Status Updates From Franz Kafka: The Complete S...

i think there was a reason he didn’t want these published

guys idk if i can do this, im not saying its bad its just inherently not for me

czlowieku o co ci chodzi

A Hunger Artist: A man whose craft of fasting for long periods of time sees a decline in appreciation for his craft. Soon he is signs with the Circus, his last resort at rekindling the past excitement from the public of days past. Weeks past and soon the novelty of his act disappears and the demand for his cage grows. At last we learn he fasts as his life's purpose and at peace a panther is brought into his cage...

So the last defender of the machine perishes with it, the Officer sacrificing his life as if it has no purpose if he cannot convince a foreigner of its usefulness, the machine losing parts as it operates.

Certainly it seems the machine is a metaphor for the machine of system, of government or belief.