Showing results by author "Franz Kafka" in All Categories

"Jackals and Arabs" is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. The story was first published by Martin Buber in the German monthly Der Jude. A European traveler from the North, accompanied by Arab guides, is camped in the desert. When night falls, and the Arabs are at a distance, the traveler is accosted by talking jackals. The jackals speak of an age-old hatred for Arabs, whom they associate with uncleanliness. They relate a belief passed down from their ancestors, that a man such as the protagonist would be the one to "end the quarrel which divides the world in two".

"A Report to an Academy" is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. In the story, an ape named Red Peter, who has learned to behave like a human, presents to an academy the story of how he effected his transformation. The narrator, speaking before a scientific conference, describes his former life as an ape. His story begins in a West African jungle, in which a hunting expedition shoots and captures him. Caged on a ship for his voyage to Europe, he finds himself for the first time without the freedom to move as he will.

"In the Penal Colony" is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence.

"A Country Doctor" is a short story written in 1917 by Franz Kafka. It was first published in the collection of short stories of the same title. In the story, a country doctor makes an emergency visit to a sick patient on a winter night. The doctor faces absurd, surreal predicaments that pull him along and finally doom him. A Country Doctor is perhaps Kafka's most fantastical or surreal work. It takes its cue from Gothic literature – it has echoes of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne – and analysing and identifying the core 'meaning' of the story has proved tricky

"A Hunger Artist" is a short story by Franz Kafka first published in Die neue Rundschau in 1922. The story was also included in the collection A Hunger Artist, the last book Kafka prepared for publication, which was printed by Verlag Die Schmiede shortly after his death. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is typically Kafkaesque: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large.

"Josephine the Songstress, or the Mouse Folk" is the last short story written by Franz Kafka.The story was included in the collection A Hunger Artist published by Verlag Die Schmiede soon after Kafka's death. Franz Kafka's "Josephine the Songstress, or The Mouse Folk" follows the attempts of a member of a community to understand and explain the art of their only singer, Josephine, and the powerful effect that her singing has on the community that ordinarily has no use for song or diversion.FEAT DESC

The Metamorphosis begins as its protagonist, Gregor Samsa, wakes up one morning to find that he has become a huge insect. This change is understandably difficult for Gregor, not to mention his family and business. It ends up costing him his life.

A Kafka story with remarkable insight into the relationship, competition, fear, envy, and more between father and son.

"A Hunger Artist" is a short story by Franz Kafka first published in 1922. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is typically Kafkaesque: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. "A Hunger Artist" explores themes such as death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure, and the corruption of human relationships.

Lotte Lenya reads "Up In The Gallery", "The Cares of a Family Man", "The Bucket Rider", "A Hunger Artist", and "A Fratricide."

In the days when hunger could be cultivated and practiced as an art form, the individuals who practiced it were often put on show for all to see. One man who was so devout in his pursuit of hunger pushed against the boundaries set by the circus that housed him and strived to go longer than 40 days without food. As interest in his art began to fade, he pushed the boundaries even further. In this short story about one man's plight to prove his worth, Franz Kafka illustrates the themes of self-hatred, dedication, and spiritual yearning.

The Trial tells the story of a man arrested for an unknown crime by a remote, inaccessible authority and his struggle for control over the increasing absurdity of his life. One of Franz Kafka's best-known works, The Trial has been variously interpreted as an examination of political power, a satirical depiction of bureaucracy, and a pessimistic religious parable. Left unfinished at the time of Kafka's 1924 death, The Trial is nevertheless a trenchant depiction of the seemingly incomprehensible nature of existence....

"The Hunter Gracchus" is a short story by Franz Kafka. The story presents a boat carrying the long-dead Hunter Gracchus as it arrives at a port. The mayor of Riva meets Gracchus, who gives him an account of his death while hunting, and explains that he is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally over the seas. An additional fragment presents an extended dialogue between Gracchus and an unnamed interviewer, presumably the same mayor.Written in the first half of 1917, the story was published posthumously in Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (Berlin, 1931).

Franz Kafkas literarisches Universum ist ein faszinierender Kosmos beängstigender, alptraumhafter Gesetzmäßigkeiten - und gerade darin ein Spiegel der Moderne. In kühl-distanzierten Worten erzählt der Autor vom Unerhörten und Unergründlichen. Gert Westphal gibt in seinen eindringlichen Lesungen dem Landarzt, dem Kübelreiter, Josef K. aus "Der Prozess" und allen weiteren Figuren eine Stimme. Enthält: "Der Prozess" (Roman, ungekürzt nach der Textgestalt der Handschrift), die Erzählungen "Wunsch, Indianer zu werden", "Die Bäume", "Ein Landarzt", "Auf der Galerie".

The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Gregor's transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation. The rest of Kafka's novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repulsed by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.

Josef K. wird an seinem 30. Geburtstag verhaftet und verhört. Er ist sich keiner Schuld bewusst, und die Umstände sind grotesk: Niemand kennt das Gesetz; und das Gericht, das ihm den Prozess macht, bleibt anonym. Die 'Schuld', erfährt K., hafte ihm an, ohne dass er etwas dagegen tun könne. Verbissen versucht K., sich in dem absurden und undurchsichtigen Verfahren zu wehren. Doch je mehr er seine ungenannte Schuld zu ergründen und sich zu verteidigen sucht, desto tiefer gerät er in die alptraumhaften Labyrinthe einer undurchschaubaren Maschinerie.

Franz Kafka: Die große Hörbuch Box! Über 23 Stunden Kafka pur! Mit: Die Verwandlung, Brief an den Vater, Das Urteil, In der Strafkolonie, Ein Hungerkünstler, Ein Landarzt, der Kübelreiter und vielen anderen. Ungekürzt gelesen! Mit dabei: Ein pdf-Dokument mit vollständiger Titelliste.

Franz Kafka's haunting short story about a man both on display and marginalized by a fickle society.

A Hunger Artist. the last book Kafka prepared for publication, was printed after Kafka's death. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is an archetypical creation of Kafka: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large.

Un matin, Gregor Samsa, commis voyageur, se lève pour aller au travail mais se rend compte que durant la nuit il s'est métamorphosé en "un monstrueux insecte". Il tente cependant de commencer les activités d'une journée normale, mais, couché sur le dos, ne parvient pas à sortir de son lit.