Franz Kafka Themes

Franz Kafka is a famous Austrian writer known for his theme of alienation and feelings of inadequacy in his writing ("Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia). Although he received little recognition for his work during his lifetime, he is considered today as “one of the foremost European writers of the twentieth century” (“Franz Kafka." Europe). Kafka was born on the third of July in 1883 in Prague Austria-Hungary, both a time and place that impacted not only his writing but deeply his personal life as well ("Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia). His strong and consistent theme although admired by many critics, unfortunately comes from personal experiences held deep within him (Loveday). Franz Kafka was influenced by many relationships and events all which are

“A tyrannical father greatly affected Kafka 's psychological development” (Weltsch). As the oldest son, Kafka was expected to exceed high expectations, however, his successful father Hermann Kafka belittled him regardless of his son’s achievements (Loveday). As a result of his domineering father, Kafka spent most of his life feeling helpless (Loveday). He was demeaned by one of his own family members whom he saw every day. He was constantly reminded of his flaws by someone whom he admired and look up to. This caused Kafka to struggle with feelings of inadequacy for most of his life and this can be seen in his

Franz Kafka kept his job at the Workmen 's Compensation Division of the Austrian government until 1922 when he retired due to his worsening health ("Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia). He had suffered the symptoms of tuberculosis for many years before he was finally diagnosed in 1917 at which he decided to remain working for as much as he could (Weltsch). During his retirement, Kafka took this time to focus on his writing, however, he asked his close friend Max Brod to burn all of it at the time of his death (Grosu 131). On the third of July in 1924, Franz Kafka passed away from a fatal form of laryngeal tuberculosis ("Franz Kafka." Europe). His friend Max Brod then went against Kafka 's wishes and published his work anyways (Grosu 131). He believed that Kafka’s real intentions were not to have his work burned but released to the public. Max Brod believed that “Kafka had given these directions to him specifically because Kafka knew he would not honour them” (Grosu