don't

g Quotes believe the hunger artist is truly fasting and so they sit away
from him, pretending to look the other way as a kindness. Yet
because the hunger artist takes his fasting seriously, the fact
"Back then the hunger artist that they don't sincerely believe him makes him feel alienated
from the entire ordeal. The hunger artist would prefer to be
captured the attention of the
taken seriously, given the great lengths he goes to in order to
entire city." continue his fasting.

— Narrator
"No one could know [...] whether
The narrator tells the story from a point in the future, and here this was a case of truly
he looks to the distant past before the public's interest in the
hunger artist began to decline. He sets the waning of this
continuous, flawless fasting."
interest against the backdrop of what a lucrative business it
once was in order to show how fickle the public's attention is, — Narrator
and how the hunger artist was considered a kind of commodity
that ran counter to his sense of himself as an artist. The
The paradox of the hunger artist is that he devotes his life to
hunger artist both needs the audience to survive and resents
the art of fasting, but the extent of his fasting can't be proven.
them.
This is because it is impossible for him to be watched around
the clock, and therefore the only one who knows the truth is
the hunger artist. This makes him the only "spectator" who
"The honour of his art forbade it." could be satisfied with knowing the truth, yet the nature of his
art demands a reciprocity with an audience as witness to his
— Narrator great feat of endurance. Franz Kafka hints at the philosophical
conundrum that the hunger artist faces in being his only true
witness.
Although people like the impresario and the public see the
hunger artist as a performer whose goal is to make money, the
hunger artist sees himself as a serious artist—the money and
fame seem secondary to him. He holds himself to a strict code
"He alone knew something that
of honor in his devotion to fasting, and it upsets him that even initiates didn't know—how
people might assume that he cheats. For the hunger artist, the
honor of his performance art is the reason to continue fasting. easy it was to fast."
Ironically, no one else seems to hold him to the same standard.
— Narrator

"Nothing was more excruciating to The narrator highlights how alienated and alone the hunger

the hunger artist than such artist is even within his own community. He seems to have
attained a wisdom that other hunger artists haven't realized,
watchers. They depressed him." and because he can't explain the ease of fasting to anyone
else in a way they will relate to, it causes him a kind of suffering
— Narrator to be the only person with that knowledge. This only
contributes to his self-perception of being misunderstood.

Rather than be invigorated by the observers who are supposed

to make sure the hunger artist doesn't eat, he finds the fact

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide
"And at this moment the hunger
artist always fought back."
— Narrator
The hunger artist isn't allowed to set his own fasting limits—the
impresario caps it at 40 days because the audience begins to
lose interest after that. The impresario drags the hunger artist
out of his cage after 40 days is over, but the hunger artist
fights back because he wants to continue. However, he is so
weak from the fasting that fighting back is useless. This sense
of being interrupted contributes to the hunger artist's sense of
despair and alienation—the idea that no one truly understands
him or what he is capable of.
"Why did people want to rob him
of the fame of fasting longer?"
— Narrator
It's notable that for the hunger artist, his sense of fame comes
from the idea of being able to fast for a longer period of time.
For this reason, he can't understand why people like the
impresario stop him prematurely. He also can't seem to grasp
that the audience loses interest in his fast after a certain
amount of time, or that people such as the two young women
selected from the audience find him frightening to behold.
Franz Kafka implies the hunger artist might only feel true
satisfaction if he were able to continue fasting for as long as
he can.
"He felt there were no limits to his
capacity for fasting."
— Narrator
The hunger artist seems to believe that if no limitations were
placed on him he would be able to fast for as long as he
desires. Here Franz Kafka highlights the idealism of the hunger
artist, and how it runs counter to the expectations of the
people around him as well as human biology. Since the hunger
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Quotes 13
artist does eventually die from fasting, there are limits to what
he can do. Yet the fasting seems to be a way that he seeks
transcendence against bodily limitations. Although he never
seems to find peace and satisfaction in his performance, he
continues to push it farther because it offers him the possibility
of contentment.
"No one except the hunger
artist—he was always the only
one."
— Narrator
Here Franz Kafka conveys the ongoing dissatisfaction the
hunger artist feels, which is also perhaps the reason why he
continues to fast for even longer durations of time. After the
impresario feeds him, the audience applauds and disperses,
and "no one had the right to be dissatisfied with the event"
because the hunger artist has been observed and has
completed his fast. Yet it is telling that the hunger artist is
always the only one who feels dissatisfied. The narrator has
detailed the many reasons why this is: the hunger artist doesn't
believe anyone takes him seriously, and he wishes to fast
longer to prove there is no limit to his capacity for fasting.
"His mood was usually gloomy, and
it kept growing gloomier all the
time."
— Narrator
Although it might seem the hunger artist would grow more
confident and content the longer he performs, he only
becomes gloomier as time goes by. The narrator points out
that this is because he believes no one takes him seriously.
This brings up the issue of why the hunger artist continues to
perform if it has never brought him any kind of satisfaction. The
answer may be that the hunger artist feels compelled to
continue until he is able to find that elusive fulfillment or
validation from his audience.
A Hunger Artist Study Guide Quotes 14

