Existentialism in The Trial by Kafka

Existentialism in The Trial by Kafka The Czech writer FRANZ KAFKA (1883-1924) belonged to a middle class family. His father Herman was disrespectful and ill tempered towards Kafkas escape into the literature work and writing. Kafka became the eldest and only son when his two brothers died and he was aware his role in the family and rest of the life. Franz Kafka is one of the greatest influences on Western literature in the twentieth century. He has inspired a whole range of artists from the creators of the detective story to writers of the television series Twilight Zone. He began work on The Trial in 1914 after a horrendous encounter with his fiancà ©, Felice Bauer, her sister, Erna Bauer, and Grete Bloch (a short-term lover). According to Kafkas friend Max Brod, he never finished the work and gave the manuscript to Brod in 1920. After his death, Brod edited The Trial into what he felt was a coherent novel and had it published, despite the German ban on Jewish literature, in 1925. The manuscript eventually passed from Brods heirs to the German national literary archives in the late 1980s for several million dollars. Since then, new editions have been published and some textual integrity re stored to the English version of the story. He was isolated and subjected to unknown terrifying forces. KAFKA has narrated many stories and novels in his writing. In his novel The Trial he tells the story of a country doctor who goes to check a sick child. When he reaches the sick child home he discovers that child has been consumed by the maggots. In his same novel The Trial, KAFKA relates a story about a man known as Joseph K who has awakened at one night by hammering on his door. He finds that he was under arrest. The Trial in 1926 is his novel with the style of meditations, parable, poetic fragments and sketches. His work is open due to multiple interpretations and difficult categories and reflects the existentialism and modernism. Existentialism is a vast and meticulous philosophy that, in a nutshell, advocates a diverse arsenal of responses and solutions to the existentialist attitude which, essentially, is what an individual feels when confronted by the absurdity of life. Throughout humanity, ruminations and self-proclaimed ultimate truths have assumed various forms: prose, poetry, religion and numerous other doctrines, to name but a few. Kafka has inspired many of the great novelists of the twentieth century. Consequently, there is an incredible amount of literary criticism devoted to his work. The critical material discussing The Trial falls between two poles. On the one hand, Kafka is viewed through a psychological or religious lens that sees the tensions of his work as derived from an oedipal complex or the heritage of the Judaic law. At the other extreme, where few tread, are the positivist approaches of Walter Benjamin, Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari. This latter approach finds a new philosophy, a new politics, in Kafka that is as yet unexplored. Whatever the approach, there is general agreement that Kafka should be praised for his deft depiction of twentieth-century alienation and bureaucracy at the universal level. K., except for a brief friendship with Hasterer, prefers his own company. In the matter of his trial, he didnt want to enlist anyones aid and thus initiate them in the matter even distantly. To do so would be to initiate another person into himself. This is an act he cannot even do in the form of a petition. This is as it should be since the trial is his own, it is his guilt, and no matter what he does or where he goes, that is where the inquiry will be located: he is certainly being treated with strange carelessness. As much as K. desires it, he is not alone. Everyone who knows him also knows about his trial. From his point of view, the entire universe finds him guilty from the casual observer to the men who kill him like a dog. In Kafkas view, there is a way of life for any individual that is the right one, and which is divinely sanctioned. So much is perhaps admitted by most of our moral novelists; but to Kafka this fact itself constitutes a problem of tremendous difficulty, because he believes the dichotomy between the divine and the human, the religious and the ethical, to be absolute. Thus, though it is imperative for us to attempt to follow the true way, it is impossible for us to succeed in doing so. This is the fundamental dilemma that Kafka believes to lie at the basis of all human effort Conclusion Kafka employs the fictional literary elements he constructs to address the very non-fictional, existentialist aspects of society and life. Akin to Dostoyevskys Notes from Underground, it can be interpreted as both a rumination and tirade against impersonal communities, restriction of freedom, and the absurdity of life. It would be foolish to expect that an examination of Kierkegaards argument that religious faith is totally divorced from reason, and of Kafkas private response to it, would lead to a firm conclusion for or against Kierkegaards position. Kierkegaards book assumes that his readers come to it equipped with an attitude of religious belief. Without that, his poetic flourishes would be less effective, and his dialectical proofs would lose force.

