Ms. De Soto
Some notes on Kafka and relevant literary and philosophical theories
Kafka on parenting:
“Tyranny or slavery, born of selfishness, are the two educational methods of parents: all gradations of
tyranny or slavery.”
Kafka on freedom:
“It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.”
“We all have wings, but they have not been of any avail to us and if we could tear them off, we would do so.
“
Kafka on Kafka:
“My ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me.”
“What do I have in common with the Jews?
I don’t even have anything in common with myself!”
Why Study Kafka?
1. Kafka’s writing is a bridge between 19th century realism and 20th century existentialism.
Realism: a mode of writing that gives the impression of recording or “reflecting” faithfully an actual way of
life. Realism rejects idealization, escapism, and other extravagant qualities of romance in favor of
recognizing soberly the actual problems of life...realism is associated with 19 th novels of middle- or lowerclass life, in which the problems of ordinary people in unremarkable circumstances are rendered with close
attention to the details of the physical setting and to the complexities of social life.
Kafka exploits a realistic manner in rendering events that are in themselves fantastic, absurd, or
impossible—and uncanny. He describes outrageous events in a matter-of-fact tone; his prose style is
passive and understated.
Existentialism: a philosophy centered on “Dasein” or what it is to-be-in-the-world. Unless specified as
“Christian,” existentialism refers to an atheist philosophy of human freedom conceived in terms to individual
responsibility and authenticity. Its fundamental premise, that “existence precedes essence,” implies that
we as human beings have no given essence or nature but must forge our own values and meanings in an
inherently meaningless or absurd world. Obliged to make our own choices, we can either confront the
anguish (or angst) of this responsibility, or evade it by claiming obedience to some determining convention
or duty, thus acting in “bad faith.” Paradoxically, we are “condemned to be free.”
In short, there is no “higher power” to guide you or give you the answers—you are totally, terrifyingly alone
and responsible for your own awesome or crappy life, according to an existentialist perspective. To deal
with this overwhelming responsibility, to ward off depression, and to fight despair, you must “force your life
to mean.” (I got that last bit from The Van Gogh Blues by Eric Maisel)
Point of clarification for the philosophers in the room about the main differences between existentialism and
Nihilism, a term that comes from the Latin nihil, or nothing, which means “not anything,” that which does not
exist. It appears in the verb "annihilate," meaning to bring to nothing, to destroy completely. Nihilism is the
belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated
with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in
nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy. In Russia, “nihilism”
became identified with a loosely organized revolutionary movement (C.1860-1917) that rejected the
authority of the state, church, and family.
While few philosophers would claim to be nihilists, nihilism is most often associated with Nietzsche who
argued that its corrosive effects would eventually destroy all moral, religious, and metaphysical convictions
and precipitate the greatest crisis in human history. In the 20th century, nihilistic themes--epistemological
failure, value destruction, and cosmic purposelessness--have preoccupied artists, social critics, and
philosophers. Mid-century, for example, the existentialists helped popularize tenets of nihilism in their
attempts to blunt its destructive potential. By the end of the century, existential despair as a response to
nihilism gave way to an attitude of indifference and an acceptance of the absurdity of the universe.
2. Kafka expresses the absurd view of life better than just about anyone.
the Absurd: a term derived from the existentialism of Albert Camus and often applied to the modern sense
of human purposelessness in a universe without meaning or value. The Absurd (aka Absurdism)
acknowledges humanity’s loss or lack of religious, philosophical, and cultural roots. Literature of the
Absurd depicts the individual as essentially isolated and alone, even when surrounded by other people and
things, and depicts the universe as utterly bewildering and indifferent to humankind. Conventions of
realistic literature are often subverted—scenes, actions, and dialogue are usually disconnected, repetitive,
and intentionally nonsensical.
3. Kafka captures the dream experience in fiction—or the nightmare, take your pick.
Surrealism: an anti-rational movement of imaginative liberation...surrealism attempts to reach beyond the
limits of the “real.” Surrealism seeks to break down the boundaries between rationality and irrationality,
exploring the resources and revolutionary energies of dreams, hallucinations, and sexual desire. Freud's
work with free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious was of utmost importance to the
Surrealists in developing methods to liberate imagination. Surrealism aimed to revolutionize human
experience, in its personal, cultural, social, and political aspects. They wanted to free people from false
rationality, and restrictive customs and structures. Breton proclaimed that the true aim of Surrealism was
"long live the social revolution, and it alone!" To this goal, at various times Surrealists aligned with
communism and anarchism.
Expressionism was a movement in the early 1900s based on the belief that one’s inner emotional and
psychological reality is more important than one’s “objective” and physical reality--that the response of an
individual is more important than the object or situation that causes the response. Its typical trait is to
present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to
evoke certain moods or ideas (moods and ideas that tended toward angst and tormented introspection).
4. Kafka is so awesome and weird that he gets his own adjective!!
"Kafkaesque" is an adjective that is used to describe that which is "marked by a senseless, disorienting,
often menacing complexity: Kafkaesque bureaucracies" and "marked by surreal distortion and often a
sense of impending danger: “Kafkaesque fantasies of the impassive interrogation, the false trial, the
confiscated passport . . . haunt his innocence" — The New Yorker.
It can also describe an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats. "Lack of
evidence is treated as a pesky inconvenience, to be circumvented by such Kafkaesque means as
depositing unproven allegations into sealed files.” Another definition would be an existentialist state of
ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigatable control.
The adjective refers to anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish type of narration, in which
characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of
escape. The term's meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and
situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.
All about DREAMS (if you’re tired or sleepy, WAKE UP!)
Throughout The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud analyzes his own dreams as examples to prove his new
theory of the psychology of dreams. Freud makes a distinction between the ‘‘manifest,’’ or surface-level,
dream content and the ‘‘latent,’’ or unconscious, ‘‘dream thoughts’’ expressed through the special
‘‘language’’ of dreams. He posits that all dreams represent the fulfillment of a wish on the part of the
dreamer and maintains that even anxiety dreams and nightmares are expressions of unconscious
desires. Freud explains that the process of ‘‘censorship’’ in dreams causes a ‘‘distortion’’ of the dream
content; thus, what appears to be trivial nonsense in a dream, can, through the process of analysis, be
shown to express a coherent set of ideas. The ‘‘dream work’’ is the process by which the mind
condenses, distorts, and translates ‘‘dream thoughts’’ into dream content. Freud proposes that the
ultimate value of dream analysis may be in revealing the hidden workings of the unconscious mind.
Elaboration upon the types of dream work and the distortions involved:
Condensation: Two or more latent thoughts are combined into one manifest image or situation
Displacement: An object or image with high psychic value is de-emphasized in the dream whereas an
object or image of low psychic value is emphasized
Symbolism: Vague concepts/abstractions are converted into dream images (anger is converted to fire)
Secondary revision: A rearrangement of the seemingly incoherent elements of the dream into a form
serviceable for narration. This involves logical and temporal reorganization…and may produce omissions
or additions.
*These definitions and ideas are taken liberally from Joseph Childers and Gary Hentzi, The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary
and Cultural Criticism. New York: Columbia UP, 1995 and from Chris Baldick, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990, as well as my random undergrad and grad school notes.