(no subject)
There is so much to be uncovered that the naked eye cannot and will not ever see; it is the mind that enables a being to discover what each individual yearns for: fulfillment with one’s self. No doctor or psychologist with the most expensive salary can unlock the fundamental drive of a being’s cognition and how he or she goes about fulfilling aspirations. The world is viewed through different perspectives other than what a being may believe the world to be - what one sees is certainly not what another sees. In fact, meditation and other means of spiritual or religious practices open the eyes to view the world more clearly and to question everything’s purpose. “A Hunger Artist” and “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka, are two Existentialist pieces which depict the fasting ritual - “in which physical activities are reduced or suspended, resulting in a state of quiescence comparable, symbolically, to death, or to the state preceding birth” - as part of a cleansing process, to find themselves at peace with their psyche (Fasting). A cause for negligence towards nourishment begins with understanding the knowledge of one’s own psyche and then evolving into a spiritual journey - fasting or other means of deprivation - to fulfill one’s mind. Kafka’s main characters in “A Hunger Artist” and “The Metamorphosis” willingly deprive themselves of nourishment in order to reach a state of fulfillment.
Gregor, in “The Metamorphosis,” exhibits several actions of purposeful neglect of nourishment in order to fulfill his aspiration. An indication of deprivation - which takes place repeatedly - transpires among Gregor’s deliberate seclusion of himself from his family. As the family grows less fond of Gregor’s metamorphosis, he begins to experiment with ways of concealing his body, not for himself but out of deference for his family’s understanding of the transformation:
…one day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch - the job took four hours - and arranged it in such a way that he was now completely covered up and his sister could not see him even when she stooped. If she has considered this sheet unnecessary, then of course, she could have removed it, for it was clear enough that it could not be for his own pleasure that Gregor shut himself off altogether, but she left the sheet the way it was… (“The Metamorphosis” 29)
By completely covering himself, Gregor envelopes his psyche and ignores the outer world which helps him to ponder on his potential strategies for fulfillment and ultimately aids Gregor to reach that perfect state. As well as meditation, his purposeful seclusion was intended not for pleasure, but so his family can become content and disregard his figure. “The family’s first reaction of shock and horror becomes one of resign frustration and finally of relief when Gregor dies” (Hibberd). Gregor deprives himself of the nourishment that can be received only from the teat of the human world. While he resists the world, he welcomes seclusion to nurture his pain and promote open-mindedness. Taking this path, ultimately leads Gregor to “an enlightened state in which the fires[s] of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched” (McDermott) which will eventually guide him to reach nirvana. As Gregor mentions, this seclusion “could not be for his own pleasure” (Kafka 29); which follows the first tenet of the Four Noble Truths proclaimed by Buddha: “Life is suffering” (McDermott), and Gregor surely exhibits this truth by clearly stating that he is not receiving any satisfaction or delight throughout his metamorphosis. In this tenet, life from beginning to the end possesses suffrage of any kind and that even death brings no relief unless nirvana has been reached - which is the ultimate goal of relinquishing one’s self from misery. As Gregor foregoes his deliberate seclusion and understands that isolation will lead him to an eternal stage of enlightenment, he must furthermore understand the reasons which push him to follow this path. Gregor puts himself through all of this suffering because he knows this is his last stage in life, he has reached nirvana. His suffering is demonstrated by the dissatisfaction from changes in sight and sensations which he soon replaces with a “sixth sense” that enables him to fully understand that he must die. As he secludes himself, his suffering will allow him to view the world through a new perspective and reach his declared fulfillment.
To prevent himself from upsetting his family, Gregor begins to fast which lastly guides him to reach everlasting fulfillment - his death. As Gregor experiences the bothersome noises of clanking forks and teeth, he suddenly comes to his final realization of exactly how to forego his ultimatum: “‘I’m hungry enough,’ Gregor said to himself, full of grief, ‘but not for these things. Look how these roomers are gorging themselves, and I’m dying!’” (Kafka 44). Explicitly, Gregor is hungry for the nourishment gained from the acceptance of having human value: love. His loss of appetite is directly correlated to the loss of communication and love from his family. But if a being is not recognized as possessing human abilities and comprehension, then there is not point of pursuing a life. As Gregor developed distaste for his favorite foods and the appetite of a cockroach followed with the offensive family conversations of Gregor’s new form, he soon recognized that an adjustment in his appetite would lead the way to end his family’s predicament. Gregor “incorporated fasting as part of the ritual preparation for the sleep that would provide answers to [his] specific needs and questions” (Fast Round of Religions). It is through fasting that Gregor will experience his desired achievement not only for his needs but to satisfy the desires of his family: “He thought back on his family with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer…he remained in his state of empty and peace reflection…” (Kafka 51). As Gregor determined that his life would have to come to an end, he still disregarded the negatives and focused on the positive outcome: that through his death, his family would no longer have to live in disgust with their son.
