Jazlyn Alcaide on Kafka's "The Hunger Artist"/Spring 2017

Jazlyn Alcaide

2-20-17

Writing and Literature II, School of Visual Arts

Language as a Tool for Illusion

Language is one of the most important and influential tools humankind possesses. Language can link masses together, control them, and even distort reality. Reality in itself can be a fickle thing inside the human mind. How can one trust their senses to tell them what’s real? Essentially what does it mean to be real? This curious and enigmatic state of reality and how language and its devices can distort it are shown in Franz Kafka’s short story “The Hunger Artist”.

In “The Hunger Artist”, time is seen to be slightly twisted. Time in reality does not accumulate speed, slow down, skip certain parts of the day, or replay itself; it remains consistent. Kafka’s representation of time appears to fluctuate in speed throughout the short story. This distortion of time is a product of the presence of detailed descriptions and dialogue or lack thereof.  Examples are observed in the following text:

“The fine placards grew dirty and illegible, they were torn down; the little notice board showing the number of fast days achieved, which at first was changed carefully every day, had long stayed at the same figure, for after the first few weeks even this small task seemed pointless to the staff; and so the artist simply fasted on and on, as he had once dreamed of doing, and it was no trouble to him, just as he had always foretold, but no one counted the days, no one, not even the artist himself, knew what records he was already breaking, and his heart became heavy.” (Kafka 5)

In the quote, Kafka did not delve deeper into the events of the above passage and chooses to remain selective of details. He drags clauses together, using commas as ropes to link them together into large sentences. Time seems to have been sped up in order to emphasize the dilapidated state of neglect that the hunger artist experiences as well as the value of his profession to the public. Time winds on and on like an endless turntable to the point where the hunger artist himself loses track of it. Alternatively, in the second to last paragraph of the short story, Kafka presents dialogue between the hunger artist and the overseer of the circus. The conversation between the two characters forces the reader to slowly wade through the text and absorb the dialogue. In comparison to other portions of the short story, this segment feels slower in pace. The speed in which the reader is taken through the paragraph is also influenced by the format and spacing.

“Of course,” said the overseer, and tapped his forehead with a finger to let the attendants know what state the man was in, “we forgive you.” “I always wanted you to admire my fasting,” said the hunger artist. “We do admire it,” said the overseer, affably. “But you shouldn’t admire it,” said the hunger artist. “Well then we don’t admire it,” said the overseer, “but why shouldn’t we admire it?” “Because I have to fast, I can’t help it,” said the hunger artist”. (Kafka 5)

There is no separation or structural distinction between who is speaking; the hunger artist and overseer speak within the same paragraph. If it were placed apart from the entirety of the text, the conversation would seem rather fast paced.

Additionally, Kafka uses language to bend reality in the last paragraph.

“Into the cage they put a young panther. Even the most insensitive felt it refreshing to see this wild creature leaping around the cage that had so long been dreary. The panther was all right. The food he liked was brought to him without hesitation by the attendants; he seemed not even to miss his freedom; his noble body, furnished almost to the bursting point with all that it needed, seemed to carry freedom around with it too; somewhere in his jaws it seemed to lurk; and the joy of life streamed with such ardent passion from his throat that for the onlookers it was not easy to stand the shock of it. But they braced themselves, crowded around the cage, and did not ever want to move away” .(5)

As the short story comes to a close, the hunger artist’s body is removed from the cage and replaced by a young panther, a creature of opposite drive, appeal, and energy. Kafka utilized words such as “joy” and “passion” to imply a positive, hopeful, and exuberant future for the exhibit. However, because the life of the cage’s former resident was presented the way it was, the reader may be left with a bittersweet taste. They have become familiar with the hunger artist’s struggles and cruelties and in turn have grown attached and empathetic. Yet in reality, the situation is of nothing more than an old circus exhibit being replaced.

Moreover, Kafka depicts strong contrasts between the hunger artist’s happier moments in life compared to those of the dreariest:

“He was quite happy at the prospect of spending a sleepless night with such watchers; he was ready to exchange jokes with them, to tell them stories out of his nomadic life, anything at all to keep them awake and demonstrate to them again that he had no eatables in his cage and that he was fasting as not one of them could fast. But his happiest moment was when the morning came and an enormous breakfast was brought for them, at his expense, on which they flung themselves with the keen appetite of healthy men after a weary night of wakefulness”. (Kafka 1)

The art of fasting is an essential part of him and he takes joy in sharing it with his audience. The hunger artist seemed to have been driven by interests of the people; his livelihood and happiness is at the cruel mercy of their attention and respect. It is later revealed that the hunger artist fasts because he never had a favorite food. Why then would he consider his happiest moments to be when he is able to feed his audience? Does he feel that it is an act of repayment for their attention? Does he simply take joy in being able to provide for others and see them enjoy something he can’t have?

“Not every watcher, of course, was capable of understanding this, there were often groups of night watchers who were very lax in carrying out their duties and deliberately huddled together in a retired corner to play cards with great absorption, obviously intending to give the hunger artist the chance of a little refreshment, which they supposed he would draw from some private hoard. Nothing annoyed the artist more than these watchers; they made him miserable; they made his fast seem unendurable; sometimes he mastered his feebleness sufficiently to sing during their watch for as long as he could keep going, to show them how unjust their suspicions were”. (1)

“That made it too easy for people to make their choice, to say nothing of what he suffered from the stench of the menagerie, the animals’ restlessness by night, the carrying past of raw lumps of flesh for the beasts of prey, the roaring at feeding times, depressed him continually”. (4)

The hunger artist’s least favorable situations seem to be when others disrespect, underestimate, and disregard the purpose and importance of fasting as an art. He appeared to be frustrated with the difficulty his audience has with absorbing the essence of fasting.

Franz Kafka’s “The Hunger Artist” seems to dance over the concept of time to enhance the intended message. Diction is used to manipulate or predict the reader’s attachment toward the hunger artist and his struggles. Language is one of mankind’s most powerful tools in that it can influence the mindset of the masses and either bind them together or break them apart. Through the use of language and its devices, “The Hunger Artist” depicts distortions in reality. In some ways, Kafka both binds and breaks the masses through the story. The psyche is widely diverse and individuals can interpret the conclusion differently. Whether or not “The Hunger Artist” “binds or breaks” the reader alone is up to them.