Franz Kafka: biography, books and characteristics of his work

Franz kafka he was a Czech author whose work, written in the German language, is considered one of the most influential in 20th century literature.

Associated with expressionism and existentialism, his literary creations managed to cover topics as complex as the condition of contemporary man, anguish, guilt, bureaucracy, frustration or loneliness, among others. Likewise, his works mix the dreamlike, the irrational and irony.

From his legacy, novels such as The process (1925), The Castle (1926) or Metamorphosis (1915), and a large number of stories, epistles, and personal writings.

Kafka was a writer little recognized in life but, there is no doubt, that he was a great influence on later authors and also one of the promoters of the renewal of the European novel of the century XX.

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Biography of Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, into a Jewish family related to the petty bourgeoisie.

From a young age, Kafka wanted to dedicate himself to writing, however, he had to deal with the difficult temperament of his father, with whom he maintained a tense relationship during his life.

He enrolled at the Carolina University (Prague) to study Chemistry, which he did not finish because, influenced by his father, he preferred to study Law. Soon after, he began taking art and literature classes in parallel.

Around the year 1907, Franz Kafka began to write the first stories of him while he was working as advisor in an insurance company, work that allowed him to combine with his true vocation, the writing.

Soon after, he became friends with Max Brod, the one who was the great promoter of his work. In 1912 he met Felice Bauer, a woman with whom he had a loving relationship, which ultimately failed.

In 1914 Kafka left the family home and became independent from it. At this stage of his life, works such as The process Y Metamorphosis.

Later, the author was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a disease that led him to isolation in different sanatoriums. With the advent of the 1920s, Kafka settled in a country house with his sister. There he created works like A hunger artist and the novel The castle.

In 1923, the writer met the Polish actress Dora Diamant, with whom he had a brief and intense relationship during the last year of his life. On June 3, 1924, Kafka died in Kiering, Austria.

Books by Fanz Kafka

Kafka's work would not have been recognized had it not been for Max Brod, who decided to disobey the last wishes of the writer, who asked that his writings be destroyed. Thanks to this fact, one of the most influential literary works of the 20th century could see the light.

Without a doubt, Franz Kafka knew how to portray in his books the particularity of the reality of the moment and the condition of contemporary man before it. Among the most important novels of the author are:

The Metamorphosis (1915)

The metamorphosis is a classic of literature and is one of the most widely read stories of him. It tells the story of Gregor Samsa, an ordinary man who one day wakes up turned into a beetle. Situation that leads him to isolate himself from society by being rejected by his relatives and acquaintances. The theme of death as the only alternative, as a liberating option, is one of the themes present in this novel.

The book has been subjected to different interpretations. Likewise, similarities have been found in him with the complex relationship that the author had with his father in real life.

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In the penal colony (1919)

It is a short story by Kafka written in 1914, in it a prison officer describes the use of an instrument of torture and execution, of which he is especially proud while his interlocutor, an unnamed character, disagrees on the uses of the contraption.

It is one of his crudest works by the author, which was probably inspired by the outbreak of the First World War during the creation of it.

The Trial (1925)

This unfinished novel was written between 1914 and 1915 but was published in 1925, after Kafka's death. It is one of the best known works of the author, it is also one of the most commented and influential.

Its plot revolves around Josef K, the protagonist, who is accused of a crime and, later, finds himself immersed in a legal process from which it will not be easy for him to get out. During the book, both the character and the reader are unaware of the nature of his crime, which becomes an absurd situation.

The story highlights bureaucratic processes and reflects the issue of human existence, which is under the control of laws that must be followed.

The novel leads the protagonist through a legal mess, which leads to vital chaos. Then, death appears as the only way out.

A Hunger Artist (1924)

It is another short story written in 1922 and published two years later.

The protagonist is a misfit man who is a victim of the society that surrounds him. He is a circus performer, professional faster, starving in a cage. The public often ignores it. Until one of the circus bosses takes an interest in him and asks him if he will continue to starve. Finally, he replies that the reason he doesn't eat anything is because he didn't find a food that he liked, after which he ends up dying.

As with most of Kafka's works, this account has also had different interpretations. Likewise, it highlights some themes that the author highlights throughout his work such as, for example, loneliness, or the presentation of the individual as a victim of a society that marginalizes.

The castle (1926)

The castle It is also another unfinished novel, however, in this case, the author did propose a possible ending for it.

It is one of Kafka's most complex works due to its symbolic and metaphorical character. Some interpretations hold that the work is an allegory about alignment, arbitrariness and the search for unattainable purposes.

The protagonist of this novel, known as K., is a recently installed surveyor in a village near the castle. Soon, the man begins a fight to access the authorities available from the castle.

Characteristics of Kafka's work

Kafka's literature is complex, almost like a labyrinth. These are some of the most relevant features of the so-called Kafkaesque universe:

• Thematic of the absurd: the term has been used kafkaesque to qualify everything that, despite its apparent normality, is definitely absurd. And the thing is, the stories that are told in his works may seem ordinary but, later, they become surrealistic situations.
• Strange characters: they are often individuals with unique characteristics. They are usually apathetic, aligned characters who present frustration.
• Elaborate and precise language, generally written from the gaze of an omniscient narrator.
• Linear structure of time, without anachronies.

Interpretations

Franz Kafka's work often represents the spirit of the 20th century. Therefore, it is still subject to all kinds of interpretations. Some of these approaches are:

• Autobiographical: This reading of Kafka's work attends to the possible reflection of the author's life in his work. Especially to Franz Kafka's difficult family situation with his father. Also, it has been wanted to see the reflection of his skepticism or his religious nature.
• Psychological or psychoanalytic: This perspective tries to identify possible symbols of reference on the thought of Sigmund Freud in Kafka's work.
• Sociological and political: attends to a possible explanation of the author's work by justifying the historical and sociological facts of the time in which he lived. Likewise, there are other possible interpretations that find Marxist and anarchist influences in it.