The Profound Sense of Dissatisfaction: A Comparative Study of Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist and Maulana Jalalu-d'-Din Muhammad i Rumi’s A Man of Baghdad

Abstract

This study delves into investigating Kafka's A Hunger Artist and Rumi's A Man of Baghdad, in which they have dramatized sense of dissatisfaction, its causes and consequences in a symbolic manner. In fact, it has utilized the story of Rumi that its main character is in a condition similar to the main character in Kafka's story. In both stories the main characters somehow are imprisoned in their ideals, and what distinguishes between these two stories is the different viewpoints that they adopt in confronting their ideals. Actually, the limited view of human beings and being detached from reality, and actually being detached from themselves, has been considered the main cause of dissatisfaction. So, the flagrant relationship among human ideals, enjoyment, and suffering is resulted from their intangible borders. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to reveal the human choices in searching for happiness, escaping from the sense of dissatisfaction, and manifold encounters with reality, and ultimately attaching to the ideals that are embedded in the themes of the both stories.

Absurdism in Kafka’s A Hunger Artist

“…In the end, it becomes 'impossible' to fulfill this because the world is not rational enough to understand his motivation or inspiration behind his art and the 'unity' breaks down when his desire to achieve increasing hunger fails to be in agreement with the physical need for food and nourishment, eventually leading to his death. This is also explored in The Profound Sense of Dissatisfaction where the authors state that the Kafka introduces "characters (that) somehow are imprisoned in their ideal" and fail to form a balance between their desires and needs 21 .…”

Contemporary challenges of consumption: a Kafkaesque and critical marketing perspective

“…In a similar vein, Kafka's characters encounter situations that are weird but still commonplace (West, 1985). At a broader level, consumption dissatisfaction can be viewed as a manifestation of human detachment from reality and the self (Hooti & Borna, 2014). The artist in Kafka's A Hunger Artist portrays the divergence between mental ideals and mundane realities of existence (Baykent, 2018).…”