because of the fickle nature of capitalism and entertainment

"How was he to find consolation?
that leaves the crowd looking for something new to be
What was there left for him to wish entertained by. They don't fundamentally understand the
hunger artist's performance, and so they cease to be
for?"
captivated by it.

— Narrator

"And this view from a distance still

The narrator shows how as time goes by, the hunger artist only
becomes less fulfilled by his performance and relationship with
remained his most beautiful
the audience. Even at the peak of his popularity, he feels moment."
deeply alienated and misunderstood, and so there is no
consolation for him. Yet rather than give up and choose to do
— Narrator
something different, he continues to perform, even after his
popularity declines. His only wish is to be taken seriously, and
so he finds he has nothing else to wish for. As the hunger artist finds himself relegated to a distant cage
outside the main arena on the way to the animal exhibits, he
finds the moment at which he can see the crowds coming
towards him to be the most redeeming. In that moment he can
"It was impossible to fight against
imagine they are coming to see him, and he can also hear the
this lack of understanding." audience argue over wanting to take their time to observe him.
This gives him the illusion he requires to continue his art—that
— Narrator he has a witness to his suffering and endurance. For all the
hunger artist's bleak moments of despair, this moment gives
him hope.
As the hunger artist tries to fight against the fact that the
impresario lies about the hunger artist's ability to fast, he finds
he is too weak to put up much of an argument. His sense of
misunderstanding from the impresario and the audience only
"If someone doesn't feel it, then he
leads to his overall sense of alienation and despair that his art cannot be made to understand it."
is not taken seriously. This conflict is at the heart of what
causes the hunger artist's suffering.
— Narrator

By the end of the story, the hunger artist seems to accept that
"It was as if a secret agreement
most people who come to the circus rush right past him on the
against the fasting performances way to see the menagerie of animals. He concedes to himself
that people who have never fasted will never be able to
had developed everywhere."
understand it as both endurance and art, and it is useless to try
to explain it otherwise. Yet the hunger artist continues with his
— Narrator performance, because he has no other purpose and meaning
in life.
Although the hunger artist debuted to large crowds and an
interested audience, he and the impresario discover the
interest in him has faded after a few tours. Although the
hunger artist puzzles as to why this can be, given that his
endurance remains the same, Franz Kafka implies that it is

