Thank you so much for this, I'm happy I found someone that interpreted it like I did. I have an additional take on the character of the father, I think that it's more of what Kafka thinks a father should be (almost like in a dream where people we know act as we'd want them to). I think of the judgement at the end as being a decline of the "socially acceptable" version of George which isn't normally the case of a parent figure. We also get a glimpse that the father liked and supported the "friend" -who's a representation of being true to oneself- (through sending letters). So I envision the story as being a contemplation of two lifestyles and how; when seen through autobiographical lens, Kafka shapes his father's expectations as being what he'd want them to be. Anyway, I love your perspective, it'd be great if you discuss the works of other writers too.

One question: Why does the narrator portray his friend that moved to Russia as a failure, who would likely be embarrassed to return home? Is that just a self-constructed comfort for the narrator to feel good about his own choice to remain in Prague, work in his father's business, marry, etc?

@3deer6

2 ай бұрын

in my interpretation the narrator sees him as a failure because the ideal he had chased in russia failed. now, he is stuck in a foreign land to which he has no connection and no one to care for or to love him. i see the friends character as a sort of cautionary tale the narrator had made up for himself

@3deer6

2 ай бұрын

of course i could be completely wrong

I kinda have different perspectives about the story: I think The friend is the person Franz's father wants him to be and Georg is representing Franz Kafka engaged with Felice. And The Father is punishing him, at the end, in the reason of not being the person Franz's Father wants him to be. And How georg accepts the punishment portrays the Helplessness situation of Franz Kafka to His Father

Kafka had just met Felice when he wrote this story, he wasn't yet engaged

I think this video, and the way you explained it deserves more appreciation that it has right now. It was very and actually interesting to watch the whole video, unlike others where they put up a 25 minutes video as a summary. Best of luck sir! Very happy to see your video. *heart emoji*

The drama comes from the Father’s accusation/judgement - basically calling his son a fake. The meaning comes from the son admitting to himself “Yes, I am a fake”. The “self execution” is the son realizing that by leading 2 separate lives - he’s failed at both of them. Thus, he dies both a “literary” and an actual “human” death. The fact that all this isn’t actually REAL but a story played out on paper is #1.The lie behind the lie. #2. The illusory nature of Being….AND #3 : Kafka being Kafka, lol.

Thank you... It helped me a lot

Thank you for this

amazing! thank you!!!

excellent video thank u

Thank you. What do you think about Kafka's father having the opposite expectation of Kafka compared to the father in the story (wanting him to be a successful sell-out)?

my interpretation differs from you at a very critical point. from my perspective, georg does not accept his judgement. however, he still carries out his punishment himself, almost with a fervent belief and passion, as if forced to by an external force. i read this book in french, and it used a very specific verb to describe this scene “gorg se senti…”. this implies an external force acting upon the main character. moreover, georg was “… irrémédiablement poussé vers l’eau”. this further proves that he does not have free will in his actions. this external force, almost a curse cast upon him by his father, to me, is a metaphor for the crushing weight of a parents expectations upon a child. this notion of expectations is even reinforced in the last lines, where georg reminisces about his former exploits as a gymnast.

@waikatorn

Ай бұрын

I love the way you viewed the mention of him being a gymnast, which i considered to be of no significance to the story. it gave me a whole new perspective towards the story.

Modernist Fiction