A Hunger Artist
Nowadays it is nearly impossible for a hunger artist to make any money because of the decline in interest, but in the old days a hunger artist made good money. It was an attraction that everybody loved. A man, sitting in a small, barred cage, fasting for days on end was a sight that was seen by all. He was dressed in black tights, was very pale, and was so thin that his ribs were sticking out of his chest. Adults would come to merely laugh at the hunger artist and only came because it was “fashionable”. Children would come and looked on amazed and frightened.
There were three guards, usually butchers, on duty at all times to watch what the hunger artist was doing. These guards were only to reassure the public that he was not being fed at any time during his fast. His record was forty days although he said he could go longer. The maximum time for a fast for a hunger artist will always be forty days because soon the public will no longer be interested and a hunger artist is all about publicity. Some groups of people would come and sit in a dark corner all night and play cards intending to give the hunger artist a small snack that he inevitably would refuse. These people only depressed him and made his fasting difficult. He preferred those that came and sat next to his cage and talked with him all night long. He enjoyed this because it allowed him to show his strength and to prove his strength and abilities to observers. Every morning when it was time for breakfast the observers would leave to eat and when the option to stay came about, they all ran to get their food. They were hungry and never wanted to stay at the cost of food.
No one was able to watch him day in and day out therefore he alone was the only one to know if he truly fasted throughout this entire time so naturally not everyone believed him. Although he knew that his fasting was true, he was never satisfied because he knew how easy it was to fast. No one understood how easy of a task this was.
At the end of his forty days the impresario came and ended the affair. The hunger artist never wanted it to end; he felt he could go longer, for an unlimited length of time. Besides, the thought of him eating made him sick. The impresario had to come over and forcefully lift him out of the cage and, with exaggeration, hand him over to one of the two chosen woman to carry him down to the table with the food laid out. This food was specially chosen by doctors to ensure the hunger artists safety. The impresario had to force feed him and no one except the hunger artist himself was dissatisfied.
His fasting continued on for many years, but his depression became deeper and deeper as the days passed by. Once a man suggested that his depression might have come from his fasting, the hunger artist became greatly angry and began to shake the bars like and animal and frighten the observers. The impresario would apologize and write his outburst off as a result of his fasting. Soon no one cared for the hunger artist attraction any longer. The impresario traveled half of Europe with the hunger artist trying to spark the attraction here and there. In the end the attraction was no longer and the hunger artist, who had nothing to fall back on, had to sign with a large circus.
Although the hunger artist was growing old, he still claimed that he could fast as well as he did when he was young and would amaze the world for the first time. This made the circus experts smile. The hunger artist was placed in a cage and was set at the end of a corridor from the circus tent to the animal cages. During intermissions the general public, on there way out to see the animals in their stalls could not help but to stop and observe the hunger artist. They would have stayed longer if it were not for the pushing to others behind them who did not know the reason for the pauses in traffic. The hunger artist began to dislike these visiting hours because of the commotion and lack of observation time from individual people.
It was a rare occasion when a family would stop by his cage and the father of the family would tell stories of going and seeing the hunger artist when he was a child. Every thing might have been better if it weren’t for his location near the animal stall, this way people could make a choice of whether or not to see him rather than him dealing with a bunch of people who only looked at him because he was near the other animals. Eventually he became a small obstacle in the way of the animals. He became neglected and ignored. His table with the number of days he had been fasting had not been change for weeks and not even the hunger artist knew how long he had been fasting. Him being ignored and neglected led to him becoming depressed.
Finally, after many days and possibly weeks a supervisor noticed the cage and asked why it was not being used. One man, with help from a clue from the table next to the cage remembered about the hunger artist. They searched through he straw and found the hunger artist. The hunger artist asked for forgiveness and confessed that the reason fasting was so easy for him was that he simply never found a food that he liked. The hunger artist had spoken his last words. He died while asking the supervisor for forgiveness.
The hunger artist was buried along with the straw from his cage and later that day the cage was filled with a lively panther. The hunger artist was thrown away and a panther took over with the life and intensity that the spectators enjoyed.