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A Hunger Artist Study Guide
l Symbols
The Cage
The cage symbolizes both the capitalist box of entertainment
the audience has put the hunger artist in and the cage in which
he has put himself to perpetuate his own suffering. It's telling
that even though the cage has a clock, the hunger artist never
looks at it. He refuses to be bound to the notion that he is "on
the clock" or that his work is a job that will compensate him
with money or fame. The cage also represents the literal
division between the hunger artist and the audience, and marks
the audience as spectators watching him locked in his own
cage of suffering and endurance. The cage also symbolizes
the hunger artist's free will in contrast to the panther's forced
confinement in it. The hunger artist chooses to stay in the cage
for his art, while the panther is forced by the circus to be on
display.
The Panther
The panther symbolizes the complete opposite of everything
the hunger artist represents. It is alive, thrilling, and voracious
in its appetite, and its body is described as "noble," in contrast
to the hunger artist's emaciation. The beast does not
consciously perform as an artist. It simply exists as itself, and it
provides the audience with immediate gratification. For the
circus, an animal like the panther is an immediate
moneymaking draw, unlike the hunger artist's long-term
endurance that must be witnessed over a period of time. It is
captive and therefore illicit, while the hunger artist's captivity in
the cage was by his own design. The hunger artist inflicted his
own suffering upon himself, while any suffering the panther
may feel is inflicted by those who keep him captive. However,
the panther does not seem to be suffering at all; ironically, it
exhibits a "joy in living."
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Symbols 15
m Themes
Alienation and Futility
The hunger artist feels alienated from everyone due to the
nature of his art. He keeps himself in a cage on display, and
therefore becomes a thing to watch rather than a person with
whom to have a relationship. His alienation from his audience is
largely what causes his suffering, rather than the act of fasting
itself. He feels deeply misunderstood, yet does not seem to
recognize he is both causing and participating in his own
alienation by continuing his performance. In this way, his art is
meaningful only to himself, as he understands it while his
audience cannot. They can only be spectators, not even fully
witnesses, since they must take the hunger artist's and
observers' words that he is not cheating. In this way, only the
hunger artist himself can be the true witness and judge of his
own performance. The hunger artist's understanding of this
contradiction leads to his profound sense of alienation and
futility, yet he cannot conceive of giving up. Kafka emphasizes
that the hunger artist's alienation is largely by his own design,
because he began fasting not for artistic purposes but
because he couldn't find anything he liked to eat. Art is not a
choice for him; it is a way of life.
Martyrdom and Pride
The hunger artist sees himself as a martyr and takes great
pride in this fact. In portraying him as a martyr, Franz Kafka
alludes to the history of religious martyrdom, particularly that
of Jesus Christ. Although the impresario limits the hunger
artist's fast to 40 days because he believes that is the limit of
the audience's attention span, Kafka's own readers would
recognize the irony of the biblical allusion. In the Old
Testament, Moses spends 40 days and 40 nights fasting on
Mount Sinai; in the New Testament, Jesus Christ fasts in the
wilderness for 40 days. This discipline of fasting has become
the Christian holiday of Lent, in which practitioners practice
abstention (often from some sort of food or drink) for 40 days
as a penance or compensation for offenses. Yet Kafka makes
A Hunger Artist Study Guide Symbols 16

a careful distinction between the martyrdom of Jesus Christ truly understands it. They don't understand that fasting is easy,
and the hunger artist. Jesus Christ claimed to be a martyr for and they don't understand that he believes he could continue
people's sins, while the hunger artist believes people are the doing it after 40 days. Even his fasting never brings him
cause of his private suffering. The hunger artist claims that satisfaction, because he believes he can transcend his
rather than him deceiving the world about his performance, he previous attempts. In this way hunger and dissatisfaction are
feels "the world was cheating him of his reward" by not linked to each other, representing the way in which the hunger
acknowledging his artistic sacrifice. The narrator even refers artist remains hungry for food and understanding but is
to the hunger artist as an "unfortunate martyr," foreshadowing dissatisfied by both. The hunger artist wonders "if he kept
the fact that the hunger artist will die for his art just as all going and kept fasting longer, why would they not tolerate it?"
martyrs die for their cause. Yet the narrator also states the This is telling because it shows the hunger artist equates the
hunger artist is a martyr in "a completely different sense," recognition of his suffering with a sense of satisfaction.
meaning he is the cause of his own suffering. This calls into
question the definition of a martyr, and whether the hunger
artist can truly be considered one. Although Kafka aligns the
hunger artist's suffering with that of Jesus Christ, the hunger
artist never finds redemption in his martyrdom. Even if the
hunger artist is intended to be a Christlike figure, Kafka
demonstrates that the audience he contends with is in a
different era than that of Jesus Christ's believers, and so the
hunger artist is doomed to be forgotten for his suffering.

Suffering and Satisfaction

The hunger artist is trapped in a cycle of seemingly never-

ending suffering, both of his own will and due to feeling
misunderstood by his audience. A large part of the hunger
artist's performance is the very concept of suffering, given that
he is denying himself food. Yet he reveals that fasting is easy,
which makes it clear his suffering comes not from the act itself
but from his audience not understanding his art. In this view, it
is not the physical aspect of fasting that causes him suffering,
but the misunderstanding of the audience. Kafka also
addresses the notion of why watching someone suffer would
have voyeuristic appeal to an audience. Though they may be
impressed by his endurance, they also believe they are
watching someone suffer from starvation. This is an upsetting
notion, as evidenced by the young woman who bursts into
tears after touching the hunger artist as well as by the people
who lose interest after 40 days.

The audience believes they are "satisfied" after the hunger

artist's fast is ended, believing they have witnessed his
endurance. Yet the hunger artist can never truly be satisfied
with his performance because he doesn't believe the audience

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