The theme isolation or alienation

It is frequently said that art is romising . Art can be painting music , dancing , but it can also encompass the `art of living , an art form known to few people and accessible only to those who know themselves and try to stay true to their essence . Kafka 's hunger artist finds himself dissatisfied even at the peak of his artistic career frustrated by his audience 's inability to appreciate his work as a true art form , and his manager 's preoccupation with the commercial aspects of his performance . He does not compromise his

vision of art for material purposes , nor does he stop his performance when he realizes it is no longer successful or that his own life is in danger . Cather 's character Paul is an outcast mostly by choice too he is not interested in fitting in and does not even consider adapting to society 's demands of him . The thesis of this is that in both cases , the protagonists are unwilling to compromise and choose isolation as the only way of achieving their own views on what their lives should be . Paul and the hunger artist see isolation as a means to an end , in the sense that by being completely detached from the rest of society , they can maintain their feeling of superiority and their visions unaltered

The main character , the hunger artist , is the typical protagonist of Kafka 's work : misunderstood , alienated , and victimized : To fight against this lack of understanding , against a whole world of non-understanding , was impossible (Kafka . Despite his great success the hunger artist never feels truly appreciated or understood by his audience , who look upon his art as merely a form of entertainment this dissatisfaction kept gnawing at his insides all the time (Kaka . This is why he becomes haunted by feelings of isolation and alienation his performance is neither recognized nor appreciated as an art form , thus the artist can never be fulfilled . Nevertheless , it is crucial to notice that this state is a sine-qua-non condition of the hunger artist 's artistic demonstration . His choice to perform in a cage is relevant to understanding his feelings : isolation is , to great extent , self-imposed . The cage is the barrier the hunger artist needs to separate himself from his audience , i .e . the masses . It is a tool of individualization , a process that every artist seeks during his lifetime , in for his work to stand out . The cage ' of the hunger artist has two functions , i .e . a refuge from the outside world , and a barrier separating the artist from the rest of humanity , represented by his audience

His inability to fit in society gives birth to his art . Surprisingly , is it not his desire to be different that leads him to such an art form but the other way around . He is dependent upon the public 's reaction , in the sense that their lack of understanding of his art is actually the element which perpetuates it . The hunger artist enters...