The Hunger Artist Response

To say he looked skeletal would have been a gross understatement, but the fact remained that there were no other words for the onlookers to describe the man. To even call it a man at this point was an insult to the healthy, virile men observing from the crowd. He was reminiscent of a Holocaust survivor, with his knees thicker than his thighs and eye sockets protruding in a sickening fashion. The crowd stared at this caged thing with their jaws slacked to the ground. They would all wonder why he would do this to himself, but none of them could come up with an answer. Whatever the reason, what the man was doing was impressive. The crowd suddenly broke out into a deafening cheer, causing the man's eyes to bulge even more.

It was the trend of the time, gathering the kids on a Saturday afternoon when the sun was at its peak and heading down to the amphitheater, hoping to get a good seat before the rush came. The children would have to be quieted down and told politely to sit and watch. Then the drapes over the cage would be taken off and the children would grab their mothers' arms in shock. The man was like a walking nightmare to them, and the parents would just have to reassure them that it was locked away behind that cage. Soon enough the cheer would break out and some of the audience members would approach the cage to actually talk to it.

A hunger artist they called it, a person who had devoted his life to starving himself of one of the most basic pleasures to man, food. Remarkably, it could go forty days and no longer, per instructions, without a meal. To the crowds, it was a sick delight, schadenfreude in its most pure form. What the crowds did not know was that it actually relished in its ability to fast for so long. How this trend came about is sketchy, but what is known is that it was the primary attraction at the time, bringing in thousands of visitors a week. For what, a lonely beast? Society was pitiful in that regard.

And yet, something about this was utterly fascinating. Why would a man go through such misery? Is he even paid for this? What sort of life does he live outside the cage? How could he live a life outside it? The man is world famous by now for his feats of endurance, what other person in their right mind would dare associate themselves with the hunger artist? This man is cruel to himself, one cannot imagine what he is like to others. The life he has chosen for himself is a special kind of isolation. One wherein his loneliness is watched over and gawked at all hours. Simply said, this thing is no man, he is an organism under a microscope. And like all others, this slide was going to be replaced sooner or later.

The days went by and attendance began to dwindle. Smaller and smaller until economic sense kicked in and the hunger artist's manager decided to cut his losses, as well as his ties to the artist. The cage was rolled out of the amphitheater and the next day a dancing Capuchin monkey and his accordion playing owner took its place and made an absolute killing.

From what is known, the hunger artist took his craft to less respectable venues, finally settling into a dilapidated circus of some sorts. What he found there was worse than his experiences under management at the amphitheater. The crowds he encountered were wholly unappreciative of his art, merely passing by, glancing, then moving on to the more exciting animals that awaited down the hall. And yet, from reports of the artist's remaining performance days at the circus, he found an unsettling freedom behind those rusty bars. Apparently now that he wasn't under such a strict watch or contract, he pushed his limits past the forty-day mark, so far that not even he was counting by the end. It seems he had hopes of breaking records, of making a name for himself in a world that did not care for him anymore. Still it must be asked, why? For what reason would man destroy the body God gave him in such a way as this? And willingly! Naturally, a man, even one who has lost so much of his humanity as the hunger artist, cannot fast forever. An obituary was posted in the paper claiming him to have died in his cage after having fasted to his death after 74 days without eat or drink. He is survived by no friends or family, and all that will live of him is a blurb at the bottom of a Records book. He was 32.
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Provocative Questions

1.) What would be a modern equivilent to the crowds watching the hunger artist?
2.) Could the hunger artist be seen as a hero in some twisted way?
3.) Does this promote anorexia?
4.) Does this parallel to Kafka's life?
5.) Why does this "performance" by the hunger artist seem so sickening and taboo to observe?
BONUS.) What kind of provocative underwear was the impresario wearing?