Heres a virtual movie of Franz Kafka reading his short parable on individualism and the noble,but challenging aspiration of resistance to the baying of the crowd "Up in the Gallery". Franz Kafka 3 July 1883 3 June 1924) is one of the most important and influential fiction writers of the early 20th century; a novelist and writer of short stories whose works, only after his early death from TB, came to be regarded as one of the major achievements of 20th century literature. He was born to middle-class German-speaking Jewish parents in Prague, Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The house in which he was born, on the Old Town Square next to Prague's Church of St Nicholas, today contains a permanent exhibition devoted to the author.[1] Kafka's work, his novels, The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927), and his short stories that include The Metamorphosis (1912) and In the Penal Colony (1914), is now considered among the most influential in Western literature. Much of his work, unfinished at the time of his death, was published posthumously Kafkas stories do contain a few common thematic threads. Kafkas search for truth, be it about relationships, justice, religion, or human nature is the one interpretation that most critics agree upon. Wilhelm Emrich, a highly acclaimed professor in Berlin, states that Kafkas writings can only be interpreted by accepting the full truth: An assistive and willing readiness for the full truth means the ability to renounce all personal, limited ideas, wishes, and efforts of will and to enter into the fullness of all of that-which-is In each of the three stories, Metamorphosis, Before the Law, and Up in the Gallery, Kafka displayed a recurrent theme, the unsuccessful arrival or the failure to reach the goal (Beissner, 19). This theme can be applied in a couple of different ways. First, in a broader sense, since Kafkas goal was to reveal Truth to his readers, The true way goes over a rope which is not stretched at any great height but just above the ground. It seems more designed to make people stumble than to be walked upon(Muir, 34), he may feel that he has failed because most readers do not search beyond the surface for the richness and value of the work. He may feel discouraged when readers try to criticize and analyze his work, assigning it concrete meanings and messages, when he is insisting that man cannot possibly fathom the real message because he is so wrapped up in his illusions. The second way to apply this theme is to go back and take a look at each individual story to discover what the goals were of the characters and to what extent was the failure of reaching those goals. In Metamorphosis, Gregors goal was to continue life in the manner he was comfortable with, allow him to pay the debts owed by his parents, and send his sister to a music academy. He failed because he was consumed by the inner turmoil caused by his dissatisfaction with his job, and he was transformed into a beetle. After the metamorphosis, Gregor discovers his inner-self and realizes that the goals he struggled to achieve werent his goals at all. Before the Law has a different setting, but the same theme can be extracted. The Mans goal was to gain access to the Law without encountering opposition. He met the gate-keeper and decided not to try to enter the Gate to the Path of Truth. A significant difference between the Man and Gregor is that the Man made the decision that would inhibit the accomplishment of his goal. The visitor in Up in the Gallery wanted to save the equestrienne from the ringmaster and the crowds but realized that he could not do it alone. Instead, he sat where he was and cried about his helplessness.
Kind Regards
Jim Clark
All rights are reserved on this video recording copyright Jim Clark 2010
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EXISTENTIALISM AND LITERATURE: KAFKA and BORGES (part one)by Winchesterjournalism3,900 views
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