Franz Kafka’s, “The Bridge” is a short, three paragraph story that raises as many questions as it dramatically addresses. With relatively few words, Kafka speaks volumes elicited from the story’s setting, materiality, and the action that takes shape throughout. By examining the relationship between Kafka’s use of the literal and the figurative, namely a man who fashions himself in the likeness of a bridge, this paper explores several possible meanings imminent in the text with special attention to absurdity and its functions. The Bridge by Franz Kafka was a short story published posthumously in 1931 (bio.com). It is a three paragraph story about a bridge. That is grasping on to each side of a ravine. Having never had a visitor until the day …show more content…
It’s a bridge someone or some group of people had to build it. An undertaking that sounds like no easy task as it seems to be spanning a ravine of unknown depth. At the bottom of which lies an “icy trout stream”(Kafka 18) full of “sharp rocks”(Kafka 18). Built into now crumbling clay, a material that sounds neither strong or easy to build a bridge into. A bridge is not a person, it is a thing. A bridge does not hang there wondering each morning “was it the first, was it the thousandth?”(Kafka 18). This sounds like the thoughts of someone who’s days are devoid of joy or meaning. So much so that the days are indiscernible from one another. Just when this bridge or person may never fulfill pr find a purpose a lone patron is heard coming …show more content…
For this bridge its fall was inflicted by an unknown patron. One who’s identity or existence we never see verified. The record of the fall is short in the story described as only being for a moment. Then the bridge was finally introduced to “the sharp rocks which had always gazed up at me so peacefully from the rushing water”. Rocks gazing peacefully? This is almost as absurd as a bridge turning around. An action that the bridge itself cannot seem to believe it is doing. This attempt by the bridge was his final effort before his fall. I cannot even picture how a bridge would turn around and attempt to look on his back. The question that comes to my mind is how can a bridge see what’s on his back? If this book is trying to make us believe that this bridge is a human, or has human like qualities. Then how flexible a person is this bridge? Because I know very few people who can see whats on their back. Especially without turning so much that anything on their back would fall off. So is this bridge so inflexible that it breaks itself by turning around or is it trying to buck off its attacker unintentionally? This answer is never answered due to the story ending shortly thereafter this scene. With the short fall of the bridge onto the sharp rocks it had stared at for the entirety of its life. The events before and during the fall of the bridge was the main issue I had with my thesis that the bridge was
OWLCREEK BRIDGE" ." ABP Journal. 1.1 (2005): n. page. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. Bierce, Ambrose “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. The Norton Introduction to
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a story of illusion, decision, and fate. It presents one with a very powerful scenario - one that questions the protagonist 's ultimate destiny, and the concept of good vs. evil. It defines the grey area of deeds by which most humans live, and uses powerful thematic concepts and devices to convey the author 's own value while leaving some space for the reader to make their own choice. Furthermore, this story discusses the life of a man who ended up on the wrong side of history, humanizing yet criminalizing him for his beliefs. This can all be attributed to a wide array of symbols and interactions- all which support the theme of illusion vs. reality. The complex thematic value of this piece stems from multiple aspects – the most important of which are the bridge through both its literal and symbolic meaning, the colour grey in all its depth and broad variations, the essence of time in all of its distortion, and the story 's style of writing.
as a form of hired help since he had taken the job to pay for his
Bernstein, Richard. “A VOYAGE THROUGH KAFKA'S AMBIGUITIES”. New York Times 02 May 1983. : n. pag. ProQuest Platinum.
Franz Kafka, b. Prague, Bohemia (then belonging to Austria), July 3, 1883, d. June 3, 1924, has come to be one of the most influential writers of this century. Virtually unknown during his lifetime, the works of Kafka have since been recognized as symbolizing modern man's anxiety-ridden and grotesque alienation in an unintelligible, hostile, or indifferent world. Kafka came from a middle-class Jewish family and grew up in the shadow of his domineering shopkeeper father, who impressed Kafka as an awesome patriarch. The feeling of impotence, even in his rebellion, was a syndrome that became a pervasive theme in his fiction. Kafka did well in the prestigious German high school in Prague and went on to receive a law degree in 1906. This allowed him to secure a livelihood that gave him time for writing, which he regarded as the essence--both blessing and curse--of his life. He soon found a position in the semipublic Workers' Accident Insurance institution, where he remained a loyal and successful employee until--beginning in 1917-- tuberculosis forced him to take repeated sick leaves and finally, in 1922, to retire. Kafka spent half his time after 1917 in sanatoriums and health resorts, his tuberculosis of the lungs finally spreading to the larynx.
"An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge." Classic Reader. 2009. BlackDog Media, Web. 2 Dec 2009. .
