Duffy-Kafka

=  = =FRANZ KAFKA=


 * Biography**


 * Born July 3, 1883 in Prague, Bohemia, now the Czech Republic
 * His family consisted of three younger sisters, his mother Julie, and his successful Jewish merchant father, Hermann
 * His two bothers died in infancy which led to the awareness of his role in the family[[image:webkit-fake-url://8EF6C65D-03CE-4487-9E8D-09AED760BAC7/image.tiff align="right"]]
 * His father was ill-tempered and disrespectful towards his son’s escape into literature and pursuit of writing
 * Many of Kafka’s works reflect the conflicts and dispair between his father
 * In 1907 he published his first work and continued to publish for the next seventeen years
 * Most of his works were unfinished and published posthumously by his friend Max [[image:webkit-fake-url://155E4BD1-E501-4717-BE35-FEF9CC8A7EDB/Franz+Kafka.jpg align="right" caption="Franz+Kafka.jpg"]]Brod
 * Kafka died of tuberculosis on June 3, 1924

**Literary Contributions**


 * Icon of dark existentialist and absurdist literature, who wrote of isolation, alienation, and authoritanian oppression
 * Also considered a modernist
 * Often wrote metaphorically of the struggle to overcome a overpowering and suffocating force, much like himself in relation to his father
 * Kafka’s writing was visionary fiction, adressing three decades ahead of time the anxieties and change of the 20th century
 * His style and influence is sometimes attributed to Jewish folk lore
 * Declared himself a socialist atheist
 * Spinoza, Darwin and Nietzsche were some of his influences
 * Works are open to multiple interpretations, making his works hard to categorize in a genre
 * Metamorphosis is his best-known short story, on psychological, sociological and existential angst
 * Continues to be a source of research,scholarship and philosophical discussion in diverse academic, literary and popular arenas

**Works**


 * __The Trial__ (1925);novel
 * __The Castle__ (1926);novel
 * __Amerika__ (1927);novel
 * //The Metamorphosis// (1915);short story
 * //In the Penal Colony// (1914);short story

Works Cited

Merriman, C.D. "Online-Literature.com." //Franz Kafka//. Jalic Inc., 2005. Web. 28 Apr 2010. <[|__http://www.online-literature.com/franz-kafka/__]>. Nowak, Jeff. "The Literature Network." //Franz Kafka//. Praeger, 22 January 2004. Web. 28 Apr 2010. <[|__http://www.themodernword.com/kafka/kafka_biography.html__]>. "Franz Kafka Biography." //Franz Kafka Biography//. Da Capo Press, 1995. Web. 28 Apr 2010. <[|__http://www.kafka-franz.com/kafka-Biography.htm__]>.