The Hunger Artist portrayed in “A Hunger Artist” fasts for his own pleasure and to reach his designated goal which makes his determination even stronger. Presenting himself to his viewers, the artist notes that he is the only person that will actually appreciate and understand his fasting ritual:
…he was therefore bound to be the sole completely satisfied spectator of his own fast. Yet for other reasons he was never satisfied; it was not perhaps mere fasting that had brought him to such skeleton thinness that many people had regretfully to keep away from his exhibitions, because the sight of him was too much for them, perhaps it was dissatisfaction with himself that had worn him down. (“A Hunger Artist” 893)
There is great dissatisfaction among the artist throughout his fasting because he is not being acknowledged the way he would like to be; accredited with great awe and courage for fasting within the forty-day limitation - which is parallel to Lent. Following the discouragement from his critics, there becomes a greater longing for continuance of his fasting to satisfy his capability. The artist would like people to look at him, but as much as they fancy his fasting they can’t stand his figure, for it is most likely more than they can handle, this also makes him want even more to follow his rationale. Desperately yearning to fulfill his psyche with satisfaction, he starves himself. The fasting that is taking place is the Artist’s first step of his “cleansing process” to reaching his enlightened state; during his fasting he hasn’t grasped the full spectrum on how to reach fulfillment. The onlookers influence his decisions to starve himself to the full extent; he wants to be consumed by the feeling felt when a person is observed. As he fasts, the Artist will only appreciate his own work because he is the artist who has the potential to progress or end his concentration; his fasting is unquestionably the result of his own want and not that of someone else’s: “…if he fasts, it is because he can do nothing else; it is a fate, not a vocation; he has never found the food he could savor; if he had, he would have gorged himself…” (Magny). As a result of the Artist’s fast, he is depriving himself of nourishment - both the attention from the populace and the nourishment gained from food - but it is the deprivation of this nourishment that leads him to his intended goal: the pleasure received from fasting.
By deliberately placing himself away from the main attraction, the probability of neglect for the Hunger Artist increases. As the Hunger Artist represses himself of attention, he allows his psyche to become enlightened (this repression is the last step needed to reach everlasting fulfillment). When deciding on a place to position his exhibit at the carnival, the Hunger Artist comes to the resolution: “…that he and his cage should be stationed, not in the middle of the ring as the main attraction, but outside, near the animal cages…” (“A Hunger Artist” 897). It is from the cage displacement that the Hunger Artist comes to the true realization that he will never be applauded for the path he follows. This placement of the cage drives the artist into a meditated state where he finally understands that no nourishment - whether it is from human attention or food - can be a sufficient amount of pleasure. Henceforth, the process of deliberately secluding himself is the last step to bring him to his enlightened state; without this seclusion there is no understanding of living a true life. Though the populace’s neglect he understands the beauty of being able to see past one’s wants and focus on a state where no necessities exist: “…the conviction was borne in upon him that these people, most of them, to judge from their actions, again and again, without exception, were all on their way to the menagerie.” (“A Hunger Artist” 897). The loneness felt by the artist is symbolic to a state of enlightenment where disregard for all human necessities arises. “Here we find the theme of fundamental solitude symbolized materially by the cage and, morally, by the lack of understanding on the party of the public.”(Magny). By relying on his own awareness he can ignore all mundane attention which ultimately gives the Artist the affirmation that he does not need the validation of the populace to make him realize his worth. This last step in the Hunger Artist’s path to reaching a fulfilled state brings him to the enlightened conclusion of his life: death
It is only through one’s purposeful dedication to deprivation of all necessities that their will be an achievement of fulfillment. As the Hunger Artist and Gregor single themselves out and resist temptations, they enable themselves to dive deeper into the psyche followed by the completion of their lives with the one aspiration every human wants to reach: fulfillment. Learning from these attitudes encourages openness of the psyche to different views about the world. Gregor and the Hunger Artist knew something about the world that many humans don’t understand unless they put themselves through the neglect and resist human temptations. When one can resist anything and bring about satisfaction to others, it is then that a person is forever in a state of enlightenment which brings fulfillment. Understanding that there is so much more than physicality to satisfy one’s want is the ultimate key in satisfying the perfect existence. One should also not rely on the scrutiny of others when on the path to fulfillment, for when one focuses on other’s opinions it slows down the path to fulfillment, as seen in the Hunger Artist. Deprivation of nourishment encompasses the mind in solitude and ultimately allows openness to humans that were once closed off by the walls of unawareness.
