- To me, Kafka’s stories depict self-sabotage by characters with myopic, distorted and depressing worldviews (that is, they feel that they are oppressed by a powerful and absurd world or authority and have no agency or control) who create their own prisons as they fail to realize that they have more possibility for escape than their conceptions of their situations allow. Do you agree or disagree with my idea? Why?
- What do you think of K.’s erratic and offensive behavior towards Frau Grubach? Why might he act and think in the ways he does?
- How does K. feel about his arrest? Do you think he believes that the arrest is significant and that the court has legitimate authority? Why or why not? Quote in your response.
1) I agree with this idea, and I think it applies to many of Kafka's characters. The man, for example, in "Before the Law," believes that the authority of the doorkeeper is stopping him from entering the door. However, he fails to realize that he does have the possibility to enter— the door is actually open; it isn't authority preventing him, it's himself. I also see this in Kafka's character, K., who (from what we have read) hasn't really questioned why he is being arrested, he just accepts that this is what is going to happen to him. Both the man in "Before the Law" and K. fail to realize that the figures of authority in their situation, the doorkeeper or the inspector, don't dictate the only outcome of the situation. I think that Kafka purposely creates these types of characters, to encourage the reader to not be like these characters, and instead realize that how to escape a situation can often have multiple possibilities.
ReplyDelete2) I think that K.'s behavior towards Frau Grubach is very strange. K. starts off being respectful towards her, and he really seems to care what she thinks of his situation. As the conversation goes on, however, his mood towards Frau quickly changes. Kafka describes K.'s feelings towards the woman, after an "inappropriate" comment: "realizing how worthless this woman's assent was." (24). In this moment, he becomes unfairly irritated with Frau, for one comment that he found inappropriate. His irritation only seems to escalate from there. At the end of their conversation, Frau Grubach makes a comment about the boarders of the apartment keeping it clean, and this outrages K., who slams the door in Frau's face. He might act this way because he feels as if Frau is blaming him for the apartment's mess. If he thinks he is being blamed, he also might feel that Frau thinks she has superiority over him, and K. definitely likes to feel superior over others.
3) I think that K. is very calm after his arrest, which contrasts from the reaction of most people who are arrested. K. mentions his high position job at a bank, and his connection to a lawyer. I believe that K. thinks because of his prestigious status, this arrest is not something he should worry about. Although I think that wanting to call a lawyer shows legitimacy in authority, I still think that because of his calm response to his arrest, he doesn't really think his arrest is legitimate. K. seems very self absorbed and full of himself. When telling his story to Fräulein Bürstner, he says, “Oh, I'm forgetting myself, the most important character.” (31). I believe this shows that K. thinks of himself in a way which nobody can threaten his superiority.
1. I definitely agree. All the characters so far have an awful habit of sticking to what they know, even if it doesn't work; the man from the country sits in front of the gate and waits himself to death, the hunger artist refuses to eat, Gregor refuses to leave his room, and thus far K. has refused to acknowledge his power waning. That's not to say they weren't facing real adversaries - frightened family members, indifferent guards, and even a complete disinterest in basic sustenance - but rather than working their way through the problems, they believed themselves to be faced with an impossibility. Gregor could have tried to leave his room more, he could have tried to communicate or interact rather than allow his family to neglect and ultimately decide to get rid of him; the hunger artist could have given up his art, and worked past his dislike of food, if only he'd been willing to try; the man from the country spent decades sitting uselessly in front of an open door, begging to be allowed inside, rather than taking a chance at anything else. Terrified of the possible consequences none of our protagonists altered their course, even though they knew their current one wasn't working. They were stopped, and they LET themselves be stopped - self-sabotage, but with enough real resistance that they could easily convince themselves they were truly hopeless. Thus far every single character has died as a result of their refusal to change - I'm curious to see if our newest protagonist lives to see the end of his story.
ReplyDelete2. He comes to Frau Grubach specifically so she'd agree with his assertion that this whole "being arrested" thing is complete nonsense - he says himself that she agrees with nearly anything he tells her, so she should be a safe bet if he's looking for comfort - and it goes smoothly until she doesn't shake his hand, and implores him to "Not take it so hard," nearly crying in the process. Instead of comforting him, she confirms that this ordeal really IS an ordeal, or at least will become one. After that moment his fond feelings for her are soured, and he declares her assessment "worthless." Continuing, she makes a comment about Fraulein Burster's habits - how late she stays out, the different men she's visited - and K. begins to lose it. My suspicions about this reaction were later confirmed when he kissed Burster - he's attracted to her, and so doesn't like the idea that she'd be out with many other men. The entire conversation with Frau Grubach, intended to feed his ego, swept the rug out from under him instead - he's losing control over his life. K. has displayed a nasty habit of "dealing" with things he doesn't want to think about by declaring them absurd and pretending that that made the problem go away - and, because of his power, it often does, but not this time. He's simply left bitter and afraid, and takes it out on Grubach because he doesn't know what else to do.
