... food, coupled with the desire to eat. But despite fasting as a profession, the titular character in Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" salivates not for food, but for fame, reputation, and honor. Kafka, most well-known as one of the greatest existential authors of the 20th century, writes in this story ... to fast in order to regain his audience's attention, whom has grown bored of the Artist's performance. In the short story "A Hunger Artist," Franz Kafka, in true existential fashion, uses the Hunger Artist's demise as a means to illustrate the irony in the character's existence; the Artis...

• Word Count: 1019
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate