James Wood’s piece “Knut Hamsun’s Christian Perversion” elucidates all the mysterious surrounding the protagonist of Hunger. The character that none can parallel had to have some inspiration, and that inspiration came from the author himself, moreover, the protagonist might as well be named Knut Hamsun! The things that make Knut Hamsun himself are as crazy as those that make the protagonist himself. Hamsun was born into poverty, disparaged religion, was self conscious about his origins, he was hysterical, skittish, and often rudely eccentric. Just like the protagonist, he moved to a poor district called Christiania. It seems like everything he did was out of sincere madness. The reason he liked the Nazis is not because he was an anti-Semite, rather he despised English occupation. Furthermore, he was the “king of man who wanted to be thrown out of parties.” And this most upsetting of all, he drifted into oblivion just as the protagonist did when he boarded the boat at the end of the novel.
Before I begin praises Wood for his ability to psychoanalyze the protagonist, I want to praise Knut Hamsun. No matter how arrogant and incorrigible his personality seems, I think it is necessary to note his abundant humility and humbleness. If his characters are based on him, he might be one of the most down to earth and crazy person in the world. He knows that he is mad. I know I have faults, yet if I were to write a book with a protagonist based on myself; it is safe to say that I would embellish it very much. I think it is necessary to note and honor Knut Hamsun for his ability to be blatantly honest with a unsavory side of himself.
In fact, Hamsun himself, and therefore his characters, are so complex, I was surprised by what Woods was able to deduct about their personalities. I never thought of it, but it makes so much sense that the protagonist wants to be punished. He sins so that he can be punished. When he lies, he wants to be caught. When he thinks he steals, he wants to get in trouble. But what is the force that controls this? “We are able to see that his characters believe that they control their destinies, and that is a delusion.” What I could only establish as capriciousness in the protagonist, Woods makes clearer. He will attack himself for his own self induced poverty, and then a few lines later, will reject money because he is full of false pride.
What I consider to be a major aspect of the novel is the characters lack of certainty. The fact that he goes off tangents is all encompassing, and Woods dissected why he does what he does. The protagonist sins to get in trouble and has a strong sense of false pride which only mirrors the conditions that Hamsun lived in. Moreover, the protagonist’s craziness, however sad it may be, is an exact replica of Hamsun. The most disturbing display of madness in the novel when the protagonist bites his own finger actually happened in Hamsun’s life, yet to a greater extent. Hamsun actually hacked at his own leg with an axe! How does this happen! With a man like this writing a novel, it is inherent that a major idea from it will be the absolute craziness that the protagonist has. “I dream of literature with characters in which their vary lack of consistency is their basic characteristics.” – Knut Hamsun. I reckon he achieved that very well!
Also, I think Knut Hamsun is pretty badass because when he went to meet Hitler, one of the most powerful people in the world at the time, he showed no respect for him. He had the balls to lecture him and complain about one of his representatives. “An aide later recalled that Knut Hamsun was the only man he had ever seen thwart Hitler.” What a guy.
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