Franz Kafka Kafka on the Shore Existentialism & Transcendentalism

1. Franz KafkaKafka on the ShoreExistentialism &Transcendentalism

5. Franz Kafka 1883-1924 • Born in Prague, Czech Republic • Jewish, middle class • Doctor of Law • No literary attention until after his death • Died of tuberculosis at age of 40 • Works published posthumously

6. Kafka • Influenced by • Socialism • Yiddish ( Jewish ) literature • Talmud ( Jewish mystical teachings) • Existentialism leanings • Transcendental metaphysical contemplation

7. Existentialism • a sense of disorientation & confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. • the individual is solely responsible for giving his own life meaning and to be done passionately and sincerely despite of existential obstacles and distractions including despair, angst, absurdity, alienation, & boredom • emphasis is the individual about what constitutes a: • fulfilling life • achievements • obstacles to overcome • what external and internal factors are involved • includes the potential consequences of the existence] or non-existence of God.[

9. Transcendental metaphysical contemplation reality, or reality as we can know itis mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses the mind shapes the world we perceive into the form of space-and-time.

11. Now back to Kafka • Some believe he had schizoid personality disorder • Speculations regarding his sexual preferences • Anorexia? • Wrote in German • Never finished any of his full length novels • Known to start in middle or last page of note book & write in a random order

12. Characteristics of his work • Ambiguous words/terms • Hopelessness or absurdity • Magical realism • Metaphysical quest for God ( Talmud/ Zohar) • Surrealist humor • People invent their own struggles

13. Famous for… The Metamorphosis The Trial The Castle is about a man who wakes up and finds he is changed into a beetle, and how his family reacts to his change. It’s an allegorical short novel about how society view illness, elderly, or societal expectations .

14. Literary mystery: Missing writings • 20 notebooks & 35 letters to last GF • Kafka Project San Diego State university • It began in 1998 is an official international search for his lost writings • confiscated by Gestapo in Berlin in 1933 • 2003 they found 3 letters • 2010 found a short story

15. SHINTO The word Shinto--"Way of the Gods“--was adopted combining two kanji,"shin" or "spirit" or  “kami” & tōa philosophical path or study .[3]

16. 8 million kami Kami are spirits, essences,or deities shape-shifters who may take on the appearances of a human, snake, fox, or spider Believed to control human reproduction, finances, rice yields. Now they are symbol for financial success

17. The Worm • Popular religious movement • Tachibana worm that inhabits the tachnibana tree. • Misbehaving children are said to have kan no mushi—a worm. They are taken to a Shinto shrine to have the worm sealed.