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.