Kafka and Success

 Keşke bu denemeyi Kafka'nın Babaya Mektup kitabını okuduktan sonra yazsaydım. Etraftan duyduğum bilgilerle Kafka'nın başarısız hissettiğini düşünerek yazmıştım. Yaşadığı duygusal buhramın derinliğinin farkındayken bu denemeyi yazsam belki daha iyi bir inceleme çıkabilirdi. Olsun, yine de yüzeysel müzeysel bir şeyler yazmışım. 

Stuart Mill yüksek farkındalığın zehirli doğasını tartışırken ne kadar acı verirse versin kimsenin bu farkındalıktan vazgeçmeyeceğini öne sürüyor. Zira, bu farkındalık ne kadar acılara kapı açsa da, dünyaevi zevklerin ötesinde keyifler yaşamayı da sağlıyor-muş. Belki de bu yüzden Kafka acılara göğüs görelim diyor, belki de bu yüzden bu içsel buhramı onu depresyone sürüklese de o acıya sıkı sıkı sarılıyor. Belki de bu yüzden Dostoyevski farkındalığın zehirli olduğunu hemen söyledikten sonra onu övmeye başlıyor (Yer Altından Notlar p.14). 

 

     Kafka, in one of his writings, proposes that "I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us." His insight shows his goal in writing and reading. In Kafka's An Imperial Message, we see an example of his ideology in literature. He suggests an ugly truth through an example of a messenger carrying an Emperor's message to a humble subject that is "you". In this essay, I will argue that Kafka in An Imperial Message suggests an idea that despite perseverance and proficiency one may have, success is not guaranteed. More importantly, Kafka uses a metaphor to dwell on the struggle of the writers' attempt to deliver their thought to the readers.

      Kafka in Imperial Message reveals an ugly truth that "wound or stab us". To be more precise, the ugly truth comes from the impossibility of the messenger's mission asserting that determination and competence may not always lead to success. The herald is described as "a powerful and indefatigable man"(p.5 Kafka) also, his determination is quite explicit. Nonetheless, his struggles are vain as the narrator suggests

 "But instead how vainly does he wear out his strength; still he is only making his way through the chambers of the innermost palace; never will he get to the end of them, and if he succeeded in that nothing would be gained; he must next fight his way down the stair, and if he succeeded in that nothing would be gained." (p.5 Kafka)

Regardless of the message's importance and the herald's utter attempts, the delivery of the message is impossible. Through this impossibility, Kafka implicitly refers to Zeno's Dichotomy paradox. The paradox asserts that in order to travel to a certain point, half of the distance ought to be travelled and continuingly it becomes impossible to reach that point as each time half of the distance will be travelled. In Kafka's An Imperial Message, we see the example of this paradox through herald's attempt to deliver to message. The paradox in the short story reflects the ugly truth, namely the moral message mentioned above: it is sometimes impossible to achieve an individual accomplishment regardless of the effort, determination and competence. The messenger attempting to an impossible mission to deliver a message by the Emperor stands as a symbol for this idea.

 

      The impossibility and futility of the messenger's attempt found the basis of the miscommunication between the humble subject that is "you" and the Emperor. The title, An Imperial Message sets a boundary between the humble subject and Emperor since the description of the message that is "Imperial" gives a meaning of intellectuality and utter importance. Such an importance that it is an ambiguity whether the message is comprehensible by an "insignificant shadow cowering in the remotest distance before the imperial sun." (p.5 Kafka) The Humble subject is described as insignificant yet, more importantly, Kafka sets an obstruction between the recipient and the Emperor through distance. Distance not only prevents the messenger from delivering his message but also it implies a clear difference between the recipient and the transmitter and ultimately, this difference results in miscommunication. Furthermore, Emperor whispers the message and orders the messenger to whisper it back into his ear again, the act of whispering implies privacy and intimacy the massage carries, however, asking the courier to whisper it back indicates Emperor's utter desire to be clear and hence understood. On literary context this could be interpreted as a metaphor, Emperor is the author and his whisper carries thoughts he would like to pass it on through the courier that symbolizes the text. Humble subject referred as "us" then is the common readers. Therefore, Kafka proposes that it could be impossible for readers to fathom the message within the texts despite the author's attempt to be as clear or 'intimate' as possible. Moreover, distance is not the sole barrier between the Emperor and the humble subject, crowded people stands as a barrier as well "But the multitudes are so vast; their numbers have no end". Further developing the metaphor, multitudes of people signifies the different interpretations of literary texts. To be precise, Kafka here asserts that almost infinite readers may interpret differently, and this may obstruct the message to get through. Ultimately, the message authors try to deliver cannot possibly be delivered as accurate as the author intended, in An Imperial Message's case Emperor intended to. Lastly, ending concludes the metaphor "But you sit at your windows when evening falls and dream it to yourself"(p.5 Kafka), the message will be dreamed by "us", and it probably will be interpreted and shaped

          Kafka reveals a cruel truth that can be interpreted in different ways. Considering his lifetime problems, the parable appears to be a reflection of his struggles concerning his literary life. He desires to be an author, but he feels unaccomplished and a failure. Such a failure that before his death, he orders his friend to burn his works, implying his self-loath. His self-loath correlates with the moral message of the parable. Although he worked hard, he never became successful in his lifetime. Similarly, the messenger tried his best, but the mission was impossible, and the emotion of despair was sensible from the narrator. This despair is a reflection of Kafka's emotion towards his literary work, and through that, he expresses his idea that determination and desire do not always result in success.

Kafka, Franz. “An Imperial Message.” The Complete Stories. Ed. Nahum N. Glatzer. New York:   Schocken, 1988. 4-5. Print.