Gregor, in “The Metamorphosis,” exhibits several actions of purposeful neglect of nourishment in order to fulfill his aspiration. An indication of deprivation - which takes place repeatedly - transpires among Gregor’s deliberate seclusion of himself from his family. As the family grows less fond of Gregor’s metamorphosis, he begins to experiment with ways of concealing his body, not for himself but out of deference for his family’s understanding of the transformation:
…one day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch - the job took four hours - and arranged it in such a way that he was now completely covered up and his sister could not see him even when she stooped. If she has considered this sheet unnecessary, then of course, she could have removed it, for it was clear enough that it could not be for his own pleasure that Gregor shut himself off altogether, but she left the sheet the way it was… (“The Metamorphosis” 29)
By completely covering himself, Gregor envelopes his psyche and ignores the outer world which helps him to ponder on his potential strategies for fulfillment and ultimately aids Gregor to reach that perfect state. As well as meditation, his purposeful seclusion was intended not for pleasure, but so his family can become content and disregard his figure. “The family’s first reaction of shock and horror becomes one of resign frustration and finally of relief when Gregor dies” (Hibberd). Gregor deprives himself of the nourishment that can be received only from the teat of the human world. While he resists the world, he welcomes seclusion to nurture his pain and promote open-mindedness. Taking this path, ultimately leads Gregor to “an enlightened state in which the fires[s] of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched” (McDermott) which will eventually guide him to reach nirvana. As Gregor mentions, this seclusion “could not be for his own pleasure” (Kafka 29); which follows the first tenet of the Four Noble Truths proclaimed by Buddha: “Life is suffering” (McDermott), and Gregor surely exhibits this truth by clearly stating that he is not receiving any satisfaction or delight throughout his metamorphosis. In this tenet, life from beginning to the end possesses suffrage of any kind and that even death brings no relief unless nirvana has been reached - which is the ultimate goal of relinquishing one’s self from misery. As Gregor foregoes his deliberate seclusion and understands that isolation will lead him to an eternal stage of enlightenment, he must furthermore understand the reasons which push him to follow this path. Gregor puts himself through all of this suffering because he knows this is his last stage in life, he has reached nirvana. His suffering is demonstrated by the dissatisfaction from changes in sight and sensations which he soon replaces with a “sixth sense” that enables him to fully understand that he must die. As he secludes himself, his suffering will allow him to view the world through a new perspective and reach his declared fulfillment.
To prevent himself from upsetting his family, Gregor begins to fast which lastly guides him to reach everlasting fulfillment - his death. As Gregor experiences the bothersome noises of clanking forks and teeth, he suddenly comes to his final realization of exactly how to forego his ultimatum: “‘I’m hungry enough,’ Gregor said to himself, full of grief, ‘but not for these things. Look how these roomers are gorging themselves, and I’m dying!’” (Kafka 44). Explicitly, Gregor is hungry for the nourishment gained from the acceptance of having human value: love. His loss of appetite is directly correlated to the loss of communication and love from his family. But if a being is not recognized as possessing human abilities and comprehension, then there is not point of pursuing a life. As Gregor developed distaste for his favorite foods and the appetite of a cockroach followed with the offensive family conversations of Gregor’s new form, he soon recognized that an adjustment in his appetite would lead the way to end his family’s predicament. Gregor “incorporated fasting as part of the ritual preparation for the sleep that would provide answers to [his] specific needs and questions” (Fast Round of Religions). It is through fasting that Gregor will experience his desired achievement not only for his needs but to satisfy the desires of his family: “He thought back on his family with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer…he remained in his state of empty and peace reflection…” (Kafka 51). As Gregor determined that his life would have to come to an end, he still disregarded the negatives and focused on the positive outcome: that through his death, his family would no longer have to live in disgust with their son.
