3 ms·
I see the original poster's point. The punch line of the story is that the hunger artist has simply given up on finding food that he likes. Instead of continu
by akamaka 17y ago
I see the original poster's point. The punch line of the story is that the hunger artist has simply given up on finding food that he likes. Instead of continuing playing the game of trying new foods, a game at which he has always lost, he's given up, and learned to find some small contentment with constant hunger.
I didn't see that angle myself when I read the story, to be honest. It just goes to show how great writers can touch our psyche in deep ways that bring out our personal feelings about hunger, fame, or isolation.
- mtts 17y agoThat would be stretching it, I think. If you read the context of the sentence "because I couldn't find the food I liked" you'll find it's not about desperation but about fame. The hunger artist says he has finally learned that he should not receive admiration for what he does as his artistry is simply a consequence of his never having run into food he wanted to eat. His fasting is not a skill but a circumstance. This interpretation is consistent with the rest of the story, which mostly talks about fame (well, and the artist's loneliness amidst all the admiration, of course). Nowhere in this story does Kafka mention "quiet desperation" or "ratcheting down [....] expectations." An interpretation that tries to read that into this story is therefore, I think, invalid, as there is nothing in the text to support it.