SOURCE: "Heightened Redemption: Testaments and Last Stories," in Franz Kafka: Parable and Paradox, Cornell, 1962, pp. 282-333.

In the following excerpt, Politzer praises "A Hunger Artist" as "a perfection, a fatal fulfillment that expresses Kafka's desire for permanence.

[With "A Hunger Artist"] Kafka returns to the motif of the unknown nourishment which he had introduced in The Metamorphosis. In the earlier story this image pointed quite generally to the never-to-be disclosed mystery governing man's life. Here it has been integrated in the theme of art, the Hunger Artist's art.

The tale deals with the art of fasting as well as with fasting as an art. The Hunger Artist is willing to dedicate his existence to the perfection of his craft; hence he feels justified in making all-inclusive claims in return. "Just try to explain to anyone the art of fasting!" he exclaims at the height of his career. "Anyone...