3. K. likes to pretend that this arrest isn't serious, but on a deeper level he knows it is. "How simple everything seems to you!" (16) the inspector says to K.'s outreached hand - an attempt to simply smooth things over, and make them go away. This is how he deals with problems - he waves a hand, says a word, and they fall away, as evidenced by his nonchalance about missing work, "He felt confident and at ease; he was missing work at the bank this morning of course, but in light of the relatively high position he held there, that would be easily excused" (10). He has power and persuasion to the point that he's used to it, and expects to maintain this control, but even as the three bank workers hastily follow his orders the guards and inspector scoff at his attempts at "reconciliation," as though they had any interest in leaving on good terms. He's used to having power, so he's still acting like he has power. "If I'd behaved sensibly, nothing more would have happened, everything else would have been nipped in the bud. At the bank, for instance, I'm always prepared, nothing like this could ever happen to me there"(23). However, his obsession with the incident indicates he hasn't entirely managed to convince himself of his own act. He thinks about it all day, comes back to the apartment only to walk in on his landlady and insist on talking about it, then waits for hours to act the scene out for Fräulein Bürstner! He talks about the arrest and acts it out because he needs everyone around him to agree that it's absurd - he needs them to reaffirm that he's as powerful as he has ever been, persuading his landlady with a word, waltzing in on other people's apartments, ordering bank employees around without a second thought. I believe it has captivated his attention because it disrupted his sense of control, and though he acts otherwise, he knows his grip is slipping.
ReplyDelete1. I agree with Emma’s take, because I believe that all of Kafka’s characters who think they are powerless in a situation, but they simply do not assert themselves, and often hold more power than they believe. In the Hunger Artist, the Man from the Country is not forbidden by any physical barrier to move forward, but lets his fears of the Gatekeeper’s threat stop him from going further. The Hunger Artist dies of starvation, because he says he never enjoyed anything he ate, but he could’ve eaten. Often, we all have to do unpleasant things to survive, but he refuses to do this, or simply just work harder to survive. Gregor has a lot of power in the Samsa household. After all, he’s the sole financial provider. Yet, he never asserts himself and this is why his family finds him weak and is able to use and manipulate him. Though they were wrong for doing this, Gregor never stopped them or stood up for himself. All these characters are really at fault for being in their own situations, and victimize themselves. They could work harder, or be less passive and more active, but are content with their doomed fate (maybe not content, but certainly not unhappy enough to be motivated to change their actions)
ReplyDelete2. I don’t like K’s character, because of his rude behavior and arrogance. His attitude towards Frau Grubach could be explained by his inflated sense of ego. He has a high position at a bank, which makes him feel superior to others and arrogant. His attitude could be tolerated at the bank, as he’s a high level superior whose arrogance is excused as it could be typical for powerful people to behave this way.
3. K. doesn’t seem to take his arrest seriously at all, and sees it as an annoyance, an inconvenience almost. He says, “I don’t even regard it as something scholarly, but simply as nothing at all. I was caught by surprise, that’s all.” (19) His nonchalant, annoyed tone, seems to suggest that he doesn’t believe the accusation is legitimate and believes it will blow over and it isn’t a big deal. I wonder if perhaps he will come to regret this later on, and perhaps, this arrest is a bigger deal than he thinks.
1) I agree with you with respect to "Before the Law" and "The Hunger Artist." Gregor falls into this category too, but I'd say that his situation is more complicated than the others. I believe Josef defies category completely. (37) Josef handles the "inquiry" very well. He doesn't fail to realize his opinions for escape or interaction. He thinks rationally and considers a number of possibilities. Like we said in class today, he isn't passive; he's strategic. While the inquiry concerns him, it doesn't cause overwhelming stress or chaos in his life. It doesn't control him. We also see him taking control of his actions when he "kissed her (Frau B) on the mouth, then all over her face, like a thirsty animal" (33). He find himself "pleased" (34) with his actions and his ability to take control.
