Franz Kafka 2
Franz Kafka did not exactly live a king's life. His life was full of frustration and confusion. That is probably the main reason for his twisted stories. He began life in Prague on July 3, 1883. He was the oldest of six children. Kafka had three surviving sisters; Valli, Elli, and Ottla; as well as two brothers; Heinrich and George; who died in infancy. He was 6 feet tall, weighed between 140 and 100 lbs. (fluctuated due to illness), had gray-blue eyes, and had black hair (Kafka 1). He lived with his mother, Julie, and father, Hermann, although he was raised by governesses, which was normal among the middle and upper classes. Hermann Kafka was a self made middle class Jewish merchant who raised his children in the hopes of assimilating them into the mainstream society of the Austro - Hungarian empire (Biography of Franz Kafka 1). "Hermann Kafka, the son of a butcher, was a strong, energetic, and domineering man who established a successful wholesale haberdashery warehouse in Prague (Biography 1). His relationship with his father left something to be desired. That something was love. Hermann Kafka was disappointed in his son; he was always hoping his son would come out better and stronger than he did. T
"The Metamorphosis", one of Kafka's better known works, was published in 1913 by Kurt Wolff Verlag, Franz's publisher, who had some faith in him (Kafka 3). It is the story of Gregor Samsa, who turns into a bug and is shunned by his family. Gregor's father kills him inadvertently when an apple he throws at Gregor to drive him away becomes embedded in his back and rots and becomes infected. The Samsa family sees Gregor's predicament as an affront because they had expected him to support the entire family. They withdraw from him and try to contain the damage, but in the process they begin to change their own life stories as well. (Kafka, Franz: The Metamorphosis 1). Gregor's life and personal identity drastically change when he becomes an arthropod. In a psychoanalytical interpretation, the metamorphosis of Gregor into a bug prevents the imminent rebellion of the son against the father (Kafka, Franz: The Metamorphosis 2). "A Hunger Artist," published in 1924, is one of his lesser known, yet equally strange works. "A Hunger Artist" explains the art of fasting, which is a rapidly dying art. The main character in the book, obviously the hunger artist, left his impresario and hired himself out to a circus. He dreads the onslaught of customers; some stop to watch him; some rush past to see the animals. On his deathbed, it is revealed that there was no honor in his fasting. When he dies, he is insulted in the worst way - he is replaced by a circus panther. This is a story about becoming nothing (Kafka, Franz: A Hunger Artist 1). his was one of the main sources for Franz's frustration and confusion. Franz was surpri
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Approximate Word count = 1106
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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