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Franz Kafka: Difference between revisions
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Kafka pulled from his own life feelings of alienation whenever he wrote. He often mixed "prosaic realism and nightmarish, infinitely interpretable symbolism" in his works, and his protagonists were "driven to find answers in an unresponsive world, and they are required to act accordingly to incomprehensible rules administered by an inaccessible authority" (1964). In 1912, Kafka published ''The Metamorphosis,'' the longest of his works actually completed in his lifetime (1965). This work can be compared to Kafka's own childhood, alienated from his family (Contemporary). Living with an angry father, Kafka's protagonist Gregory Samsa also deals with issues regarding familial violence after his transformation into a giant beetle. Samsa, like Kafka, also feels a certain amount of loathing for himself--Kafka for his perceived failures, and Samsa for his inability to provide for his family, being a giant bug. | Kafka pulled from his own life feelings of alienation whenever he wrote. He often mixed "prosaic realism and nightmarish, infinitely interpretable symbolism" in his works, and his protagonists were "driven to find answers in an unresponsive world, and they are required to act accordingly to incomprehensible rules administered by an inaccessible authority" (1964). In 1912, Kafka published ''The Metamorphosis,'' the longest of his works actually completed in his lifetime (1965). This work can be compared to Kafka's own childhood, alienated from his family (Contemporary). Living with an angry father, Kafka's protagonist Gregory Samsa also deals with issues regarding familial violence after his transformation into a giant beetle. Samsa, like Kafka, also feels a certain amount of loathing for himself--Kafka for his perceived failures, and Samsa for his inability to provide for his family, being a giant bug. | ||
Other of Kafka's famous works include ''The Trial,'' ''The Judgment | Other of Kafka's famous works include ''The Trial,'' ''The Judgment,'' ''Amerika,'' and "In the Penal Colony". In his wake, he left behind two novellas, numerous short stories, and three unfinished manuscripts. The manuscripts, considered to be failures by Kafka, were published by the executor of his estate Max Brod, who disregarded the author's final wish to have them destroyed (1964). However, in 1922, he left the company, no longer able to work due to the advancement of his illness. Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924. The following is Kafka's legacy: | ||
:"Critically, Kafka's works have prompted a vast and varied array of interpretations. He has been hailed as a realist, an absurdist, a sociologist, and even, by Thomas Mann, as a comedic theologian. Some writers have emphasized the psychological in analyzing his works, others have concentrated on the Judaic aspects; some have traced his fiction as thinly disguised autobiography, and others have noted the same works as full-fledged fantasies. Consistent in these divergent interpretations is the respect accorded Kafka's works as unique and compelling, and the regard for Kafka as a literary master" (Contemporary). | :"Critically, Kafka's works have prompted a vast and varied array of interpretations. He has been hailed as a realist, an absurdist, a sociologist, and even, by Thomas Mann, as a comedic theologian. Some writers have emphasized the psychological in analyzing his works, others have concentrated on the Judaic aspects; some have traced his fiction as thinly disguised autobiography, and others have noted the same works as full-fledged fantasies. Consistent in these divergent interpretations is the respect accorded Kafka's works as unique and compelling, and the regard for Kafka as a literary master" (Contemporary). | ||
==Significant Works== | ==Significant Works== | ||