ReplyDelete2) I didn't think it was entirely out of character. I think K possesses self control, but he is also arrogant enough to speak boldly and without respect. I think he acts the way he does because of his emotions towards Frau B. He is a bit annoyed when Frau G becomes emotional over his arrest (which I take as evidence he isn't good with others emotions), and I think this sets him up to be angry over her other comments. He is unreasonably annoyed when she says that Frau G isn't home. He calls her simple "no" response "dry" (24). The reason I think his reaction his about Frau G is because he continues to create conversation about her but becomes most angry when Frau B casts judgment on Frau G for her "embarrassing" (25) number of different men. He feels emotions (romantic and/or sexual towards her) and I think this outburst can be interpreted as him wanting her all to himself and upset about her not being "loyal to him" or (and less likely in my opinion) they are in some sort of relationship and K is offended Frau G would think she sleeps around with men willy nilly when she is loyal to him. Either way, he is unable to properly handle his hurt feelings.
3) I think K was surprised and frightened by the sudden arrest. He's confused, but he doesn't think it's significant enough to worry about now that the threat appears gone. I think he does believe the court has some authority or he wouldn't be so caught up (even though he's trying it to be) in his worry about the occurrence of the event. The quote "At the bank, for instance, I'm always prepared. Nothing like this could ever happen to me there" (23) shows how he believes the court has some authority, but not enough to prevent him from over powering them. If he were at his high ranking job, he would feel secure enough in his power/position not to fear the court, but since the came to his home, he felt the event more personally and it's having a more significant impact on his thinking.
THIS IS ANNA BTW I'm on my phone bc I don't have wifi access therefore I can't log into my account. But this is my comment
1. I agree with this assessment of Kafka's writing. I think that his characters tend to get themselves into situations which they cannot easily get out of, and they promptly give up trying. Is this because of his childhood? Does he write these "hopeless" characters because he had such a bad family life, and yet stayed with his parents until he was 31? Is he trying to figure out his own life, or is he warning the reader not to make his own mistake? Or, is this Kafka writing what he sees as the truth, not realizing that there are other, more palatable truths out there? I don't know why he writes these characters to act so helpless, and yet have so much capability to escape their situations, but this theme is evident in all of his stories that we have read so far. In Before the Law, the man does not walk through the open door. In A Hunger Artist, the hunger artist does not search for a food he may enjoy. In Metamorphosis, Gregor makes very little to no effort to communicate his wishes to his family, and even before his metamorphosis, he imprisons himself to his family. And now, in The Trial (although we have not yet seen the extent of this theme in the book), K. has the capability to roam the streets, even under his "arrest" and he does not think to ask if he can do so until he is told. I assume this theme will continue in the Trial (possibly with K. not pushing his arrestors to properly brief him on the situation). Regardless, Kafka has an obsession with this character who is unable to see that he has imprisoned himself.
ReplyDelete2. I have a couple of speculations as to why K. acts so disrespectfully toward Frau Grubach. 1) He is arrogant. There is evidence pointing to this character flaw (if it is a flaw) throughout the first two chapters, from his description of his position at the bank to his assumption that breakfast will be served to him daily. He assumes that everyone around him will work for his benefit, and so, he treats them as inferiors and pushes them to do what he wishes, as he does with Frau Grubach. 2) He is genuinely confused and is trying everything he can to figure out his situation (this is the less cynical version that I am surprised I even thought about). He frantically says anything he can to Frau Grubach to get her attention and to get her information (which she may or may not have). K. does not care about the repercussions of his actions because, after all, he has already been arrested. He no longer cares what people think of him, as long as he figures out why he was arrested so he can negate the charge (which then of course clears his name, but not any of his actions post-arrest, so his logic is flawed if this is why K. is acting in this way).
3. We have no setting for this world, but, as with all of Kafka's stories, I assume this is some pseudo-Austro-Hungarian world with a bureaucratic and possibly corrupt government that does not, according to the people, protect the people (this assessment may very well be wrong, but as there is no other evidence to the contrary, I will assume Kafka bases this world off of his own). I would say that K. takes his arrest seriously (at least somewhat). He says when he is first informed of his arrest that he does not want to be tricked, yet he plays along instead. He assumes that he cannot go to work or go about his daily life (which is typical for arrested persons). However, he seems to see his arrest as something different than usual. K. has not done anything wrong (3) according to the narrator, leaving the cause of his arrest unknown. Additionally, he agrees with Frau Grubach that his arrest is "something scholarly" (23), which could mean anything from plagiarism to talking against the government (I like to believe he put out propaganda against one of his colleagues). We don't know what a "scholarly" arrest would be caused by, but clearly it is something different from the norm, which K. seems to notice. However, despite his arrest being atypical, he still treats it with "respect", in the sense that he obeys the men who arrest him and does not try to escape or play a counter trick on them.
