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Celebrities
Sep. 3rd, 2013 07:18 am"'Getaway' is so bad that what's most surprising about it is that Nicolas Cage didn't manage to star in it."
-- Kyle Smith at The New York Post
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-- Kyle Smith at The New York Post
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Sep. 3rd, 2013
Kafka: The Trial
Sep. 3rd, 2013 05:37 pmWhen I came across some more Kafka material in my web-surfing, my appetite was whetted to get some more Kafka under my belt. “The Trial” first comes to mind. So, it was a disappointment to discover that his greatest novel is, in fact, incomplete. Indeed, I would say it’s only halfway finished, or maybe two-thirds. Nevertheless, one can see where he was going, and it was shaping up to be a fantastic piece of work, and one can feel the mourning that we will never have the novel he was going for.
And what was Kafka going for? I myself used to think that it was a tale of a totalitarian state working its ruthless will against a hapless citizen. This was based on what very little I knew and on a lot of the talk that I had heard. However, I now believe that he was explicating a more metaphysical theme. I see it as a man being tried for the state of his moral soul, on how he is living his life. The cute conceit is that this takes the form of literal trial, albeit a trial and a court-system that is comically bizarre, though one that also has its haunting and vicious turns. It is more like what a religious man might conjure up for his God’s judgment on his soul, but a god with a perverse sense of humor and very mysterious ways indeed.
The translator, in his introduction, gives us this note on the background that I think suggests the nature of the question or charge behind the sort of trial that K. goes through. It is not about a crime against the state or a thoughtcrime. It is more about the state of his soul and his good faith. In this case, whether he is doing right by his betrothed, Felice Bauer.
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And what was Kafka going for? I myself used to think that it was a tale of a totalitarian state working its ruthless will against a hapless citizen. This was based on what very little I knew and on a lot of the talk that I had heard. However, I now believe that he was explicating a more metaphysical theme. I see it as a man being tried for the state of his moral soul, on how he is living his life. The cute conceit is that this takes the form of literal trial, albeit a trial and a court-system that is comically bizarre, though one that also has its haunting and vicious turns. It is more like what a religious man might conjure up for his God’s judgment on his soul, but a god with a perverse sense of humor and very mysterious ways indeed.
The translator, in his introduction, gives us this note on the background that I think suggests the nature of the question or charge behind the sort of trial that K. goes through. It is not about a crime against the state or a thoughtcrime. It is more about the state of his soul and his good faith. In this case, whether he is doing right by his betrothed, Felice Bauer.
( Read more... )
I move the water-sprinkler out front, and I see Coco lying on the hood of Pop's car. My heart melts. That's why life is worth living.
I am glad Pop got over the water bill. Despite the fact that we are not into September, the 100-degree days continue to steamroll over us, with no hope of rain on the horizon. And I had not watered the last two weeks. Our lawn was running bone-dry.
I am glad Pop got over the water bill. Despite the fact that we are not into September, the 100-degree days continue to steamroll over us, with no hope of rain on the horizon. And I had not watered the last two weeks. Our lawn was running bone-dry.