Reparations: African Americans Justice Essay

The United States authorities should pay reparations to African Americans as a agency of acknowledging their wrong-doing and doing damagess. The amendss African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of bondage have been agonising and inhumane. Therefore. I am in favour of reparations for African Americans. The consequence of bondage has been an digesting issue within the African American community. Many of us are aware of the injury racism brought to the African American race. conveyed through bondage. racial segregation and favoritism. African Americans suffered many atrociousnesss. but the greatest harm done to them was the devastation of they’re original individuality. African Americans no longer hold a native linguistic communication or any African imposts to link them to Africa. Today. African Americans are connected together because they all portion a common foundation-the awful experience of slavery-and the great attempt to suppress its lingering consequence. ( World Wide Web. AcedemicLibrary. com ) Americans should recognize the magnitude of slavery’s effects on African Americans as a whole. Blacks were brainwashed and stripped of self-esteem and taught to be ashamed of dark colour of their tegument. Many African Americans have effortlessly tried to recommend â€Å"Black Pride† . seeking to re-instill self-worth and being proud of our distinguishable facial and organic structure characteristics. and darker skin colors. African Americans had zilch to get down with after the abolition of bondage in 1865. Slaves were promised a â€Å"mule/ and 40 acres† and they didn’t unrecorded to have it nor did coevalss to follow ; because the American authorities has yet to populate up to its word. The fruit of the slaves’ labour was stolen from the â€Å"land of the free† . The victims of the White people’s African slave trade ne'er experienced such freedom. This race deserves compensation for the mistreatment Pongee Bryant it has suffered and continues to digest. Paying reparations to the posterities of African American slaves would convey about a enormous betterment for the promotion of Black America. ( Douglass. Fredrick. 1845. Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass ) . White Americans have profited from instruction. life experiences. wealths that were handed down by their ascendants. As good. African Americans have been handed down the adversity of race-related issues. poorness. and the unknown history of their yesteryear. African Americans have invariably been inflicted with the societal position of their low-income degree in contrast with that of White Americans. America should be ashamed for their mistreatment of a race that did non inquire or even want to shack in this state. Yet. they still wear their ugly face of racism. and favoritism. and merely seek to segregate African Americans. as if they were at mistake. Americans may reason Blacks shouldn’t be kicking. whining. and to draw themselves up by their boot straps. Well. Martin Luther King one time said â€Å"White America wants us to draw ourselves up from our boot straps. but we don’t have any boots† . ( Shuttlesworth. Fred. 1999. A Fire You Can’t Put Out ) . The U. S. authorities has a moral duty to this race of people to counterbalance. African American’s because they were denied their heritage. faith. household. and civilization. America alleges it is a religious-based state and their religion resides in God. The bible says: â€Å"If a adult male bargain an ox. or a sheep. and kill it. or sell it ; he shall reconstruct five cattle for an ox. and four sheep for a sheep. † This state systematically contradicts itself in the manner it wants to be perceived. If America has any belief in God. they should experience an duty to counterbalance the African American posterities of slave ascendants. ( Exodus 22. Bible ) . Pongee Bryant White Americans may reason that the state did plenty when it passed the Civil Rights Act in 1960. They may besides province America has adequate resources and equal chance for each person of every race to win. However. there is a immense wealth spread in societal position among inkinesss and Whites largely because of subjugation. favoritism and racism toward the modern twenty-four hours modern-day black. Whether anybody wants to acknowledge it. there is still a glass ceiling ( i. e. . a position barrier ) against African Americans. Reparations would convey African Americans justness and economic power in this state. There are legion black reparation organisations which could have the money and administer it equally among African Americans. to integrate black-owned concerns. place ownership. and better instruction selective for immature and old inkinesss. These reparation organisations could besides put money into smaller black-owned concerns. and other industries that would foster the African American race. and guarantee a rapid growing of African American middle-class and beyond. ( Robert J. Brym/ John Lie. Sociology ) The development of African Americans in this state took on many signifiers through