Franz Kafka and John Keats

Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on how Franz Kafka in the short story "The Hunger Artist" and John Keats in the poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn," use their art to express their feelings of life and purpose in a world that others no longer appreciate. The paper looks at how the artist in Franz Kafka's short story believes his art of fasting is significant to his purpose in the world, and the reactions of humans to his art are key in the reasons why he pursues his particular form of art. The paper then shows how Keats uses several poetic devices in his poem to express his thoughts and views about life in the changing world.

From the Paper:

"In Kafka's "The Hunger Artist," the hunger artist expresses his art through fasting. He believes that his actions play a major role in the way humans behave. The hunger artist knows that when observers come to see him in his emaciated form, it is because they respect his art and are fascinated by it. The story describes that he is "in the spotlight, honored by the world" and that "the children looked on amazed, their mouths open..." This is something that went on for many years. The irony is that his fasting became his way to keep alive literally and spiritually. As time went on, he became disenchanted by his art and the response he received from his observers. For instance, when the impresario convinced the audience the hunger artist was able to fast longer than forty days, he would show them pictures of the "artist on the fortieth day of his fast, in bed, almost dead from exhaustion," and this would bother the artist because he knew he could fast longer for forty days because to him fasting was easy."

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