“The Hunger Artist”

                Frank Kafka’s short story “The Hunger Artist” follows the story of a self-proclaimed artist whose art has sunk in popularity. The spectators that the hunger artist craves attention from would rather watch as happier and more ‘alive’ form of entertainment. The hunger artist never does quit his art and his desperation of attention from the others continues.  Kafka effectively holds up a mirror to society by using double binds and comparisons in his short story “The Hunger Artist”.

                Frank Kafka writes many short stories full of double binds; The Hunger Artist is no different. One double bind in the story is the relationship between food and attention. The hunger artist at the end states that if only he had found the right food, he would have eaten it; but the food he craves is attention. They only way he knows how to get attention happens to be through his art of starvation. This creates a double bind that leads him to starve to death. He cannot get his attention so he cannot eat anything. This exemplifies and furthers his struggle to get his audiences attention towards his struggle. When this never happens, the artist withers away. This is related to another similar double bind between pride and the fulfillment and contentment he receives from his art. The artist has too much pride in his work to ever quit until he receives the fulfillment his desires, but the fulfillment cannot come from his line of work. Nobody wants to watch his suffering and the depressive tone he gives off.  Both of these double binds Kafka uses as mimesis to post-World War I Eastern Europe. The people of Eastern Europe do not want to face the reality but they have to if they wish to get past the hard times. They are also craving a good happy time when that is not possible for them at the moment. Kafka story tries to illuminate this problem to show how much of a problem it has become.

                Kafka also uses comparison and symbolism in his very last paragraph of his short story. The panther that replaces the hunger artist at the circus is the hunger artist antithesis. The panther could stand for the fake façade that the public wishes to believe. The panther appears to be happy being stuck in a small cage, just like the people seemingly do not mind to be living in poverty. The panther could also stand for the demagogue that the people wish they had to lead them out of the hard times. The panther is strong and “seemed to carry freedom” (pg. 340), both characteristics that many people wish to see in a leader’s persona. The panther, no matter how it is seen, holds a mirror up to society to show what it truly wants. The public does not want to deal with the problem; they want something to distract them from all the responsibilities. The panther is the perfect distraction.

                Frank Kafka short story “The Hunger Artist” happened to be very accurate in the later years. Hitler soon became Eastern Europe’s panther, but World War II then began. A distraction is never the answer. To solve a problem, it must be dealt with head-on, not pushed to the back and ignored. “The Hunger Artist” tried to warn the people of this danger but they were too busy watching the panther.