Humor in Kafka?

Today I was reading an essay by David Foster Wallace all about the ironic humor in Kafka. From what I've
read of Kafka, I don't remember picking out anything significantly comedic. Is it the translation?

The Moments of Dominion

That happen on the Soul

And leave it with a Discontent

Too exquisite — to tell —

-Emily Dickinson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVW8GCnr9-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckGIvr6WVw4

Reply With QuoteReply With Quote

08-24-2009, 08:29 PM#2

stlukesguild stlukesguild is offline

Artist and Bibliophile

stlukesguild's AvatarJoin Date

Jul 2006

Location

The USA... or thereabouts

Posts

6,076

Blog Entries

78

Comic does not always translate into guffaws over pratfalls or one-liners. The "comedy" in Kafka is a
dark comedy to be found in the absurdity of the situations Kafka imagines... the absurdity of life... and
the dead-pan manner in which it is dealt. Irony. "One day Joseph K. wakes up to discover he has been
metamorphosed into a giant dung beetle." This is an opening that one would expect to be followed up
by great emotions... by an atmosphere of the other-worldly or unreal. But what happens? Kafka
presents the entire Surreal scenario in the dispassionate manner of the bureaucrat of the journalist
("Just the facts "Ma'am"). And Joseph himself? He certainly doesn't deal with this unreal transformation
with the sort of hysteria that we imagine we ourselves might be expected to display. He wakes up and
finds he's turned to a giant dung beetle... but still he must get dressed... he must get to work... he must
carry on as if nothing happened. The humor in Kafka is all about human beings "trapped" in absurd
situations by unknown powers that the cannot fathom (whether it be faceless bureaucracies or a
faceless God) and unable to recognize the absurdity of their situation... unable to laugh.

Beware of the man with just one book. -Ovid

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark
Twain

My Blog: Of Delicious Recoil

http://stlukesguild.tumblr.com/

Reply With QuoteReply With Quote

08-24-2009, 09:25 PM#3

DanielBenoit DanielBenoit is offline

ésprit de l’escalier

DanielBenoit's AvatarJoin Date

Aug 2009

Location

There is a Heppy Land Furfur A-waay

Posts

3,718

Blog Entries

137

Send a message via MSN to DanielBenoit

thank you, that clears up a lot.