The Theme Of Alienation In A Hunger Artist By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Notes from the Underground is a novel which is written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1864. It is a Russian text, but later on, it was translated into other languages. The novel is about a man who decides to alienate himself. He isolates himself and he becomes an inactive man. Thus, the theme of alienation is obvious in the novel. "A Hunger Artist" is a short story which is written by Franz Kafka. It is about a man who chooses the art of fasting to seek attention, recognition, and success. The theme of alienation is obvious in this short story as well. The theme of alienation is prominent in Notes from the Underground. The underground man is an over analyzing man and he is too conscious. He is questioning and doubting everything. That makes …show more content…
He looks at the world from the margin because he thinks that this will enable him to have a better look than from the center. Thus, he alienates himself by living in the underground. In addition, he portrays himself as a mouse. He calls himself a mouse because mice feel rejected, although they exist. So, the only place for the mice to live in is the underground, and he chooses the underground to live in like mice. He is looking at the world as a hole. He can see everybody but no one can see him or notice him. As a result, he alienates himself because he feels isolated. In the second part of the novel, the underground man spends two years in the underground thinking hard in order to make the police officer recognize him. He is an alienated person. He alienates himself because he keeps on thinking about how he is going to make the police officer recognize him. The police officer pushed him aside like a fly in his perspective. He feels that the police officer is superior to him when he pushed him aside, and he does not want to feel anybody superior to …show more content…
They distrust him. He is seeking trust but he does not fulfill it. Besides, the cage represents his alienation from society. It is a barrier between him and the society. People cannot understand him because they are standing outside the picture. His artist could be understood if they stood inside the cage. Most do not understand or appreciate what he is doing. He is seeking recognition and he wants people to recognize him as a successful person, but no one really pays attention. They go to the circus and they keep in watching the animals. They neglect the hunger artist and this hurts him very much. They do not understand his art. As a result, he is alienated in the