Hunger is a term that is often defined as the physical feeling for the need to eat. However, the Hunger Artist in Kafka's A Hunger Artist places a different, more complex meaning to this word, making the Hunger Artist's name rather ironic. The hunger of the Hunger Artist is not for food. As described at the end of the essay, the Hunger Artist states that he was in fact never hungry, he just never found anything that he liked. So then, what does this man's hunger truly mean? What drives the Hunger Artist to fast for so long, if he is truly not hungry? The Hunger Artist salivates not for the food which he is teased with, nor does he even sneak food when he alone. The Hunger Artist has a hunger for fame, reputation, and honor. This hunger seems to create in the mind of the Artist, a powerfully controlling dream schema. These dreams drive the Artist to unavoidable failure and alienation, which ultimately uncovers the sad truth about the artist. The truth is that the Artist was never an artist; he was a fraudulent outcast who fought to the last moment for fame, which ultimately became a thing of the past.
Franz Kafka's The Judgement depicts the struggle of father-son relationships. This modernistic story explores Georg Bendemann's many torments, which result from the bonds with both his father and himself. Furthermore, the ever-present and lifelong battle that Georg has been fighting with his father leads him to fight an even greater battle with himself. Ultimately, Georg loses the struggle with himself by letting go of his newly found independence and instead, letting external forces decide his fatal outcome.
They write about the unspoken mysteries of the life of their protagonists. Each of them has produced extraordinary works which make the reader observe the world in new eyes.
People behave inconsiderately in many ways. Some examples include cancelling plans at the last minute, making you wof all ages can wait for a long time, or simply not saying thanks. Unfortunately, no one can control the behavior of an inconsiderate person, but mechanisms are available when dealing and responding to these people. In my opinion, I believe being considerate is an important quality to have, whatever the consequences may be. It teaches the person to be grateful and as a result, they live a healthier life. In Franz Kafka 's story, The Metamorphosis, the moment Gregor Samsa is awakened, he finds he has been transformed into an insect, yet the family has no sense of gratitude for Gregory. Gregory’s transformation leaves him jobless and challenges emerge for the family. Throughout the passage, the author demonstrates the absurdity of life especially when individuals are forced to evolve their roles in order to survive. Using imagery, allegory and foreshadowing he describes events Gregory hears, sees, remembers, and imagines. He recounts the events of the story in a neutral tone speaking exclusively in third person. Nonetheless, the narrator endorses typical Kafkaesque elements focusing on Gregor’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Quinn, R. (2008). Building the Bridge As You Walk On It. In J.L. Pierce, & J.W. Newstrom (Eds). The Manager’s Bookshelf (pp 233-236). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Many people believe that The Judgement was the most autobiographical of Kafka's works. To provide a complete picture, one must analyse both. Franz Kafka was born into a Jewish family in 1883 in Prague, Bohemia. His father was Hermann Kafka, whose father was Jacob Kafka. Hermann Kafka worked in his father's butcher shop until he was able to fend for himself. A number of years later, he married the daughter of his employer, who owned a store. In short, he ‘married up’ to Julie Kafka. She was far more educated than her husband (especially considering that Herman had never received any schooling whatsoever). She later gave birth to Franz and 5 other children. Kafka was the oldest child of 2 brothers (Georg and Heinrich) and 3 sisters (Eli, Valli, and Ottla). The mother helped run his father's business, so she wasn’t at home often, like most others at the time. Just like in The Judgement, Franz Kafka’s relationship with his father is extremely dysfunctional. According to the European Graduate School, Hermann was seen as a “tyrannical figure in the household”. Kafka’s father Hermann, is represented as the antagonist in many of Kafka’s books, and tends to make life miserable for for the son figure (in the book and real life). Because Franz's father Hermann was raised in an impoverished environment, he valued hard work and dedication to his job. For Herman, it was very important to ensure his family had a good life. Franz’s mother Julie was similar; although she didn’t grow up in poverty, she also worked to support the family, leaving Franz with a governess. Due to the regular absences of his parents, Franz felt abandoned by them. Their high expectations only made him hate them more. Although an impartial observer would likely say that F...
ii Kafka, F. The Trial. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Introduction by George Steiner. New York, Schocken Books, 1992, 1.
In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work. Kafka's detached tone makes the phrase “from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, at present, be the most sensitive.” seem uncaring. The story contains a lack of empathy or remorse and, in a sense, it makes the reader feel isolated from the story as if what is happening to Gregor is a strange dream. Additionally, Gregor is obviously struggling physically to maneuver in his new transformation “But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad.” Kafka makes no attempt to soften this sentence in any way, he states everything literally. The fact that nothing is 'cushioned' or 'sugar coated' as
Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is often referred to as a parable. Thus, it is logical to approach Kafka’s work as an allegory and search for the deeper meaning underneath the story. We can then try to uncover the identity of the characters; of the gatekeeper, the man from the country, and the Law and subsequently relating them to something that fits the example of the plot; a man’s confused search for god, a man’s quest for happiness but never accomplishing it, a academic’s quest for recognition which never comes. Any given number of innovative readers...