decennaries. The centuries of bondage in this state laid the foundation of our current relationship to America. From cotton Fieldss to constructing America’s most important edifices African Americans have helped construct the wealth in this state. Yet. the African American race has endured the most terrorist act from the Ku Klux Klan. lynchings. plantation gaols. constabulary anguish and slaying. and poorness. Slavery was a offense against humanity ; and it still is in being in many other ways and signifiers. America has created a system with. elector favoritism. drugs. and drug sentences to maintain the African Pongee Bryant American adult male enslaved. The authorities should counterbalance the African American race and put an terminal to a ceaseless subjugation rhythm. The authorities of the United States of America was instrumental in holding pressured the German and Nipponese authoritiess into the payments of reparations to the people who suffered and survived the offenses and bequest of bondage endured during World War II. The authorities of the United States has besides already paid reparations to the Japanese-Americans who were detained in concentration cantonments during World War II. America calls herself a just state: a civilised state which respects civil and human rights. encourages chance for and wellbeing of all her people. and can be trusted by other states as a county whom honors her word. Well. America promised African Americans 40 estates and a mule and didn’t live up to her promise. America’s attitude and silence on reparations malodors of lip service. ( X. Malcolm. Biography of Malcolm X ) . America should besides pay reparations to African Americans because they systematically want us to labour for their work and take all the recognition. For case America is at mistake for African American dead and injured work forces who served and were drafted in the Vietnam War. America put immature black work forces on the front-line of a war they had nil to make with nor helped lend to. America wanted a race that was non yet â€Å"capable† of voting but was competent plenty to contend in a war. A race that did non hold the option of imbibing from any fountain. sitting anyplace on a coach. utilizing any bathroom. nevertheless we were fit for contending. The point is America invariably benefits from African Americans. but refuses to counterbalance African Americans for their parts to this state. ( World Wide Web. AcedemicLibrary. com ) .

Facts about the ACT Test and Reasons to Take It

Geoffrey Chaucer s The Wife Of Baths - 1171 Words

Short Creative Essay Draft The Prologue to the Wife of Baths Tale is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer s that provides a satirical insight on the experience of Alice, the wife, and her response to autocratic judgement. The prologue takes a stance against the view of women and uses the life style of Alice as a way of dismantling stereotypical ideology of women. The very beginning of the poem Alice is stated to have five husbands. This is especially unconventional because of the time period of the poem. During this time, the Middle Ages, Women held little to no power in society. They were viewed solely as a way to get pleasure and raise a family. The Poem details on Alice’s life to project the idea that women can be different, wicked, manipulative and strong as men. In a satirical manner Chaucer shows that women can be strong if not stronger than some men. The poem has several unique factors that bring together the message of female empowerment. Chaucer uses The Structure, Theme, Tone, and other methods to successfully portray his message out to the reader. The poem was written in a way that is similar to an autobiography. The narrator of the poem is telling the story from a first person perspective, mostly speaking in a non-traditional manner. The tone of the poem sounds carefree as if the narrator was having a conversation with the reader. For example â€Å"I won t be keeping myself chaste for long, for when one husband from this world is gone Some ChristianShow MoreRelatedGeoffrey Chaucer s The Wife Of Bath2255 Words   |  10 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue, we are told the story of the wife of bath Alyson and her many marriages. The role of the woman in this time period was to follow what her husband’s rules, and to obey the men in her life since a woman was considered incapable of running her own life and making decisions. When Alyson married her first husband, she was only twelve years old by the time she married her las t husband she was forty. Although it was frowned upon for a woman to remarry AlysonRead MoreAnalysis Of Geoffrey Chaucer s The Wife Of Bath 1371 Words   |  6 PagesTa Lor Mr. Kaplan ELA 12 Period 1 27 February 2015 Pilgrim Evaluation Geoffrey Chaucer, the Father of English Literature, was the first to write in English for folks to read. One of his best known works of art would be The Canterbury Tales, which was written between 1380 and 1400 in England, but was never completed due to his death. It was composed in Middle English and portrays a great example