Nowadays it is nearly impossible for a hunger artist to make any money because of the decline in interest, but in the old days a hunger artist made good money. It was an attraction that everybody loved. A man, sitting in a small, barred cage, fasting for days on end was a sight that was seen by all. He was dressed in black tights, was very pale, and was so thin that his ribs were sticking out of his chest. Adults would come to merely laugh at the hunger artist and only came because it was “fashionable”. Children would come and looked on amazed and frightened.
There were three guards, usually butchers, on duty at all times to watch what the hunger artist was doing. These guards were only to reassure the public that he was not being fed at any time during his fast. His record was forty days although he said he could go longer. The maximum time for a fast for a hunger artist will always be forty days because soon the public will no longer be interested and a hunger artist is all about publicity. Some groups of people would come and sit in a dark corner all night and play cards intending to give the hunger artist a small snack that he inevitably would refuse. These people only depressed him and made his fasting difficult. He preferred those that came and sat next to his cage and talked with him all night long. He enjoyed this because it allowed him to show his strength and to prove his strength and abilities to observers. Every morning when it was time for breakfast the observers would leave to eat and when the option to stay came about, they all ran to get their food. They were hungry and never wanted to stay at the cost of food.
No one was able to watch him day in and day out therefore he alone was the only one to know if he truly fasted throughout this entire time so naturally not everyone believed him. Although he knew that his fasting was true, he was never satisfied because he knew how easy it was to fast. No one understood how easy of a task this was.
At the end of his forty days the impresario came and ended the affair. The hunger artist never wanted it to end; he felt he could go longer, for an unlimited length of time. Besides, the thought of him eating made him sick. The impresario had to come over and forcefully lift him out of the cage and, with exaggeration, hand him over to one of the two chosen woman to carry him down to the table with the food laid out. This food was specially chosen by doctors to ensure the hunger artists safety. The impresario had to force feed him and no one except the hunger artist himself was dissatisfied.
His fasting continued on for many years, but his depression became deeper and deeper as the days passed by. Once a man suggested that his depression might have come from his fasting, the hunger artist became greatly angry and began to shake the bars like and animal and frighten the observers. The impresario would apologize and write his outburst off as a result of his fasting. Soon no one cared for the hunger artist attraction any longer. The impresario traveled half of Europe with the hunger artist trying to spark the attraction here and there. In the end the attraction was no longer and the hunger artist, who had nothing to fall back on, had to sign with a large circus.
Although the hunger artist was growing old, he still claimed that he could fast as well as he did when he was young and would amaze the world for the first time. This made the circus experts smile. The hunger artist was placed in a cage and was set at the end of a corridor from the circus tent to the animal cages. During intermissions the general public, on there way out to see the animals in their stalls could not help but to stop and observe the hunger artist. They would have stayed longer if it were not for the pushing to others behind them who did not know the reason for the pauses in traffic. The hunger artist began to dislike these visiting hours because of the commotion and lack of observation time from individual people.
It was a rare occasion when a family would stop by his cage and the father of the family would tell stories of going and seeing the hunger artist when he was a child. Every thing might have been better if it weren’t for his location near the animal stall, this way people could make a choice of whether or not to see him rather than him dealing with a bunch of people who only looked at him because he was near the other animals. Eventually he became a small obstacle in the way of the animals. He became neglected and ignored. His table with the number of days he had been fasting had not been change for weeks and not even the hunger artist knew how long he had been fasting. Him being ignored and neglected led to him becoming depressed.
Finally, after many days and possibly weeks a supervisor noticed the cage and asked why it was not being used. One man, with help from a clue from the table next to the cage remembered about the hunger artist. They searched through he straw and found the hunger artist. The hunger artist asked for forgiveness and confessed that the reason fasting was so easy for him was that he simply never found a food that he liked. The hunger artist had spoken his last words. He died while asking the supervisor for forgiveness.
The hunger artist was buried along with the straw from his cage and later that day the cage was filled with a lively panther. The hunger artist was thrown away and a panther took over with the life and intensity that the spectators enjoyed.
1 comment:
ashlie-
nice job finding the blogger spell-checker.
great effort here. it was clear in the discussion that you really dug into this piece. your thoughts and your writing are becoming more sophisticated--that's a good thing.
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