Of Tragic and Artificial Heroes Unlike typical short stories that give a clear overlook of who the protagonists and antagonists are in the beginning of the story, Franz Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony” needs to be critically analyzed in order for the reader to determine the characters’ roles. Each entity in the selection possesses versatility that enables him to switch from left to right at any point of the story. However, the accumulation of versatility would not be possible if it isn’t for a certain object in the story. In the translated selection of “In the Penal Colony” by Willa & Edwin Muir, they call it “the apparatus”. This apparatus as mentioned by the speaker is composed of three essential parts – the bed, the designer and the harrow. …show more content…
The apparatus itself serves as determination for power and control. Whoever, is in charge of the apparatus has the most authority. Also, the selection is told in a third-person limited point of view. This further emphasizes the need to study each character’s role – how each of them acts towards the apparatus, and how they try to communicate with each other. First of all it is inevitable for someone to incorporate symbolism to the apparatus.
Janet Gardner, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, and the author of the textbook “Reading About Literature”, claims that “…the more prominent an image in a story, the more likely it is meant to be read symbolically” (74). I recognize the apparatus as a ¬symbol of control. “Whatever commandment the prisoner has disobeyed is written upon his body by the Harrow…” (169) This statement itself shows that the apparatus is responsible for disciplining the natives. Moreover the “commandment” may also epitomize that the apparatus is a set of laws and beliefs. However, this formulates a hypothetical question. Who gets to be the prisoner? Therefore, it may also be inferred that the apparatus is responsible for the determination of power between the characters. This claim is visibly found on the last scene when the soldier and the condemned man “came rushing after” (192) the explorer when he was about to leave. They were desperate of leaving the island since they know that one of them shall take over the superior responsibility of the former officer to take charge of the apparatus and the other one must accept the inferior role of being …show more content…
condemned. Of all the characters, the officer is the most passionate towards the apparatus. The officer is connected to each of the artistic elements to be found in the story. His profound connection with the apparatus denotes a sensory bond. The apparatus also served as a motivation for the officer to continue his job everyday. It is proven that the officer claims pride with its existence when he extracted some sheets from the leather wallet and said “…But I’m sorry I can’t let you handle them, they are my most precious possessions.” (173) He treated the apparatus with fragility and delicacy. In the later part of the story the officer enters the apparatus shedding his clothes and metaphorically shedding his dearest values. The officer's move of infinite resignation signifies his crossing of the threshold into the ethical level. ‘“BE JUST” is what is written” (186) in the apparatus. It may be construed that the officer is conscious of his wrongdoing since he is the only person who can manipulate the apparatus. However, the apparatus malfunctions, stabbing the officer mercilessly; this is not the slow, tautological death intended. This suggests that the officer is very vehement about the apparatus for he is willing to sacrifice his own life. When I attempted to analyze the explorer, I faced a dilemma of pointing out if the explorer at the colony is to act as a judge regarding the retention or rejection of the apparatus and execution in general or if he is just a passive audience to witness the apparatus. He witnesses firsthand the enthusiasm with which the officer expresses the apparatus’ grace and artfulness. Although, being an explorer, his material possessions must be few. “Apparently the foreign explorer had given the order for it.”(The verdict) “So this was revenge.” (188). For whatever reason, the explorer is in a position to judge the penal colony’s methods of execution. Perhaps the reason that his opinion is esteemed as it has come by way of the move of infinite resignation. Still, the explorer puts his personal experience out of the picture in favor of the common. The procedure and apparatus itself, the explorer decides not to vouch for the validity of the executions, much to the chagrin of the officer. It is in this respect that the explorer becomes the tragic hero. Moreover, a certain distance is maintained between the explorer and the speaker, however, in that the speaker almost never allows the explorer to think in the first-person – it's always "he thought." And the speaker's continual understatement distances us from the explorer's emotions. Lastly, when I tried to analyze the condemned man and the soldier, it came upon me that the accumulation of power in the community is capricious.
The condemned man does make us wonder how he got to be “a submissive dog that one might have thought he could be left to run free on the surrounding hills and would only need to be whistled for when the execution was due to begin.” (165). He was as if conditioned for submission. The soldier as well had the deprivation of freewill. His most dominant features are that he seems to fall asleep easily and that he's not very good at his job. However, it turns out he does know some worthy
information. To conclude, Kafka intentionally sculpted every behavior of each character to link with the apparatus. Furthermore, I presume that power from the existence of the apparatus is revolving and never stagnant. “Things sometimes go wrong of course,” (166) said the officer. Even he understands and anticipates that there will come a time that he will no longer be able to take care of his “precious possessions.” (173) Therefore, the apparatus is indeed a symbol of influence and a tool for determining the hierarchy.
Strauch, Carl F. “Kings in the Back Row: Meaning through Structure-A Reading of Salinger's `The Catcher in the Rye’.” Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature. Winter, (1961). 5-30. Literature Resource Center. New York Public Library. Web. 24 April 2008.
literature reveals to the reader political and societal problems that need addressing. In the dystopian novels The Hunger Games and The Mazerunner, readers are intrigued by the way protagonist starts at the bottom and fights their way to the top. Similar to this, in Yuri Herrera’s short story “The Objects,” the protagonist, Rafa, does just that. The story’s setting takes place in a building that forced people to transform into animals based on their social class. The reader follows Rafa’s physical and emotional transformation to the top floor where he overthrows the bosses in order to make a better life for himself. An analysis of Yuri Herrera’s
In “The Penal Colony” the life of the officer is solely based on the old commandant’s rules and ideals. His strong obsession of being “involved in the very first experiments and also [sharing] in the work all the way to it completion” (96) Has a deep impact on the officer’s life and beliefs. The officer is not only obsessed with his work but with the old ways that the old commandant made. Also, the fact that he is the last one in the colony that still follow the old ways means that he is going against the whole society in the colony. The new commandant “uses everything as an excuse to attack the old ways” (105).
