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Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka. His life His work His “issues”. Early Life. Born July 3, 1883 Born into a Jewish family in Prague. Early life. Named for Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary Middle class family Father had a dry goods store

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Franz Kafka

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  1. Franz Kafka His life His work His “issues”

  2. Early Life • Born July 3, 1883 • Born into a Jewish family in Prague

  3. Early life • Named for Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary • Middle class family • Father had a dry goods store • Mother from wealthier family (family involved in merchant and brewing businesses)

  4. Kafka’s parents

  5. Family Life • Had 2 male siblings - both died around the age of 1 • Had 3 sisters • Children raised by governesses (common in middle and upper class families) • Family moved around based on financial situation

  6. Franz as a child

  7. Kafka with his sisters

  8. Kafka’s personality • Quiet and withdrawn • Wrote plays for sisters to act out • Feared father • Stuttered only in his presence

  9. Education • Attended German schools • Father felt he could “get ahead” • Studied chem for two weeks in college; switched to law • Met Max Brod in college • A writer; became good friends • 1906 - earned Doctorate in Law

  10. Career • Worked as civil service lawyer • Investigated claims at Workers Accident Insurance Institute • Traveled to Paris, Italy, Switzerland with Brod • Became interested in Yiddish theatre • 1911 - father made him take over family asbestos factory • Long hours almost drove him to suicide

  11. Interesting facts • Looked very young • At 28, some thought he was only 15 or 16 • Father thought he was strange/eccentric • Quiet • Vegetarian

  12. Relationships • During college, had many one-night stands • Was both attracted to and repulsed by sex • Hated the idea of bodily functions • 1912 - met Felice Bauer - fell in love • Wrote letters to her for years • Proposed in same letter in which he explained why he’d be bad for her • Engaged twice

  13. Franz and Felice

  14. Relationships • The Women: Felice, Grete, Gerti, Milena, Dora • Never married • Lived at home with parents for most of his life

  15. Writing • Insomniac - used nights to write fiction • Won writing prize in 1915 • Works published during his life: • 1912 - Meditation • 1915 - The Metamorphosis • 1916 - “The Judgment” • 1919 - “In the Penal Colony” • 1920 - “A Country Doctor”

  16. Writing • Asked literary executor (friend Max Brod) to burn manuscripts of his novels • Brod refused • Published Posthumously: • Amerika • The Trial • The Castle (unfinished)

  17. Writing • Believed a book should be “an axe to break up the frozen sea within us” • Used writing to survive despair from father, job • “By scribbling I run ahead of myself in order to catch myself up at the finishing post. I cannot run away from myself.”

  18. Writing • Greatest literary influence - Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary) • Some say magical realism in writing began with Kafka • The Metamorphosis influenced Gabriel Garcia Marquez • Modernism, Existentialism

  19. The Metamorphosis • Themes of alienation and punishment • Characterized as fantasy and nightmare • Inspired by his life? • Protagonist • Gregor Samsa • Pronounced Zamza • Samsa translates to “I am alone.”

  20. The Metamorphosis • Cover illustration • Kafka did not want Gregor’s “transformed” state depicted on the cover • Why do you think Kafka felt this way? • Wrote to his publisher with other suggestions • Including doors, darkness, and light • Yay for symbolism!

  21. Cover Illustrations • As you can see, many covers honor Kafka’s wishes; however, some more recent editions do not.

  22. Later years & Death • Thought about going to war in WWI • 1917 - started coughing up blood - diagnosed with tuberculosis • Died in 1924 - cause of death thought to be starvation - difficult for him to eat because of condition of throat

  23. Family • Parents died in 1930s • Buried in same plot as Franz • Sisters killed in the gas chambers in WWII

  24. Czech hero • Statues, monuments, buildings, postage stamps

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