Delete1. I agree with you that Kafka’s characters are victims of circumstance and their own inability to take action. In “The Hunger Artist,” we see a man face the oppressive force of the Law. However, instead of making an attempt to bypass the gatekeeper, he waits passively for admittance. Similarly, in The Trial, Josef K. comes up against the unexplained and overbearing power of the Law, yet does not seize available opportunities to improve his circumstances. Even though K. knows a public prosecutor who could help him, he chooses to act in a petulant manner by refusing to help himself (15).
ReplyDelete2. K. fluctuates between trying to respect Frau Grubach by calling her a “sensible woman” (23) and telling her to say whatever she wants about Fraulein Burstner, and reacting with rage at her insinuations about Fraulein Burstner’s promiscuity. While K.’s attraction to Fraulein Burstner could explain his indignation at Frau Grubach’s comments, her financial dependence on him could explain why he feels entitled to treat her rudely. K. tells Fraulein Burstner that Frau Grubach “borrowed a large sum” (32) from him. Therefore, because Frau Grubach is indebted to K., he’s able to treat her disrespectfully without fear of her kicking him out of the boarding house.
3. No, I do not think K. believes that the court has legitimately arrested him. In addition to the fact that K. does not know what he has been arrested for, he doubts the courts because he feels superior to the officers sent to arrest him. After speaking to the first two officers, who cannot explain the circumstances of his arrest, K. wishes to speak to someone “of [his] own sort” (9) instead. Thereby, his sense of superiority to the officers undermines his trust in the legitimacy in their claims against him.
1. I definitely agree with you, Emma. In "Before the Law", the man wishes to enter the building and know the Law but he refuses to do anything but wait for permission. He eventually dies at the gate, after a full lifetime of being trapped in a prison (which his mindset and worldview created) and never truly challenging authority. This theme of a man never fully challenging authority is apparent in every Kafka work we've read so far.
ReplyDelete2. K. treats Grubach with disrespect because he is entitled and selfish. He puts most people down in order to prop himself up and feel superior, but he is more desperate to feel superior in this interaction between him and Grubach, because his recent arrest has made him feel more inferior than usual. Essentially, K. puts down Grubach so that he can feel either equal or superior to the people who arrested him.
3. K. definitely doesn't take his arrest seriously. When he is first arrested, and considers all the things that could possibly be going on, it never occurs to him that he could seriously be under arrest. In fact, K. seems to believe that the entire ordeal is some kind of practical joke. Kafka writes: "if this was a farce, he was going to play along" (7). Perhaps the fact that K. cannot accept this arrest as real because it would mean accepting the fact that someone or something is exerting their power of him through legal means, and he loathes submitting to people. So maybe his reservations about the legitimacy of this arrest are merely all merely extensions of his narcissism and need to be dominant over everyone and everything.
1. I do agree with this idea. It certainly applies to all of the Kafka works that we've read so far. For the man from the country, he could have walked through the door instead of waiting his whole life. For Gregor, he could have tried to leave home instead of staying with his family. For K, I think we see it in his tendency to go with the flow and indifference towards things. In many of our discussions, we've pointed out how passive, and emotionless, the characters are. Why didn't they ___? Of course, I think we need to take into account that the unknown is scary and the power of many authorities lie within the mystery around their power. However, it still doesn't completely excuse the trap that these characters dug themselves in. As for K, I think he's one of the more active or strong headed characters that we've seen but he still has a tendency to follow the rules and he's catious against stepping out of line.
ReplyDelete2. K's behavior towards Frau Grubach shows his selfish and arrogant nature. He came to Frau Grubach to complain and because he wants sympathy. Once she said something that he didn't like or wasn't what he was looking for, he loses interest. He seems to be using women as a stress reliever or as someone that can be used to comfort him. He notes that " A woman's hands indeed works quiet wonders" (22) regarding how Frau Grubach cleaned up the room which suggests that women have special abilities from men. Also, after he doesn't find satisfaction with Frau Grubach, he asks for Fraulein Burstner. After his encounter with Frau Grubach, I don't have a very favorable view of K.
3. It doesn't seem that K is taking his arrest very seriously. He sees it as another obstacle that he has to win at: "if this was a farce, then he was going to play along" (7). He doesn't panic and just goes along with whatever is happening. Normally, if you were arrested for some unknown reason, you would worry and panic, but K is strangely calm. His thinking is: "he preferred the safety of whatever solution would surely arise in the natural course of things" (10). Given that he isn't taking this too seriously or even worrying that much, he must not think that much of the court's legitimacy.