Play along at Home

Here's a first draft of the Pop Quiz I made up for tomorrow. (I must admit I'm troubled that I have so much fun writing these).

English 263 Quiz #2
Answer four of the following questions using a separate sheet of paper and citing textual evidence when possible. You may use your text.

1. Kafka toys with the notion of being “satisfied.� How is it that the hunger artist can “be the sole completely satisfied spectator of his own fast� while also being “never satisfied�? What do you believe Kafka wants us to understand about the protagonist, and is there some lesson here that we all need to learn?


2. Fasting has religious, political and cultural significance—for what reasons do people fast? Does thinking about real-life examples of fasting (or similar behaviors) help us understand what Kafka is trying to say?




3. Kafka calls his character an “artist� for a reason. What, if anything, does his story have to say about artists/performers and their relationship to their work and to their audiences?




4. “A Hunger Artist� was written decades ago, long before the advent of our overarching media culture. The story harks back to old traditions of carnival sideshows and exhibitions of “freaks,� unfortunates, exotic specimens, accidents of nature, etc. Does Kafka’s story have any relevance to today’s mass media? …to audience tastes and behavior? Use specific examples.




5. Explain the significance of the Hunger Artist’s last words, including the entire exchange on p. 924 (beginning with “Forgive me, everybody,� and ending with “…because I couldn’t find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I should have made no fuss and stuffed myself like you or anyone else.�).



6. The panther in the last paragraph is obviously contrasted with the Hunger Artist. What does Kafka intend us to learn via this odd comparison?