So the Kafka museum got me thinking... Here's some notes.
- The Hunger Artist
The man feeds mentally off the crowd's appreciation for his physical starvation. It is easy to starve, no mental effort for him once he has got in the swing of things. The point is that he has to feed off something, whether it be physical or mental. The point when he is past help is marked by the time when he starts to feel sick when offered food.
Agile big cat at the end of the story. Complete contradiction to the cage's previous inhabitant.
Notes on the Kafka museum:
- Inspired by Taoism
- More observational than pessimistic. More realistic than pessimistic.
- Apart from his observations on the city being a cage.
- Wrote a very long letter to his father. This has some significance.
- The Castle (Questions on perception and a rather modern art style interactive exhibit which I wasn't sure what to make of.)
- Prague undergoing huge change. Anti semitic views.
- Died of hunger then of thirst due to TB. It's interesting to note that in the hunger artist he actually says that it is easy to die of hunger intentionally. He wrote the hunger artist during his period of illness.
- "Conversation with the drunk" - oh I still really want to write my own version of this!!
- Lived just opposite the Astronomical Clock.
- Spent time organising a Philosophical Circle.
- Time period when concepts such as Relativity and psychoanalysis were being developed (eg. So much Freud)
- The endless office... the six hours a day in his law firm office "interminable" as he dedicated all his time to writing, his passion.
- Disgusted by his own clothing.
- Broken relationship with his father.
- Leaders and famous writers - Kafka was always good at organising excursions for his friends. I think this was an important thing about his personality.
I also enjoyed the composer Smetana very much on the main video of the Kafka exhibition, though I am yet to discover that particular song I enjoyed again.
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