Inspiration in the Mundane
Franz Kafka is famous for his stories that push the limits of dealing with the “unexplained.” Almost all of his books feature seemingly nonsensical themes/motifs. His stories run the gambit of: a man becoming a cockroach, a god too bogged down in paperwork to explore his domain, and a man arrested and tried without explanation.
One of the reasons Kafka’s work permeates language and national boundaries is because the stories deal directly with confounding situations that are somehow still grounded in reality.
His work is considered mandatory in the literary cannon. The chief reason is it’s just good writing. But the other draw is that the work all attempts to capture the essence of one of mankind’s greatest mysteries: bureaucracy.
Kafka was obsessed with the concept of bureaucracy and the idea of a bureaucrat (Bauer). The dichotomy of something as dull as a bureaucrat and as fantastic as magical realism is what makes Kafka’s work memorable.
Aside from when they are first introduced, the less believable parts of Kafka’s narratives are rarely explored in depth. Their effects are of course, but aside from the scene where Gregor Samsa becomes an insect, there isn’t any description as to why this happened. Kafka focuses instead on how it affects Gregor’s family and Gregor himself.
Going beyond that, there is actually an excessive amount of detail in scenes that feature very little action. Such as the conversation with the clerk who was sent to fetch Gregor, or Gregor’s boss’s reaction to Gregor oversleeping, or how his family is going to remedy their missing money. The story actually focuses more on money and business than it does on Gregor. In fact, based on their actions, it can be assumed that the family cares more about how Gregor can’t help them make ends meet rather than the fact that their son has become an actual bug.
The amount of attention to the mundane issues in Kafka’s absurdist books enables a sense of wonder that is almost immeasurable. Obviously, readers are interested in the mystery of why things are the way they are, but instead of answers to Kafka’s riddles, we’re given every other detail. In most literature, one can use these secondary details to piece together the answers to any question they might have, but that’s not possible in Kafka’s work. It is almost like Kafka intentionally left his mysteries unanswered, as if it was some cruel joke about the futility of trying to understand something so overdesigned.
Why was Kafka was so obsessed with bureaucracy? He was an insurance salesman. He famously hated his hours, 8am-6pm, and would often complain at length about how uninteresting his work was (Biography Resource Center).
Once he settled on a company, he quickly climbed the ladder and was given more and more responsibility. Even as a manager Kafka hated this job, but he worked there until his health got the better of him. This is where he found his hatred of bureaucracy, and where he began to dedicate more time to his writing (Updike).
Kafka spent eleven years of his life working jobs that he hated (Biography Resource Center), but becoming extremely intimate with a concept that would eventually make him famous. Working here is what led to him becoming more devout to his religion and finding his favorite pastimes, mainly reading Yiddish literature (Bauer). Bureaucracy, Judaism, and Yiddish literature all find their way into Kafka’s works. And if it wasn’t for his job, he might not have ever pieced these things together.
While Kafka did hate his work, it ended up informing his stories in bulk. His relationship to bureaucracy is the foundation for his writing, and that writing generated immense cultural and literary praise. So much of mid-twentieth century literature is inspired-in-part by Kafka’s legacy, and modern stories, in turn, reflect those novels Kafka inspired (Bauer).
Kafka kept a bag of motifs that run throughout most of his work. But one of the most memorable lesson’s Kafka teaches his readers is that: when faced with the absurd, one can choose to shun it or lean into it. Those that choose to embrace the weird often end up on top.
Which is exactly how Kafka found motivation, and its exactly what you can do to push yourself in the right direction.
If you’re in a job that feels like a dead end; if you have found yourself drowning in seas of seemingly needless paperwork, red tape, and rules; or if you catch yourself feeling small and insignificant in the face of your own problems, then just remember that inspiration is everywhere and that the moments that you’re putting up with today, can easily become the fuel for your own creative endeavors.
References
Bauer, J. Edgar. “Franz Kafka: Power, Religious Minorities and the Inception of Existence.” Censur. Research Gate. 2003.
“Franz Kafka.” Biography Resource Center. Galenet-Gale Group. 2005.
Updike, John. “Foreword.” The Complete Stories. Schocken Books. 1971
Mentioned Works
Kafka, Franz. The Castle. Anthea Bell. Oxford World Classics. Oxford UP. 2009.
Kafka, Franz. The Trial. David Wylie. Project Gutenberg. 2018.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. David Wylie. Project Gutenberg. 2012.