An Archetypal and Psychological analysis of Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist” “The hunger artist” is a man who travels from town to town with the impresario (his manager) and fasts in public for a living. In each town, the hunger artist chooses a public location and puts himself on display in a cage as a spectacle where he fasts for periods of up to forty days. Kafka’s hunger artist is a character that appears to be used as a tool to demonstrate the spectacle of his society on a psychological and religious level. Kafka does this by adding psychological layers and Archetypal references throughout his story. The hunger artist is a very psychologically interesting character. .The hunger artist seems to have the need to feel superior to the masses. He …show more content…
The presence of constant spectacle suggests that the artist’s society is one of mass culture and individuals such as he is ruled by the masses. The artist turns the private act of fasting into a display and appears to constantly seek the public’s approval. The hunger artist is never satisfied with the knowledge that he has achieved legendary feats of fasting; he must prove to others that he has not cheated or tried to cheat in order to reach self-validation. Only by becoming a spectacle does the hunger artist feel self-actualized. Ironically, the artist’s reliance on the public is the reason he is never able to break his fasting records as the public always forcibly ends the spectacle after forty days. By attempting joining the circus, the hunger artist is trying to elevate to an even greater spectacle; however he falls out of the spotlight and the public becomes disinterested. Although he fasts longer than ever before, he does not feel satisfied as he is no longer in the public eye, showing his consistent need for …show more content…
The strongest figure or Archetype that was apparent in the story seemed to be that of Christ. The hunger artist is referred to as a “suffering martyr”, which would indicate a noble, Christ like figure, and a constant sufferer. Christ eventually became one of the most significant figures in history and literature by absorbing suffering from others and helping them become better people for it. It seems to be very appropriate for Kafka to compare his hunger artist to a man renowned for suffering. In contrast Kafka’s religious metaphor indicates that the hunger artist’s spectators are indifferent to his suffering. This indifference of the spectators suggests that faith and spirituality are not relevant in the modern world. Kafka appears to be making a statement, in which he suggests that the hunger artist’s fame, and possibly by extension, Christ’s, is just a fad. Although, the hunger artist’s popularity disappears in his own lifetime, the townspeople consistently suspect trickery showing that no one has