This blog post explores the literary legacy and significance of Josef Kajetan Tyl, a central figure in Czech Romantic literature. Romanticism In the 18th century, the major European nations were dominated by the Enlightenment, a movement that inherited the classicism established in France in the 17th century, while at the same time making reason the sole means of perception. Classicism was...
The Metamorphosis (How Does Human Existence Change in Capitalist Society?)
This blog post examines the impact of capitalist society on human existence through Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, discussing the constraints and social alienation humans face. Reading The Metamorphosis, I couldn’t help but reflect on the organic connection between the shackles of freedom and human alienation. We live in a liberal democratic society where all opportunities...
Why did Franz Kafka strip the doctor naked and throw him into a blizzard?
This blog post explores the metaphors of the unconscious and desire in Kafka’s literature through a psychoanalytic lens, focusing on ‘A Country Doctor’. Beginning with the line “He was extremely perplexed,” this story is actually more perplexing for readers. Its dreamlike, surreal narrative unfolds in a way that defies comprehension. Imaginary beings suddenly appear, and strange...
Book Review – In Search of ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘The Trial’
Exploring Franz Kafka’s masterpieces ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘The Trial’, we delve deeply into human existence, alienation, and an absurd world. The opening lines of Franz Kafka’s (1883–1924) ‘The Metamorphosis’ are shocking to anyone who reads them, no matter when. Long ago, in my youth, I too was shocked. One morning, after a troubled sleep, Gregor Samsa woke to find himself...
How to Understand and Interpret Franz Kafka’s Works?
Kafka’s literary world explores the essence of human existence amidst absurdity and solitude. This guide presents an interpretive approach to deciphering reality and inner worlds through his symbols and metaphors. Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, in Prague, the son of a Jewish merchant. He received a German education and earned a doctorate in law from Charles Ferdinand...
What questions does Gregor in Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ pose about human existence and relationships?
This blog post examines the questions about the meaning of human existence and the nature of relationships raised through Gregor’s transformation in ‘The Metamorphosis’. What would happen if I woke up one day to find myself transformed into a giant insect? This premise, explored in Franz Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung), might feel somewhat unsettling and...
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis: A Commentary
Through a commentary on Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, we explore the profound symbols and messages of alienation, humanity, and family relationships contained within the novel. Franz Kafka: A Life of Rejection and Alienation Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, Czech Republic, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the eldest son of a German-speaking Jewish middle-class family...
Characteristics of the Kafkaesque World as Seen Through Franz Kafka’s Major Works
This blog post will examine the characteristics of the Kafkaesque world through several of his major works. An Exploration of the World Beyond Rationality Kafka was born in Prague in 1883 to a Jewish-German family. At the time of his birth, Prague was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and one of the empire’s major...
Who was Franz Kafka, and what message do his works convey?
This blog post delves deeply into the life and major works of Franz Kafka, who relentlessly explored human existence amidst loneliness and anxiety. Franz Kafka was born in Prague as the eldest of six siblings to a Jewish merchant father and a mother from a wealthy family. However, he grew up with three sisters (Elsa, Valli, and Otla) after two younger brothers died young. His father...
What did Franz Kafka want to say through his works?
This blog post takes a deep dive into the literary world of Franz Kafka, exploring his works that grappled with life and art, alienation and existence. Franz Kafka was reluctant to publish his works during his lifetime. He only reluctantly published some of his writings at the request of publishers. However, the published works barely sold, met with public misunderstanding. The works...