The Consequence of Pride

         Franz Kafka illustrates the dissatisfying existence of a life driven by pride in his short story, “The Hunger Artist.” Through his depiction of the starving and emaciated artist, Kafka reveals how looking for fulfillment in the admiration of others can lead to a frustrating and often times unsatisfactory life. Kafka employs the use of visual imagery when describing the wasted state of the artist and the cage in which he resides to reveal to the reader the destructive nature of pride.

            Throughout the story, Kafka adds small details about the hunger artist’s appearance. Kafka says that the artist’s “ribs stick out so prominently” and calls his waist “emaciated.” These images, so seemingly minute that they barely catch the reader’s attention, all aggregate to create a picture of a man so sickly and small that he looks on the brink of death. These horrific pictures make the reader wonder why the artist would ever subject himself to this wasted lifestyle. Kafka reveals that the artist does this for his pride. He does this so that he can feel the satisfaction of onlookers who revere him for his sacrifice. He wears his protruding ribcage and scrawny frame as a badge of honor. The artist’s gaunt and grotesque body feeds his vanity and drives his desire to be admired by an audience. This image of a withered and wasted man serves to illustrate the harmful effects of pride. When one finds his identity within the opinions of others, he sacrifices himself. The trying and exhaustive process of seeking acceptance wears the body and soul out until nothing but frail skin and bones remain.

            Part of the hunger artist’s act requires him to live the days of his fast in a cage. He chooses to be confined in a transparent space that simultaneously makes him completely visible to the audience and bars him from personal contact. Like an animal, he is put on display for spectators to marvel and gaze upon him. The image of the cage serves as a metaphor for the consequences of the artist’s pride. His pride drives his art and—for a time—proves successful in motivating him to improve his fasting.  Over time, the artist’s pride leads him to an obsession that confines him. His need to prove to himself—and others—that he last for longer amounts of time without food causes him to push away from society and into himself. The artist’s desire to be admired and connected with an audience is overwhelmed by his need to push his limits on starvation. Eventually his pride leads him to push away from human contact and retreat into his cage, thus barring himself from society entirely.

            Despite his best efforts, the artist never finds fulfillment. He works to push his limits on starvation in hopes of finding satisfaction, but this just feeds his emotional—and physical—hunger. He yearns for a sense of gratification that deprivation never achieves. The source of the artist’s deprivation is his pride. His need to prove to his audience that he can entertain them by starving himself results in a hollow and lifeless existence. Through his depiction of the hunger artist, Kafka makes clear to the reader that pride has a converse effect. Looking for outer satisfaction leads a person to be like the hunger artist: dissatisfied and yearning for more.