Infant Prodigy

Short Story Thorough Analysis 

This assignment is tended to fulfill the courses of Prose I. this assignment will analyze two short stories. I have to choose one short story between two short stories (The Infant Prodigy by Thomas Mann and A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka). This assignment will pretend which one of two stories that has a higher scale in the story and also the ranking of the story. Then, the decision will support my choice with a reasons and thorough analysis.

I prefer to choose the short story entitle “The Infant Prodigy”. I think this story is a higher ranking and easier to understand from language use and then from the literary value of this story clearer than A Hunger Artist. The evidences are the explanation about how pure Bibi become an Infant Prodigy; his attitude to music, the performance, and in what way his performance can attract people. The story also tells something about the relation of the ideal and the actual.  I will analyze the main character. The main character in the story has prodigy ability. “The main character (Bibi Saccellaphylaccas) is a child, a Greek boy, he is eight years old, but he has a high musicality. When he plays the piano in the stage, his awesome performance can make the people astonished. The audiences are hypnotized, whether they realize or not.

“The infant prodigy entered. The hall became quiet. It became quiet and then the audience began to clap, because somewhere at the side a leader of mobs, a born organizer, clapped first. The audience had heard nothing yet, but they applauded; for a mighty publicity organization had heralded the prodigy and people were already hypnotized, whether they knew it or not”. (First paragraph: 380).

Bibi Saccellaphylaccas is a high social class person. The evidences are from his suit and glamour concert and an aging princess, as well as by the impresario and Bibi’s mother.

“He was dressed entirely in white silk, which the audience found enchanting. The little white jacket was fancifully cut, with a sash underneath it, and even his shoes were made of white silk. But against the white socks his bare little legs stood out quite brown. (Third paragraph: 380).

“The concert was held in the palatial hall of a fashionable first-class hotel. The walls were covered with mirrors famed in gilded arabesques, between frescocs of the rosy and fleshly school. Ornamental columns supported a ceiling that displayed a whole universe of electric bulb, in clusters darting brilliance far brighter than day and filling the whole space with thin, vibrating golden light” (6^th paragraph: 381-382).

“Down in front on the left side sat the prodigy’s mother, an extremely obese woman with a powdered  double chin and a feather on her head. Beside her was the impresario, a man of oriental appearance with large gold buttons on his conspicuous cuffs” (1^st paragraph: 382).

Bibi has a high musicality and his attitude toward music, his performance is amazing when his finger play every tone and powerful melody makes the audience can’t believe their ear.

“And Bibi, with his index finger, fetched the first note out of the piano, a quite unexpectedly powerful first note in the middle register, like a trumpet blast. Other followed, an introduction developed—the audience relaxed”. (5^th paragraph: 381).

“Bibi ended in a grand climax. With that power this wee manikin belaboured the keyboard! The audience could scarcely trust its ears. The march theme an infectious, swinging tune, broke out once more, fully harmonized, bold and showy; with  every note Bibi flung himself back from the waist as though he were marching in a triumphal procession”.(2^nd paragraph:382).

The attitude of Bibi toward audience is show in this story, when Bibi humiliate the audiences, his programmer, and the critics. Bibi considers that he knows everything about music and art, and aesthetic values of music.

“The whole programme was by him, they were all all his composition. He could no score them, of course, but he had them all in his extraordinary little head and they possessed real artistic significance, or so it said, seriously and objectively, in the programme”. (1^st paragraph: 381)

I found in the story about Bibi’psychological conflict. Bibi must entertain his audience, but he also anticipates losing himself in his music, Bibi’s dilemma between his ideal and his reality life. He feels a something different as if he was a labor for music and the audience. Bibi is getting bored when his life for music is only for the audience, for entertain them. Bibi assumes that all the member of audience respond more on the show not in his aesthetics toward music. Then, Bibi’s thought toward the audience that they just have an average brain or regular brain.

The evidences are;

“Ah, the knowing little creature understood how to make people clap! He stopped behind the screen, they had to wait for him, lingered a little on the steps of the platform, admired the long streamers on the wreaths—although actually such things bored him stiff by now” (1^st paragraph: 383)

“He lingered over the approach, wondering if they would notice anything. But no, of course not, how should they?”(5^th paragraph: 383).

“All these people sat there in the regular rows, looking at the prodigy and thinking all sort things in their regular brain” (6^th paragraph: 383).

The respond toward Bibi was came; from the audience, a young girl in the Bibi’s concert, the officer, the old man, a business man and his music teacher give their comment and respond to Bibi’s performance about the positive and negative responds. The respond makes Bibi frustrated. For the first time, Bibi thinks all of the critics are useless for him and just ignore it as usual even he humiliate every judges although that is an appreciation to him, but suddenly Bibi makes up his mind to believe what they say, perhaps he was wrong and they are right look like Bibi was gave up. After that, Bibi does not come back to stage and prefer to go home with his mother. These evidences describe that the story is ironic. People is praise him about his musicality and also bring down his mental.

The old man said:

“… and here sat now, a grey old man, looking on while this little hop-o’-my-thumb performed miracles. Yes, yes, it is a gift of God, we must remember that. God grants His gifts, or He withholds them, and there is n shame in being an ordinary man”. (6^th paragraph: 383-384).

The business man said:

“Art … the business man with the parrot-nose was thinking.”Yes, it adds something cheerful to life, a little good white silk and a little tumty-ti-ti-tum. Really he does not play so badly”. (1^st paragraph: 384)

The music teacher said:

“But not very original—I will say that afterwards, it sounds well. And his hand position is entirely amateur. One must be able to lay a coin on the back of the hand—I would use a ruler on him.” (2^nd paragraph: 384)

Then, a young girl said in her mind:

“What is it he is playing? It is expressive of passion, yet he is a child. If he kissed me it would be as though my little brother kissed me—earthly object, a sort of child’s play of passion? What nonsense!” (3^rd paragraph: 384)

An officer said:

“Yes, you are something and I am something, each in his own way.” (4^th paragraph: 384)

“I think I’ll criticize that as inartistic. But perhaps I am wrong, perhaps that is the most artistic thing of all. What is the artist? A jack-in-the-box. Criticism is on a higher plane. But I can’t say that”. And away he went in his muddy trousers. (1^st paragraph: 385)

And final critic also an impression from an elderly man, he thought:

“Look at him, this young beggar of a Bibi. As an individual he has still to develop, but as a type he is already quite complete, the artist par excellence. He has in himself all the artist’s exaltation and his utter worthlessness, his charlatanry and his sacred fire, his burning contempt and his secret raptures.”

Bibi have to come out again and again from behind the screen. However, Bibi just a child but he forced to entertain people by his impresario. After he plays the last song in the stage, Bibi is being cruel of critics that not suit with his opinion about music. Then, Bibi leaves the stage and go home with his mother.