Professor Anne Fuchs: Franz Kafka, Ein Hungerkünstler
1.
Ein Hungerkünstler begins with the evocation of bygone times when the hunger artist’s art attracted large audiences. (pp. 392-393):
Characterize these times and the audience’s appreciation of the hunger artist.
What is the role of the “Wächter”? (pp.393-394
2.
In Kafka’s Ein Hungerkünstler artistic production is divided between two figures, the hunger-artist and the impresario:
Analyze the function of the impresario in the staging of the hunger art (p. 395 and p. 397):
What is the climax of the show? (pp. 395-396).
3.
Characterize the second phase of the hunger artist’s career (pp. 398-402):
4.
The story concludes with the hunger artist’s deathbed confession that had he found the right food he would have eaten. How does this change our perception of his art?
To what extent has the hunger artist deceived the public all along?
5.
In his account of the hunger artist’s career what role does the narrator play? Is he a neutral or biased figure?
Secondary Reading:
Roy Pascal, ‘The Identifiable Narrator of A Hunger Artist”, in: Roy Pascal, Kafka’s
Narrator’s. A Study of his Stories and Sketches (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982), pp. 105-135.