Has anyone here on this forum read Kafka's epic short story The Hunger Artist? What do you think of it?
You can read it here in translation:
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/hungerartist.htm
Does it remind you of anyone you know or have encountered lately. It seems there are a lot of people like this in the world, some a lot closer than you may think! You may have even dealt with one today, who knows!
Here are some interesting quotes about the Hunger Artists character:
"for grown-ups the hunger artist was often merely a joke"
"It was impossible to fight against this lack of understanding, against this world of misunderstanding."
"He might fast as well as he could—and he did—but nothing could save him any more. People went straight past him."
"The beautiful signs became dirty and illegible. People tore them down, and no one thought of replacing them."
". And when once in a while a person strolling past stood there making fun of the old number and talking of a swindle, that was in a sense the stupidest lie which indifference and innate maliciousness could invent, for the hunger artist was not being deceptive—he was working honestly—but the world was cheating him of his reward"
Marvellously familiar isn't it!
You can read it here in translation:
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/hungerartist.htm
Does it remind you of anyone you know or have encountered lately. It seems there are a lot of people like this in the world, some a lot closer than you may think! You may have even dealt with one today, who knows!
Here are some interesting quotes about the Hunger Artists character:
"for grown-ups the hunger artist was often merely a joke"
"It was impossible to fight against this lack of understanding, against this world of misunderstanding."
"He might fast as well as he could—and he did—but nothing could save him any more. People went straight past him."
"The beautiful signs became dirty and illegible. People tore them down, and no one thought of replacing them."
". And when once in a while a person strolling past stood there making fun of the old number and talking of a swindle, that was in a sense the stupidest lie which indifference and innate maliciousness could invent, for the hunger artist was not being deceptive—he was working honestly—but the world was cheating him of his reward"
Marvellously familiar isn't it!