Reading: Sleeping With The Dictionary by Harryette Mullen. I like her a lot, but I'll devote time to her next Monday, or this weekend after I've finished it. This will now be devoted to Kafka. My Kafka wrap up will be easy because the Barnes and Noble version that I read had a few questions that it asked at the end. I'll simply answer those.
Q: What can be said of his [Kafka's] notion of resolution? Is a satisfying ending possible in his fiction? How do you read the ending of "The Metamorphosis"? Does it strike you as particularly superior or inferior to the rest of the tale?
A: I'll tackle the first two together; no. I don't know much about Kafka except for the personal details mired in awfulness that made up the introduction (sixteen page introduction, get over yourself Jason Baker; Who is Jason Baker? Exactly), but I think that Kafka's writing, despite its bizarre details, mirrors Kafka's view of life. I think that Kafka felt that things just end and we interpret those as being bad or good as it simply depends on who you are. I could successfully argue either way for Gregor's happiness or sadness upon his own death (probably will in the comments if somebody is so inclined). The death of the main character gets totally brushed over in the end, however, and we are left with a vision of the nubile sister stretching because life went on. I think Kafka is open to a happy ending if a story actually ends that way. He probably also thought that life stories rarely did. I guess that answered the third question as well, and to answer the fourth, I wished for a different ending, but I'm not certain what yet as I haven't given it any thought until this sentence.
Q: [Paraphrased] Is Kafka's consciousness of mortality the reason he makes his characters succumb to death rather than try to overcome it? Is death itself transcendent in Kafka's work?
A: No. Again, as above, I could argue that Gregor and some of the other characters wanted death. In the end of "The Metamorphosis," Gregor doesn't quite understand how he lived as a bug at all. He feels impressed that he dealt with what he did when he wanted to just give up so early in the story. The officer in "The Penal Colony" chooses death in his own world rather than giving in to a world that he doesn't want or understand. It is a failure of a death, but the choice itself was the triumph. No matter how horrible, the officer still dies and the reader can't help but feel a sense of reverence or respect. Death transcended here. Gregor dies and is forgotten about. Death not transcended. That last question seems hit or miss.
Q: How is Kafka funny? Is Kafka's sense of humor so peculiar that it is inaccessible?
A: Kafka is funny because the shit that happens is hilarious. Gregor turns into a big ass bug that stuffs itself under the sofa every time his sister comes in. He gets killed by an apple. How is that not funny? His clean writing style (at least in translation) allows for a deadpan delivery that I think is hilarious at times. I can understand that some people don't find deadpan humor funny, but I call these people "idiots." These are the same people who don't think "poop" is a funny word. It is.
There are three more questions, but I'm tired of answering them, so ask in the comments if you are curious.
I imagine that all of you heard that there was a shooting in Omaha today. Nine people have died thus far. I was not one of them. I will write a diatribe tomorrow about the guy that did this, so if you like my angry ranting, stay tuned (Katie). As of now, I feel for anybody involved; witnesses, victims, family members. I have a friend who I think works at Von Maur. I would try to call her, but she never answers anyway. She always calls back a month later asking me what I wanted as if I would remember. I'm not going to call her now because she wouldn't answer and then I would just worry. I think she was quitting last I talked to her anyway. If something bad did happen to her, I will find out anyway. I keep telling the little voice in the back of my head that we can't change anything now anyway, but it keeps talking. I hope she's okay.
Call a family member tomorrow and tell them you love them. Not because of the shooting, because you should be doing it anyway.
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