Diksia.com - Franz Kafka was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His novels and stories explored themes of alienation, existentialism, and absurdity, often featuring isolated protagonists facing surreal or bureaucratic situations.
His works have inspired countless writers and artists, and have given rise to the term “Kafkaesque” to describe situations that are nightmarish, illogical, or oppressive.
Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was a German-speaking Jew who struggled with his identity and his relationship with his father.
He studied law and worked as an insurance officer, writing mostly in his spare time. He suffered from various health problems, including tuberculosis, which eventually killed him in 1924 at the age of 40.
Kafka was very self-critical and burned most of his manuscripts. He also instructed his friend and literary executor Max Brod to destroy his unfinished works after his death. Brod ignored this request and published Kafka’s novels and stories posthumously, making him famous worldwide.
Kafka wrote three novels: The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika. He also wrote dozens of short stories, such as The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, A Hunger Artist, and The Judgment. He also left behind diaries, letters, aphorisms, and sketches.
In this article, we will introduce some of Kafka’s most important works and explain why they are worth reading.
The Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis is Kafka’s most famous work and one of the landmarks of modern literature. It tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. He is rejected by his family and confined to his room, where he gradually loses his humanity and dies.
The Metamorphosis is a powerful allegory of alienation, isolation, and dehumanization. It explores the themes of identity, family, work, and society. It also reflects Kafka’s own feelings of being trapped in a meaningless and oppressive existence.
