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...
Macbeth: A Man Torn by Conflict or a Ruthless Murderer?
In this blog post, we delve deeply into whether the protagonist of Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Macbeth’ is a man torn by conflict or a ruthless murderer. Can Macbeth Be Forgiven? Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s Four Great Tragedies, can be described as a world drenched in blood. The play unfolds with countless lives lost, culminating in the tragic demise of the protagonist himself...
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...
What is the meaning of life and death learned from The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
In this blog post, I aim to deeply reflect on the essence of life and death through Leo Tolstoy’s ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’. I’ve wondered what I would do today if I knew I would die tomorrow. I worried about my parents. I should tell them I love them and thank them. The rest of my family and friends would be sad too. But the most pitiable person was me. Since I am the one who...
The Metamorphosis (What is the contradiction of capitalism?)
In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Gregor’s transformation is not merely a tragedy. It explores how it reveals human alienation and the contradictions within family relationships within the capitalist system. Franz Kafka: A Brief Introduction Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, then the capital of Bohemia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the eldest son of a middle-class Jewish family...
The Old Man and the Sea (Is the Old Man Who Lost the Fish a Loser?)
The Old Man and the Sea is a work that contains deep reflection on defeat and victory in the struggle between man and nature. Through the story of the old man who lost the fish, it explores what true victory is. It must have been when I was in high school. I once stayed up all night reading Hemingway’s (1899–1961) The Old Man and the Sea. Overcome with emotion, I watched the dawn...
The Geography of Thought (The Age of Imitation and Fusion)
In this blog post, we explore the differences between Eastern and Western ways of thinking and the processes of cultural imitation and fusion through ‘The Geography of Thought’. The book I read this time is Richard Nisbett’s ‘The Geography of Thought’. Comprising eight chapters, the author—a social psychologist—uses experiment-based data in each chapter to explain the differences in...
The Metamorphosis (A Masterpiece that Uncovers the Absurdity and Anxiety of Human Existence)
“The Metamorphosis” is Franz Kafka’s masterpiece, which delves into the absurdity and anxiety of human existence. It profoundly illuminates alienation, loss of identity, and conflict with family through the story of a man transformed into a grotesque insect. Franz Kafka Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, Czech Republic, as the eldest son of a middle-class Jewish family. At the...
The Kite Runner: Is Amir a True Hero or a Man Trying to Ease His Guilt?
This blog post deeply explores whether Amir in ‘The Kite Runner’ is a true hero or a man who acted to ease his guilt. Chocolate is sweet. Anyone who puts chocolate in their mouth can feel the sweetness surge instantly. Yet, paradoxically, the reason chocolate is cherished more than equally sweet candies or jellies is precisely because of its bitterness. That absurd sensation—both sweet and...
The Era of Designing Children: How Far Is Ethical?
This blog post explores how far it is ethically permissible to ‘design’ children amid advances in genetic technology. Professor Michael Sandel unpacks the philosophical and ethical debate surrounding ‘designing children’ in his book ‘The Case Against Perfection’. While we can consider a partner’s character or qualities when choosing a friend or spouse, children are beings we cannot...