Amerika (Kafka novel)

From ArticleWorld

Amerika is a Franz Kafka novel. The book title is also known as Der Verschollene or The Man Who Disappeared. It was Kafka first and incomplete novel. Amerika has some resemblances to David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. However, Kafka mentioned that Amerika was suppose to be an unusual interpretation of the Bildungsroman genre.

Plot

The novels main character is Karl Rossman. He is a sixteen year old European immigrant. Rossman comes to the United States as punishment for getting involve with a maid. Rossman settles in New York City and goes to work for an uncle of his there. Eventually, his uncle fires him and without any prospects or money Rossman gets a job as an elevator operator at a hotel.

Themes

Amerika is considered to be a funny, novella with plenty of realism. It is considered to be more realistic than Kafka’s other works. However, Amerika does have some likeness to his other works. It has the themes of oppression and putting his protagonist through weird situations and elusive systems. As in Kafka’s The trail, Amerika has a rejected individual that must prove for his innocence to distant and secretive figures of authority.

Franz kafka

Kafka was born in Prague, Bohemia. He was basically unknown in his lifetime. However, the works of Kafka have since been accepted as symbolizing present man’s anxiety and alienation in a indifferent and often hostile environment. Kafka lived his life depending emotionally on his mother and father. He also seemed to have had mixed feelings about sex. In his works sex is usually portrayed as being dirty. Kafka’s novels were printed during his lifetime.

Amerika was written early in Kafka’s career. The writing in Amerika is considered to be Kafka’s most mature prose which had a clear and brief style. His style contrasted nicely with the complexities, anxieties, and symbols of torments and social alienation that was the foundation of his work.