The Hunger Artist portrayed in “A Hunger Artist” fasts for his own pleasure and to reach his designated goal which makes his determination even stronger. Presenting himself to his viewers, the artist notes that he is the only person that will actually appreciate and understand his fasting ritual:
…he was therefore bound to be the sole completely satisfied spectator of his own fast. Yet for other reasons he was never satisfied; it was not perhaps mere fasting that had brought him to such skeleton thinness that many people had regretfully to keep away from his exhibitions, because the sight of him was too much for them, perhaps it was dissatisfaction with himself that had worn him down. (“A Hunger Artist” 893)
There is great dissatisfaction among the artist throughout his fasting because he is not being acknowledged the way he would like to be; accredited with great awe and courage for fasting within the forty-day limitation - which is parallel to Lent. Following the discouragement from his critics, there becomes a greater longing for continuance of his fasting to satisfy his capability. The artist would like people to look at him, but as much as they fancy his fasting they can’t stand his figure, for it is most likely more than they can handle, this also makes him want even more to follow his rationale. Desperately yearning to fulfill his psyche with satisfaction, he starves himself. The fasting that is taking place is the Artist’s first step of his “cleansing process” to reaching his enlightened state; during his fasting he hasn’t grasped the full spectrum on how to reach fulfillment. The onlookers influence his decisions to starve himself to the full extent; he wants to be consumed by the feeling felt when a person is observed. As he fasts, the Artist will only appreciate his own work because he is the artist who has the potential to progress or end his concentration; his fasting is unquestionably the result of his own want and not that of someone else’s: “…if he fasts, it is because he can do nothing else; it is a fate, not a vocation; he has never found the food he could savor; if he had, he would have gorged himself…” (Magny). As a result of the Artist’s fast, he is depriving himself of nourishment - both the attention from the populace and the nourishment gained from food - but it is the deprivation of this nourishment that leads him to his intended goal: the pleasure received from fasting.
By deliberately placing himself away from the main attraction, the probability of neglect for the Hunger Artist increases. As the Hunger Artist represses himself of attention, he allows his psyche to become enlightened (this repression is the last step needed to reach everlasting fulfillment). When deciding on a place to position his exhibit at the carnival, the Hunger Artist comes to the resolution: “…that he and his cage should be stationed, not in the middle of the ring as the main attraction, but outside, near the animal cages…” (“A Hunger Artist” 897). It is from the cage displacement that the Hunger Artist comes to the true realization that he will never be applauded for the path he follows. This placement of the cage drives the artist into a meditated state where he finally understands that no nourishment - whether it is from human attention or food - can be a sufficient amount of pleasure. Henceforth, the process of deliberately secluding himself is the last step to bring him to his enlightened state; without this seclusion there is no understanding of living a true life. Though the populace’s neglect he understands the beauty of being able to see past one’s wants and focus on a state where no necessities exist: “…the conviction was borne in upon him that these people, most of them, to judge from their actions, again and again, without exception, were all on their way to the menagerie.” (“A Hunger Artist” 897). The loneness felt by the artist is symbolic to a state of enlightenment where disregard for all human necessities arises. “Here we find the theme of fundamental solitude symbolized materially by the cage and, morally, by the lack of understanding on the party of the public.”(Magny). By relying on his own awareness he can ignore all mundane attention which ultimately gives the Artist the affirmation that he does not need the validation of the populace to make him realize his worth. This last step in the Hunger Artist’s path to reaching a fulfilled state brings him to the enlightened conclusion of his life: death
It is only through one’s purposeful dedication to deprivation of all necessities that their will be an achievement of fulfillment. As the Hunger Artist and Gregor single themselves out and resist temptations, they enable themselves to dive deeper into the psyche followed by the completion of their lives with the one aspiration every human wants to reach: fulfillment. Learning from these attitudes encourages openness of the psyche to different views about the world. Gregor and the Hunger Artist knew something about the world that many humans don’t understand unless they put themselves through the neglect and resist human temptations. When one can resist anything and bring about satisfaction to others, it is then that a person is forever in a state of enlightenment which brings fulfillment. Understanding that there is so much more than physicality to satisfy one’s want is the ultimate key in satisfying the perfect existence. One should also not rely on the scrutiny of others when on the path to fulfillment, for when one focuses on other’s opinions it slows down the path to fulfillment, as seen in the Hunger Artist. Deprivation of nourishment encompasses the mind in solitude and ultimately allows openness to humans that were once closed off by the walls of unawareness.