Poseidon (short story): Difference between revisions
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'''Poseidon''' is a |
'''Poseidon''' is a [[Franz Kafka]] . |
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The sea god Poseidon is presented here as a disgruntled manager of the waters, which he does not really know. |
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In the story, [[Poseidon]] sits not on [[Mount Olympus]] but at a [[desk]]. He is bored with his job, and discouraged that many believe the fables told of him. Abandoning his trident years ago, he has not seen much of the sea, only when he has to go to Olympus. Even then the sea is seen in flashes as he rises up. So he resigns himself to an administrative position, busy with tedious tasks and details. The story is noteworthy for the ability to draw in a reader with only three paragraphs and to display the characteristics typical of his writings.<ref>Franz Kafka's Poseidon' Adventure. E DILLER - ''Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies'', 1980 - UT Press. |
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== History == |
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In the fall of 1920, Kafka broke away from his lover [[Milena Jesenska]]. It was created by a productive push a series of short prose pieces, including "[[The Refusal]]". Kafka did not publish them, therefore his friend [[Max Brod]] titled them when he published them. |
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Poseidon is sitting at the desk and makes calculations on the waters he has to manage. For his work, he could rely on staff, but rather prefers to work on his own. He does not like his work but sees no alternative. |
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Poseidon laments that people imagine him constantly chauffeuring the waters with his trident. Instead, he sits in the depths of the oceans, doing continuous calculations and hardly ever seeing the sea. Only on his occasional trips to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], from which he often returns angryly, he sees the sea during a hasty ascent to the [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]]. He is afraid that he will have to wait until the end of the world for a quiet moment and a tour of the sea. |
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== Form == |
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The short story consists of two paragraphs. The narrative perspective is not established and shifts between the paragraphs. An anonymous narrator tells the story, while an impersonal perspective by someone superior adds ironic comments. |
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:"Man it could not possibly ..." |
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:"If he then made several proposals ..." |
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:"And he was offered a position outside ..." |
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:"By the way, they took his complaints do not really serious ..." |
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Who is this "we", its approach to the work moods of the sea god half, but they ultimately negated? It could be a higher God, perhaps Zeus, the chief of the Greek gods. But then even the supreme god was just a working administrator and bureaucrat. One thing is obvious, this higher court looks with clear irony of the sea god. --> |
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The second paragraph is dominated by Poseidon's dissatisfaction, but again he is not the narrator. |
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== Analysis == |
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Poseidon is infinitely busy with the management of the waters. What he actually calculated, whether tides, floods, certain water levels, we do not know and therefore can not judge whether it is meaningful work. Poseidon appears as a grumpy official who quarrels with his work responsibilities, but ultimately can not solve them.<!-- because anything else would not make him happy too. "His divine breath fell into disorder," his brazen chest staggered "at the idea of a working out of the water. Of course, he had "been determined since the very beginning God of the Seas" yes. |
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The point whether Poseidon has also calculated from very beginning to exclusively is not discussed. But our widely held conception of Poseidon, as he crosses the trident the floods must originate somewhere. But this very widely held notion angered Poseidon especially. He sits just counting on the ocean floor and barely knows the seas. But that means he managed something that he does not know, an evil and typical form of bureaucracy. Taking away from this story, the few divine attributes, replacing "Poseidon" as by "Dr. K" would be a good description of an official world. |
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Poseidon provides the seas only fleetingly in the ascent to his travels to Jupiter. These trips can be seen now subject. Jupiter is the chief of the Roman gods. Why is the Greek god Poseidon goes to the top Roman god? Is perhaps due to the change of the gods together, the degradation of Poseidon? Has a meaning or is it simply an oversight Kafka? --> |
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The small piece ends in an almost serene mood but bizarre because of the juxtaposition of "in a silent moment of world destruction". |
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== Relation to other works of Kafka == |
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The prose contains some of Kafka's typical [[Theme (literature)|theme]]s. Poseidon mistrusts assistants in the same way as two helmsmen in ''[[The Helmsman (short story)|The Helmsman]]'' and as the land surveyor K. in ''[[The Castle (novel)|The Castle]]''. In ''The Castle'', distant castle high officials are the subject of villagers' monitoring and longing, while in ''Poseidon'' the top officials, even with divine aspects, are presented as lacking dignity. |
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An internal reference is seen to the new lawyer. There turned the steed of Alexander of Macedon, including a mythical figure in a lawyer and become immersed in the old books, but he does not suffer from this change. |
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From the same creative period as Poseidon is the coat of arms. Here organizational and bureaucratic barriers to the Tower of Babel are presented, which can be lifted only by the desired destruction of the city. So also here hoping for the clarifying and purifying function of the destruction. |
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Quote |
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:"... If a mighty torments, one must try to give him even in the seemingly hopeless case." |
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:"He used to say he was waiting with it until doomsday, it will probably result in a silent moment where it just before the end, after reading the final bill yet quickly become a small tour can make" --> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Franz Kafka}} |
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[[Category:Short stories by Franz Kafka]] |
[[Category:Short stories by Franz Kafka]] |
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[[Category:1920 books]] |
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Revision as of 17:24, 9 April 2013
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
"Poseidon" is a small piece of prose of Franz Kafka, written in 1920.
The sea god Poseidon is presented here as a disgruntled manager of the waters, which he does not really know.
History
In the fall of 1920, Kafka broke away from his lover Milena Jesenska. It was created by a productive push a series of short prose pieces, including "The Refusal". Kafka did not publish them, therefore his friend Max Brod titled them when he published them.
Plot
Poseidon is sitting at the desk and makes calculations on the waters he has to manage. For his work, he could rely on staff, but rather prefers to work on his own. He does not like his work but sees no alternative.
Poseidon laments that people imagine him constantly chauffeuring the waters with his trident. Instead, he sits in the depths of the oceans, doing continuous calculations and hardly ever seeing the sea. Only on his occasional trips to Jupiter, from which he often returns angryly, he sees the sea during a hasty ascent to the Olympus. He is afraid that he will have to wait until the end of the world for a quiet moment and a tour of the sea.
Form
The short story consists of two paragraphs. The narrative perspective is not established and shifts between the paragraphs. An anonymous narrator tells the story, while an impersonal perspective by someone superior adds ironic comments.
The second paragraph is dominated by Poseidon's dissatisfaction, but again he is not the narrator.
Analysis
Poseidon is infinitely busy with the management of the waters. What he actually calculated, whether tides, floods, certain water levels, we do not know and therefore can not judge whether it is meaningful work. Poseidon appears as a grumpy official who quarrels with his work responsibilities, but ultimately can not solve them.
The small piece ends in an almost serene mood but bizarre because of the juxtaposition of "in a silent moment of world destruction".
Relation to other works of Kafka
The prose contains some of Kafka's typical themes. Poseidon mistrusts assistants in the same way as two helmsmen in The Helmsman and as the land surveyor K. in The Castle. In The Castle, distant castle high officials are the subject of villagers' monitoring and longing, while in Poseidon the top officials, even with divine aspects, are presented as lacking dignity.
