Franz Kafka: A Balance Between Brilliance and Insanity The 20th century housed an enormous number of scientific and social advances, arguably more than any other period since the dawn of time. With such an impressive age of humankind, the emergence of brilliant minds throughout the world was no surprise. Surprising, however, were the negative themes often surrounding the work of said intellectuals. Franz Kafka, a German writer of short stories and novels, was among these men and women. Though there were many influences around him, Kafka’s art was predominantly inspired by his sexual desires as well as his father. A Country Doctor, for example, is a short story that nobody will ever be able to fully grasp aside from Kafka himself. Despite…show more content… While some forms of child discipline were more acceptable in the 20th century, Kafka was abused beyond a possible breaking point. Time and time again, his father was notoriously known to have beaten his son out of a deep-seeded resentment toward his personality. Additionally, this brutality may have been caused by the lack of male siblings within their family (“Kafka’s Life”). The repercussions of such actions are especially prevalent in The Metamorphosis, a novel published in 1815. During this piece, Kafka again explores the depression and loss of self-sufficiency so prominently seen throughout his works, in this case via Gregor Sasma’s transformation into a bug. However, the authoritative figure that causes this depression is far easier to spot throughout the novel. The accusatory and skeptical nature of Sasma’s boss (Chief Clerk) reflects the way he was mistreated by his father later in life when becoming an author. Moreover, the abusive characteristics his father had in Kafka’s early life are portrayed through the violent outbursts of Sasma’s fictional father. “His father had filled his pockets, […] now throwing apple after apple, […] and one drove into Gregor’s back really hard” (Kafka, 80) displays an example of this harassment as well as a lasting scar he provided on Sasma, a transparent picture to what Hermann Kafka may have left his son with. These occur…show more content… The short story consists of a merchant, Georg Bendemann, issuing a personal letter to a friend in Russia. This letter provides an insight to what is happening in Bendemann’s life, most notably of which is the engagement to Frieda Brandenfeld, initials F.B. that were all too similar to Kafka’s lover; Felice Bauer (“Kafka’s Life”). Most scholars have interpreted this coincidence as a parallel to the contemplation of Kafka’s own proposed marriage with Bauer, while the friend represented the sexual freedom that Kafka so desperately desired because he had lost it. Referring back to Kafka’s fatherly influences, the narrative elaborates on their relationship further. The father figure to Georg Bendemann lashes out against him for simply attempting to show compassion. These battering verbal assaults push Bendemann to commit suicide at the close of the story, similar to the suicidal thoughts Kafka
