"A Hunger Artist," written by Frank Kafka, was the story of a man who found peace and pleasure in fasting for extended periods of time. As the story began, the hunger artist initiated a fast that would withstand the torture of time for a grueling 40 days. The hunger artist along with the rest of his hometown found this to be a great achievement. He would live in this clear box for 40 days while spectators cheered in astonishment. This event would be the talk to of the town. Some people would buy season tickets and watch him from dawn until dusk. The hunger artist thrived off of this attention.
             The hunger artist loved this hobby of his. It was more than hobby to him, it was life. Nothing meant more to him than to have people come and watch his "artistic talent" in progress. After his 40 day fast things started to change, very quickly too. It was almost overnight that people lost interest in his work. After coming to the conclusion that attendance wasn't going to pickup, he needed to get excitement from somewhere else so he joined the circus. At the circus he was given a designated area for his cage/ box and next to his exhibit was a sign with his story on it. People watched him for short increments of time but quickly moved on to go see the animals. This was insulting to the hunger artist and he began to start losing faith. As time passed, people began to deny his existence. The sign juxtaposition to his exhibit became old and decrepit, the hunger artist's limelight was dim. As time passed, so did his faith, and death came along quickly.
             Looking back at the story, I try to imagine why the hunger artist chose such a rough sport and/ or hobby. I honestly think the hunger artist fasted for the sake of fasting and not for the beauty and purity of discipline itself. There may be a mystery factor in the hunger artist's fasting such as the possibility of anorexia nervosa which is a ...