"The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself."
~Rita Mae Brown, Venus Envy
The short story "A Hunger Artist" by Franz Kafka showed the story of a hunger artist rising to fame, at the peak of stardom and falling in his downfall. The hunger artist not only featured himself but also the other artists who in one way or another had the same situation with the hunger artist.
Conformity is a common thing among artists. In order for them to survive in the industry, artists have to satisfy not only what the audience wants but also with what the art community dictates them to be. Often, they are caged in a sense that they can't express their own ideals. In the short story, it was shown how the hunger artist was placed in a cage and was left there to fast. He was literary caged. The cage symbolizes the things the hunger artist had to conform with. The same thing is happening to most artists. They are caged in a way that they produce art but lack a sense of freedom. And in the process of conformity, these artists rises to stardom reflecting what the audience thought the real him or her. But constant conformity has its own downfall. It bores the audience which makes or breaks an artist's career. It was clearly shown in the story how the people lost their interest in seeing the hunger artist doing the same old thing. And attempting to revive his old status, the hunger artist joined the circus determined to uphold what his art really is. But the people lost their interest and in a way disheartened the artist. Same is true in reality when finally an artist takes a stand to defend his or her art, people are disinterested. The audience are tired and bored in seeing the same old thing. They want a novelty, something new. Also, new artists are more welcomed by the audience. For example in the ending, it was clearly shown how the dead hungry artist was replaced by a young panther. The funny thing is that the young panther seemed to not miss the wild and instead liked the thought of being held in captivity. But can we blame him? Why would he miss the wild when he can have all his need by just being in that cage plus he was safe from forces of nature?
A Hunger Artist is a good representation of a life of an artist. It clearly stated how artists need to choose; be yourself and suffer the consequences or conform and enjoy what lays before you.
~Rita Mae Brown, Venus Envy
The short story "A Hunger Artist" by Franz Kafka showed the story of a hunger artist rising to fame, at the peak of stardom and falling in his downfall. The hunger artist not only featured himself but also the other artists who in one way or another had the same situation with the hunger artist.
Conformity is a common thing among artists. In order for them to survive in the industry, artists have to satisfy not only what the audience wants but also with what the art community dictates them to be. Often, they are caged in a sense that they can't express their own ideals. In the short story, it was shown how the hunger artist was placed in a cage and was left there to fast. He was literary caged. The cage symbolizes the things the hunger artist had to conform with. The same thing is happening to most artists. They are caged in a way that they produce art but lack a sense of freedom. And in the process of conformity, these artists rises to stardom reflecting what the audience thought the real him or her. But constant conformity has its own downfall. It bores the audience which makes or breaks an artist's career. It was clearly shown in the story how the people lost their interest in seeing the hunger artist doing the same old thing. And attempting to revive his old status, the hunger artist joined the circus determined to uphold what his art really is. But the people lost their interest and in a way disheartened the artist. Same is true in reality when finally an artist takes a stand to defend his or her art, people are disinterested. The audience are tired and bored in seeing the same old thing. They want a novelty, something new. Also, new artists are more welcomed by the audience. For example in the ending, it was clearly shown how the dead hungry artist was replaced by a young panther. The funny thing is that the young panther seemed to not miss the wild and instead liked the thought of being held in captivity. But can we blame him? Why would he miss the wild when he can have all his need by just being in that cage plus he was safe from forces of nature?
A Hunger Artist is a good representation of a life of an artist. It clearly stated how artists need to choose; be yourself and suffer the consequences or conform and enjoy what lays before you.
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