Short story writer and novelist, Franz Kafka, invites his readers into absurd and fictional stories that can seemingly relate to his ideal of human existence. According to an article from Yale University, Kafka believed, “the human race was a product of one of “God’s bad days” and there is no “meaning” to our lives” (“yalepress”, 1). His writings, “mixed with realism and surrealism, often leave readers with a sense of grim” (“TheCollector”, 1). Kafka wrote in his novel, The Trial, “Above all, the free man is superior to the man who has to serve the other” (“The Trial”, 1). It is fair to say that Kafka recognized inferiority and saw it as an issue in human society. As Kafka himself had a Jewish heritage, he used fictional characters in his writings to reveal antisemitism and perhaps, would agree that systemic racism is a social epidemic.
Understanding Kafka and his Jewish heritage, today, we have a greater sense of the brutality Jews faced during the Holocaust. Kafka’s novel, The Trial, depicts a man on a search for answers after he is arrested for a crime unknown to him. His search was unpredictable and absurd, much like African Americans today, in search of reparative solutions for the centuries of ancestorial slavery. In a short TED-Ed film, Noah Tavlin explains that although Kafka’s novel, The Trial, “seems to focus directly on bureaucracy, the vague laws and bewildering procedures point to something far more sinister: the terrible momentum of the legal system proves unstoppable, even by supposedly powerful officials” (Tavlin 00:03:32-44). In today’s society, African Americans face a harsh reality of widespread legal systems, such as politics, institutions, and economic developments, for centuries have been embedded with racial bias. Thus, leaving a significant number of the African American population stereotyped and underdeveloped.
A recent article highlights how Kafka's literature often tackled themes of “isolation and alienation” (“Mutual Inspiration”, 1). Despite struggling with depression and having doubts about the success of his work, Kafka created impactful pieces of literature. On his deathbed, he even asked his friend, Max Brod, to burn his work. As African Americans who speak out against the undercurrent of racial bias present in their communities, it is a fight to no avail. The system is rigged, and “isn’t to offer justice, but its sole purpose is to perpetuate itself” (Tavlin 00:03:48). The idea of reparations for African Americans is gaining momentum. However, the same legal systems that are presented with these ideas once deemed African Americans as inferior humans. This perpetuates the cycle of injustice and leaves the voices that speak up against systemic racism isolated and alienated. As Kafka stated in one of his best-selling novels, "it's important to start with what is right rather than what is merely acceptable” (“The Trial”, 1).
Much of Kafka’s work inspired many other authors and readers. One writer from the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington stated, that Kafka had the ability to write in a manner that “transcends time”, and “even foreshadows future events” (“Mutual Inspirations”, 1). In one of his novels, The Metamorphosis, a fictional character, and young man, Gregor Samsa, turns into a huge insect overnight and struggles to adjust to the new conditions. Kafka’s style of writing often leaves room for readers to think critically. One way to apply Kafka’s idea in, The Metamorphosis, to antisemitism is that it is highly unrealistic to expect people, who once viewed a specific kind of people group as creatures, to suddenly view them as fellow Americans of equal standing upon emancipation, it’s absurd! As his fictional character, Gregor Samsa, was restricted to his room after waking up with this condition, he was an insect that could be squashed and perhaps, would be if not careful. Throughout the era of slavery, African Americans longed for the freedom they were denied. Similarly to the Holocaust, slavery was an unimaginable and immoral act. Decades later, Jews were rightfully compensated for the wrongs committed against them. The question remains, why have American Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) not received direct and exclusive compensation for the injustices they have faced for centuries? The lack of reparations for ADOS is a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and it is both unfair and illogical, or rather absurd, as Kafka might have believed.
Readers like us can analyze Kafka's stories to understand his worldview. Although his writings can be “unpleasant, frightening, or confusing” (“Kafkaesque”, 1) at some points, they reflect the everyday struggles of humans. Whether we agree with his philosophy or not, Kafka uncovers unspoken ideals in his short stories and novels. In fact, his literature gave rise to the term "Kafkaesque," which Merriam-Webster defines as "having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality." Similar to the antisemitism Kafka implies in some of his literature, the gloominess and puzzling descriptions of the experiences his characters face, seemingly fit a societal imbalance within specific people groups who had once been deemed as inferior. His philosophical worldview is expressed through his short stories and fictional characters in his books like, The Trial and The Metamorphosis. Kafka found a way to communicate his concerns and died not fully knowing his impact. Nowadays, many African American Descendants of Slaves are raising their voices in the hope that someone might hear the “Kafkaesque” situations of their communities, such as systemic racism.
Work Cited
Bartov, Omer. "The Holocaust." Origins, Implementation, Aftermath. Rewriting Histories (2000).
Classon, Sarah. “Kafka’s Identity Crisis: Examining The Metamorphosis as a Response to
Anti-Semitism and Assimilation in Turn-of-the-Century Europe.” Master of Liberal Studies Theses, Apr. 2014, https://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/50.
Definition of KAFKAESQUE. 6 Apr. 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kafkaesque.
“4 Works by Franz Kafka That You Should Know.” TheCollector, 17 Sept. 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/franz-kafka-works-you-should-know/.
“Germany.” United States Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/just-act-report-to-congress/germany/.
Kafkaesque. 17 Apr. 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/kafkaesque.
Kafka, Franz, and Max Brod. The Diaries, 1910-1923. Schocken Books, 2000.
Kafka, Franz. “The Trial.” https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7849/pg7849-images.html Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Kafka, Franz. The Trial. Schocken Books, 1999.
Mutual Inspirations - FRANZ KAFKA. http://www.mutualinspirations.org/archive/2014/franz-kafka/franz-kafka/. Accessed 19 April 2024.
“What Makes Something ‘Kafkaesque’? - Noah Tavlin.” TED-Ed, https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-something-kafkaesque-noah-tavlin.
yalepress. “The Absurdity of Existence: Franz Kafka and Albert Camus.” Yale University Press, 16 Sept. 2015, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2015/09/16/the-absurdity-of-existence-franz-kafka-and-albert-camus/.
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