Abstract

The twentieth century literature carries the evidence of exploitation, rapid capitalism, industrialization, history, scenario of labor market and existential crisis in a majestic way. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) interrogates the post–World War II American capitalist order and its redefinition of the American Dream, while Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist (1922) anticipates a similarly destabilized modern condition, exposing a society governed by fragile values and an increasing demand for productivity within the capitalist ethos. The point can be highlighted that both Willy and the hunger artist are trapped rigorously in the systems that demand constant labor, performance and validation. Here, the portrayal of the two works challenges the idea of aspiration against the demands of the capitalistic society. The aim of this study is to critically examine how capitalist value systems configure and constrain individual existence through the dialectical relationship of economic structures and existential agency.

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