Upon receiving the orders, Major Trapp delivered the news to his Battalion with tears in his eyes while his voice was shaking. To try and make this task easier, he reminded his soldiers that bombs were falling on women and children back home in Germany and that the Jews of this village supported the Partisans. Trapp spent that day in the town of Jozefow in the homes of the local priest and the mayor and ‘weeped like a child’(p.314). Even though Trapp had these feelings and knew that what he was tasked to do was morally wrong and inhumane, he carried out the orders, because ‘orders were orders’(p.314). This is similar to the Stanford prison experiment. This experiment was a simulation of a prison in the basement of Stanford University. Test subjects (university students) were divided into two groups: inmates and prison guards. The prison guards took advantage of their authority and ended up abusing the inmates verbally and physically. After a few days, many of the prisoners went mad. They felt trapped and wanted to hurt the guards. Five of the prisoners were so upset that they quit the simulation early. They had gone insane. The guards, who were regular students had turned into something that they were not; mean and scary prison guards. They ended up having no feelings about what they were
Abe creates an interesting juxtaposition when he uses the ladder to represent freedom and imprisonment, two opposite ideas. Yet, this juxtaposition leads the reader to question whether the things that free them also imprison them. Does having a two-way ticket in life, the opportunities, the good times, the abilities, does it cause them to become trapped? Through his use of the ladder as a symbol, Abe opens the door to greater questions about imprisonment, hope and freedom, while also adding to the reader’s understanding of The Woman in the Dunes.
2. Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories, Trans. Willa and Edwin Muir (New York: Schocken Books, 1975), 67—132.
Sokel, Walter H. "Franz Kafka." European Writers. Ed. George Stade. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. 847-75. Print. European Writers. Ward, Bruce K. "Giving Voice to Isaac: The Sacrificial Victim in Kafka's Trial." Shofar 22.2 (2004): 64+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. .
The author’s purpose is to also allow the audience to understand the way the guards and superintendent felt towards the prisoners. We see this when the superintendent is upset because the execution is running late, and says, “For God’s sake hurry up, Francis.” And “The man ought to have been dead by this time.” This allows the reader to see the disrespect the authority has towards the prisoners.
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is a novella that follows the story of Gregor Samsa who, one day, wakes up as an insect. On the surface, it’s just a story about a man who’s transformed into a bug; but, when deeper analyzed, you come to understand that it’s a about a man who was always a bug conflicted by his identity in a class struggle between what is known as the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Kafka’s work was written in a time in history when the struggles between the classes were becoming more defined due to the rise of industrialization and other changing social structures. This story can best be interpreted though a Marxist lens. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, his Marxist ideology comes through in the way the characters represent the struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes during the turn of the century.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
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...
One of the saddest aspects of Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis, concerns the fact that young Gregor Samsa genuinely cares about this family, working hard to support them, even though they do little for themselves. On the surface, Kafka's 1916 novella, seems to be just a tale of Gregor morphing into a cockroach, but a closer reading with Marx and Engels' economic theories , unveils an impressive metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of Marxist society. Gregor, the protagonist, denotes the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict, that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis, contributes to his inability to work. This expresses the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations. Kafka's prose emphasizes the economic effects on human relationships, therefore, by analyzing the images of Gregor, we can gain insight into many of the ideas the writer is trying to convey.
On the surface, Franz Kafka's 1916 novella, The Metamorphosis, seems to be just a tale of a man who woke up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect. But, a closer reading with Marx and Engel's economic theories in mind reveals an overarching metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of society. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, signifies the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis renders him unable to work represents the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations. The metaphor of the story can be divided into three main parts (although they overlap within the story.) First, Kafka establishes the characters and the economic classes which they represent. Then, he details Gregor's metamorphosis and the way in which it impedes his labor. Finally, he describes the final results of the worker's inability to work: abandonment by his family and death. Although a man cannot literally be transformed into an insect, he can, for one reason or another, become unable to work. Kafka's novella, therefore, is a fantastic portrayal of a realistic scenario and provides us with a valuable insight into the struggles between economic classes.
Kafka’s work, Before the Law, follows the life of a man attempting to gain access to ‘the Law.’ In his endeavor, the man finds his passage to ‘The Law’ blocked by a doorkeeper. The story continues as the man wastes away in front of the door, never attempting to pass through the gate, and constantly requesting the doorkeeper’s permission to enter. Kafka’s work is trying to show that to pass through the gate one must have the willpower to ignore obstacles and try. He shows how without the willpower to attempt to pass through one will die without knowing whether one could accomplish this goal. The man, lacking the courage to question the doorkeeper’s statement, sits and waits. He loses his worldly possessions, his physical and mental attributes,
ii Kafka, F. The Trial. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Introduction by George Steiner. New York, Schocken Books, 1992, 1.