of frame narrative. The Canterbury Tales begins with a group of pilgrims traveling from England to CanterburyRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer1694 Words   |  7 Pagesthis was the socially accepted norm. Quite often, however, this was not the case as seen in the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Prologue† written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Wife of Bath was an unconventional woman who acted like the men of the age in multiple ways. The male pilgrims in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales were uncomfortable with her behavior because she was manlier than they were. The prologue begins with the wife, Alys, immediately stepping out of line and asserting herself as an expert on a subject matterRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer1324 Words   |  6 Pagesnoteworthy difference in reference to other works. The first literary work that will be examined is The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout this work it is clear that the focus is that of the plight of a woman. The Prologue begins with the story of a woman whose name we later find out is Alisoun, before that however, she is simply referred to as the Wife. When Chaucer was planning out this particular character, he â€Å"drew upon a centuries old tradition of misogynist writingRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Tale By Geoffrey Chaucer And Le Morte D Arthur1133 Words   |  5 Pageshusband and take care of the home. They were treated very unfairly compared to men. The stories, â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† by Geoffrey Chaucer and â€Å"Le Morte d’ Arthur† by Sir Thomas Malory reveal the values of society by adding satire and characterization. Chaucer incorporates satire in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† to highlight the values of gender roles in society. Throughout the story, Chaucer demonstrates courtly love, sovereignty, and loyalty. In â€Å"Medieval Women†, women did not live â€Å"comfortableRead MoreChaucers The Canterbury Tales1381 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales serves as a moral manual in the Middle Ages. In the tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the problems of the society. For instance, Chaucer uses the monk and the friar in comparison to the parson to show what the ecclesiastical class are doing versus what they are supposed to be doing. In other words, it is to make people be aware of these problems. It can be inferred that the author’s main goal is for this literary work to serve as a message to the people along with changing theRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue1134 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath uses bible verses in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. † Further, she employs the verses as an outline of her life to find reason in God to justify her actions. Nevertheless, the purpose of the verses differs within each stanza of the poem. The Wife of Bath is a sexually promiscuous, lustful, and manipulative woman. She marries men one after the other as they get older and die. In order to combat and overthrow the speculation and criticism being thrust upon her by societal norms becauseRead MoreWho Was Geoffrey Chaucer?888 Words   |  4 PagesWho was Geoffrey Chaucer? One of the most unique poets of during the Middle Ages was Geoffrey Chaucer. He was born in London sometime between 1340 and 1344. His parents were John Chaucer and Agnes Copton. John Chaucer was an affluent wine merchant and deputy to the king’s butler. Geoffrey held several opportunities early in his life serving as a noblewoman’s page, a courtier, a diplomat, a civil servant, and a collector of scrap metal. He was given theses oppurtunities because of who his father wasRead MoreThe Worldview Of Society In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales793 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Time and tide wait for no man† (Chaucer). Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was a man of creativity, a mind for artful thinking, and a soul full of poetic writing. Chaucer attended St. Paul’s Cathedral School where poets such as Virgil and Ovid strongly influenced Chaucers’ writings (Britannica). Chaucer in his book The Canterbury Tales depicts society as being corrupted and morall y declined. Chaucers life of events such as his time as a prisoner of war (Biography.com) had impacted his outlook on theRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Influence On The 19th Century1341 Words   |  6 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the most acclaimed writers of the 14th century. It was not exactly certain when Geoffrey Chaucer was, born but it was known to be around 1340 to 1344. He was the son of John Chaucer and Agnes Copton. John Chaucer was a very successful London wine merchant, but soon died in 1366. His wife Agnes got remarried to another Chaucer, said to be a cousin of her late husband John. â€Å"Just where the boy got his schooling is not known; he may have been at either Oxford or Cambridge