A Hunger Artist Lesson Plan

What does the hunger artist symbolize?

The most obvious answer, for many students, will be that the hunger artist symbolizes any kind of artist—according to Kafka, an artist makes themself suffer just because, in the end, they can't figure out how not to suffer. To create art from suffering is the only thing they know how to do. However, students might also find other symbols in the hunger artist. He could symbolize anyone whose choices, interests, or desires make him something of an outsider to the society they live in, someone whose inclinations are sometimes "trendy" or popular and sometimes ignored, overlooked, or dismissed

Do you believe the hunger artist in the...