Franz Kafka wrote the stories “The Metamorphosis”, In The Penal Colony”, as well as “The Fasting Artist”. The protagonists are Gregor Samsa the officer and the fasting artist. These characters risk their lives to help others. But those who are supposed to benefit from their sacrifices don’t appreciate them. Only the victim can appreciate the sacrifice.
The Fasting-Artist, the most well-known example of such a tendency, is perhaps the best. For public admiration, the artist fasts so that his body can be held by ladies and that people can see him. He says that fasting isn’t a sacrifice. He believes his true sacrifice was “lying in bed almost as soon as he can…the consequence for the premature end of his fast” (215), which he does again after “about forty day…the audience vanished” (212). His devotion to sacrifice and art is so strong that he is willingly to join the circus even though business is getting worse. (216) He realizes that the people who see him at the circus aren’t interested in him. They simply pass his cage as they go to the animals. The circus keepers soon stop counting the days that the artist had fasted. He is now sacrificing his art for himself as well as his audience. The most striking aspect of the fasting artifact is the indistinguishability between his sacrifice and the art. The Artist is the only one who is aware of his fasting. The plea of the artist is an example of how even people who admire his work can’t grasp it. Try explaining to someone the art of fasting. It is impossible to make someone understand it” (218). The narrator also tells us that no one can feel it. Indeed, the absurdity of public exhibition fasting, whose appeal no reader can grasp, highlights the private nature the artist’s performance. The artist is not content with his fasting. He is the only one who can appreciate his death by starvation. Gregor hates his job, but he has to work to support his family. He only keeps “a few odd coins” (98), and gives most of his income to his parents. He also plans on raising the funds to send his sister violin-practicing at a conservatory. The artist’s fasting and Gregor’s effort to help his family pay off their debts are more appreciated by the viewer than the artist is. However, Gregor is less than the family of the artist. “They were used to [Gregor giving his family his income], both the family as well as Gregor…it had stopped giving rise any special warmth of feelings” (97). Gregor’s family doesn’t help him pay the debt. They conceal from him that they’ve been saving money instead of using it for Gregor’s debt.
Gregor’s great sacrifice becomes even greater when he is transformed into a huge insect. He and his family seem to be in denial at first. Gregor attempts to return to work, but he has no intention of leaving his family (83). His mother speaks of the moment “when Gregor comes back to us” (103), as if he will heal. Grete, his sister brings him food. His father doesn’t believe Gregor can change, and he drives him back home to his room “threat[ing]” to do him a mortal blow (91). Gregor’s family will only help him if he recovers. If he continues to be an insect, they abandon him. Gregor’s family loses their savings and Gregor and his sister find it hard to sacrifice. Herr Samsa starts to think, “What an amazing life!” So is my peace in old age. (110). Grete doesn’t clean Gregor’s bedroom; “streaks dirt ran the lengths of the walls” (112). Eventually, Grete gives up on Gregor and says, “We must try to get rid off it.” (119).
Grete claims the family has done all they can to take care of it [Gregor(!)], )]” (119), Gregor seems to be more human that his family, who call him “it” now. He is a selfless man who will do anything to help them. He does all he can to keep them from seeing him. Realizing his sister dislikes him, he “transport[s]] one sheet to the sofa on the back-the task took him 4 hours-and arrange[s] it so that…his sibling would not be in a position to see him” (100). He continues to work to ensure that his family is financially responsible. “Whenever the conversation turned to the necessity of earning money…Gregor…felt hot all over with shame and grief” (99). He dreams of “taking [families’ affairs] in their hands again” (111). His sister wishes that he would disappear. Even his death seems to have been in response to this wish. Gregor’s family no longer considers him human at this point. They are able to appreciate his death but cannot understand his motives. “‘If it had been Gregor…he wouldn’t have gone off his own accord'” (120). Grete made these claims at Gregor’s hearing. But she never realises that he is, because she believes he doesn’t understand human speech. Gregor’s family has forgotten him since his death. They accept the charwoman handling his corpse. Herr Samsa even checks her story of it disposal with a firm hand (125). They fled the apartment “Gregor had chosen for them” (125), erasing all traces and memories. Gregor is not recognized by his family, either out of guilt at having ignored him or to allow him to continue to go unnoticed. They are not obligated to take care of the insect once they have confirmed that it is not Gregor. Gregor has never doubted the identity and loyalty of his family. But he is now a different person, not in their eyes. Although Gregor does not ask his family to abandon him, he recognizes that his death was a selfless act of humanity.
Although the sacrifice is not considered as humane, it is equally self-directed. The penal colony’s officers, who try, prosecute, sentence, and execute prisoners convicted insubordination-related crimes, show a voyager their method of execution: death with a machine that cuts the commandment off the condemned man. The officer claims that the condemned man sees “enlightenment” (137) when he realizes the gravity and is able to accept the consequences of his crime. Justice triumphs. The colony’s new colony commandant is opposed to execution. This causes the voyager to be upset and resolves that he will condemn the execution. The officer discovers this and decides to kill himself by using the machine. The officer is likely reacting to his voyager’s condemnation. In this case, he has sacrificed his own life in search of justice. He is the only voice remaining for this justice, and the only one who would consider the sacrifice just. However, he has not been able to reap the benefits of the sacrifice. He couldn’t see the promise of deliverance. All the others found it in the machine but the officer didn’t find it (152). The voyager also believes that the officer is acting in a perfectly rational manner if the procedure was “on the verge of being abandoned” (149). The sacrifice causes the victim to suffer and the beneficiary to gain; this is how sacrifices work. However, there is no logic to the punishment of the officer.
The voyager and officer’s reactions are in direct contradiction to our expectations. It is absurd for an officer not to be punished for injustice through the use of injustice. The officer execution is considered a just act according to morality, but the voyager considers it unjust. This logic shows that neither the officer or the voyager are making a sacrifice. An officer’s true sacrifice would be to leave his beloved machine. A voyager would not have made the same decision and would have opted to support the execution of the condemned man. The officer’s only sacrifice is to stop any future administrations.
The death of the officer is not only tragic for the other three protagonists, but it is also a sign of indifference. His self-condemnation is reversed and his death is a sentence. The fasting-artist is motivated by his art and Gregor from his devotion to his family. However, the officer’s suicide literally wipes out his valuable apparatus, effectively ending his pursuits and not helping them. Satisfaction is not available to those who die without regard for their causes.
