Change.
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by u/Justthisdudeyaknow in tumblr
Monday 24th of April 2023
Change.
Social Media Says
>The story, in several versions, has a venerable history dating back more than half a century and was first recounted by a source very close to Kafka himself his partner for the final year of his life, Dora Diamant. However, despite the enthusiastic efforts of several Kafka experts and researchers, concrete proof for example copies of the "doll" letters themselves has never been found. > >As such, it remains "Unproven," but some experts have written that its core claims are plausible.
Even if it isn't true, it's a really nice story.
I'll remain skeptical. The whole thing thing is a bit on the nose for being about a guy whose legacy is a story called The Metamorphosis.
What You Really Think
The best Kafka quote is this is pure Kafka. Who?! WHO IS KAFKA?!!! **TELL ME!!** -Congo, greatest movie ever.
That's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from the author of the Metamorphosis. He understood so well how much one can suffer, and how precious kindness can be.
Im reminded of a comparison, Junji Ito and Hayao Miyazaki. Their personalities seem flipped from what some people expect. Junji Ito's relatively alright and writes bizarre, disturbing stuff. Miyazaki's work was often bright, upbeat, yeah there's bad stuff but the good guys win. And uh, aparently he wasn't the happiest guy. Makes sense to me. Sad people want to write about hope, someone who's doin alright can explore crushing horror and not go nuts. Or you can pull an Edgar Allen Poe and just... be very not ok in many ways.
>When you stand in front of me and look at me, what do you know of the griefs that are in me and what do I know of yours? And if I were to cast myself down before you and weep and tell you, what more would you know about me than you know about Hell when someone tells you it is hot and dreadful? For that reason alone we human beings ought to stand before one another as reverently, as reflectively, as lovingly, as we would before the entrance to Hell. Franz Kafka, in a letter to Oscar Pollak Also him: >One of the first signs of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.
With the understanding of pain and suffering comes an undying appreciation for kindness and love.
In Germany some kids have to read the metamorphosis in High school. I was fascinated and at the same time horrified by it...
I adore The Metamorphosis, I read it as a severely clinically depressed teenager, and I turn to it whenever depression creeps in still. I would fully expect the author of such a work to have experienced great suffering, and therefore would go to great lengths to prevent it for others.
There are people who mirror those that abused them and there are others that fight against it with all their being. Sadly, the former is much more common than the latter.
Kafka is miserable in the "I feel too much and the casual cruelty of the world overwhelms me" way, and those people are consistently usually very kind to others. Especially those deemed innocent and not responsible for harm, like children. The other end is the "the world is out to get *me*, the world is so unfair *to me*" which is just narcissism, and yeah those people tend to be shit to everyone.
There is a series of books and TV shows about a little plush bunny that writes letters from its trips around the world after it got lost at the airport. I wouldn't be surprised if it's inspired by this story. It's called "Briefe von Felix" or "Letters from Felix." However, it doesn't seem like much of it has been translated yet.
There's a children's book about it, 'Kafka and the Doll.' I borrowed it from my public library for my 5yo. Cute book.
Yep! thats a pretty egregious mischaracterization of "Metamorphosis," though. it's one of those books truly worth a read in it's own right, but is ultimately very difficult to summarize due to how complex it is thematically. kafka himself was a very insecure, mentally ill, and yet kind, intelligent, and creative man who faced a lot of suffering during his life. any of his works make that clear, particularly his diaries and letters (of which were published by a friend after his death). you can read between the lines and see how he treats others with kindness and respect and is well liked in his community. tldr; kafka was a cool dude, who wrote some cool books and short stories. read them if you're bored on a saturday afternoon.
Yeah, that's also what confuses me about the recently common trope in movies and tv of "Grizzled cynical old man and badass teen girl duo". I mean, it's in everything now, Logan, Stranger Things, the Last of Us.
social@worldnewsinpictures.com
Does it even matter if it's true? if it resonates enough with you, is that not enough.
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