A Hunger Artist Analysis

Journal #2
(A Hunger Artist)

A possible point the author could be making about society and art is that the society’s likes and what is going on at that point in time has an effect of what is seen as art. The narrator describes his art as being “in fashion” which is a way of calling it a trend. Trends like bell bottom jeans and afros in the 70’s and even skinny jeans and hash tagging now, have and will change over time based on the era. In the story, the appeal for hunger art faded away and other attractions got the attention of the audience. The hunger artist wanted the audience to empathize with him and in turn momentarily share in his suffering so they can understand and better appreciate how much he puts into his art. For the most part, the hunger artist was frustrated by the audience. When the audience
The hunger artist did get a sense of satisfaction when he was able to demonstrate that he could go all night without eating while his watchers had had a “keen appetite” after the long night shift. The hunger artist probably felt some satisfaction because this was the time the audience was forced to get a glimpse of what the hunger artist undergoes on a daily basis. Another source of frustration comes from the declining interest in his performance. The narrator mentions that “at one time the whole town took a lively interest in the hunger artist” and he felt if he could get better at fasting the audience would continue to give him the attention his performance deserves. However, the more the hunger artist fasted the more the audience drew away from seeing him. Other than the idea that the audience got the opportunity to see more exciting attractions they didn’t want to see his frail skeleton like body. It got to the point where no one