There is infinite hope, but not for man.
Now, quite apart from the fact that the doors were locked, should he really call out for help? In spite of all his distress, he was unable to suppress a smile at this idea.
And, incidentally: freedom is all too often self-deception among people. Just as freedom is among the most exalted of feelings, so the corresponding deception is among the most exalted of deceptions.
O God,” he thought, “what a demanding job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out on the road. The stresses of trade are much greater than the work going on at head office, and, in addition to that, I have to deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart. To hell with it all!
His last words to Robert Klopstock are ‘Kill me, or you are a murderer.
Once Kafka came to regard any philosophy as nothing more than a system of rules to be enforced, a dogma both bigger and smaller than himself, he withdrew from it.
Kafka saw his tuberculosis as a liberation; interestingly, he called it “the animal.
His escape is ultimately doomed by his utter devotion to his family, which never diminishes. The guilt brought on by Gregor’s newfound inability to provide for his family- financially and emotionally- prevents him from attaining any sort of liberation. Perhaps recognizing this conundrum, Gregor chooses to remain an insect.
Later, the family, led ferociously by the father, forces Gregor into his room like a naughty child. And Gregor, for his part, has no interest in adult matters. He loathes his profession. He has no intention of finding a companion; the only woman in his life, besides his sister and mother, is the pin-up girl in the guilt frame.
At the expense of Gregor’s sacrifice, the sister, at the end of the story, stretches her arrogant body and gets the liberation Gregor longed for. Under Gregor’s care first, and then her parents’, the sister enjoys a healthy childhood, one leading to physical and mental development, and one in which she isn’t trapped. Yet our loyalty to Gregor extends even beyond death, and his sister’s cheery success story offers but a bitter pill.
If I didn’t hold back for my parents’ sake, I would’ve quit ages ago.
I’ve written already, the trip could only be made feasible by a lie and of lying I’m afraid, not like a man of honour, but like a pupil.
Kafka, it seems, is at his best when he fails.
The next train left at seven o’clock, and in order to catch it he would have to rush around like mad, and the sample collection was still unpacked and he was not feeling particularly fresh and energetic. And even if he caught the train, a bawling out from the boss was inescapable, because the office messenger had arrived by the five o’clock train and reported his absence long ago; he was the boss’s creature, mindless and spineless.
Now, her bedside table had been pulled into the middle of the room to be used as a desk for these proceedings, and the supervisor sat behind it.
But now you must give me your hand, an agreement of this sort needs to be confirmed with a handshake.” Will she shake hands with me?
The first thing he saw in the small room was a large clock on the wall which already showed ten o’clock.
And for a little while he lay still, breathing lightly as if he expected total repose would restore everything to its normal and unquestionable state.
Was he a beast if music could move him so?
For now he must lie low and try, through patience and the greatest consideration, to help his family bear the inconvenience he was bound to cause them in his present condition.