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A QUEST FOR IDENTITY: AN ONTOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KAFKAESQUE WORLD
Corresponding Author(s) : Muhammad Adnan Akbar
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 9 No. 3 (2021): May
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: Franz Kafka is a much-debated existential writer who portrays existential traumas prevalent in his era. This research unfolds identity-related issues present in an existential journey of characters. Those are usually discussed in terms of existence and being. Identity formation, in an existential narrative, is seen in the process of becoming.
Methodology: This paper is an interpretive phenomenological study to unearth the phenomenon of identity. Heidegger's interpretive phenomenology, along with Sartre's ontological framework, will be used to analyze Kafka's two novels, The Trial and The Castle. Yet, his book, Amerika, is left as it is considered unfinished.
Findings: The Kafkaesque world pictures the traumas of the existential world, and this study mainly focuses on the phenomenon of identity, which is in constant flux in these ever-changing dimensions of the existential journey. Authentic and inauthentic existence, good and bad faith, is essential binaries in evaluating the identity of any character at any given instance.
Application of the Study: This study will contribute to the understanding of characters of the Kafkaesque world in the light of the identity issues from an ontological perspective. As characters of Kafka are constantly striving to achieve good faith and trying to abandon inauthentic existence to attain harmony with their existence.
Novelty/Originality of the Study: Kafka has been studied for many existential perspectives, yet this study explores the phenomenon of identity embedded in the existential narrative. Identity is usually sought in relation to discourse and postcolonial studies while discussing the Kafkaesque world. Yet, in this research, identity-related issues have been coupled with existential and ontological processes going in the fictional narrative of Kafka.
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- Ackermann, P. K. (1950). A History of Critical Writing on Franz Kafka. The German Quarterly, 23(2), 105-113. https://doi.org/10.2307/401846 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/401846
- Akbar, M. A. (2017). Nothingness: Anguish, Refutation, Rebellion and Submission. Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences, 7(2), 204-210.
- Akbar, M. A. (2017). Ontological Analysis of The Metamorphosis. Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences, 7(4), 220-224.
- Akbar, M. A., & Khan, N. U. (2021). Anguish and Nothingness in Kafka's "A Country Doctor" and "The Starvation Artist." Elementary Education Online, 20(4), 2835-2841.
- Akbar, M. A., & Khan, N. U. (2021). Question of Being in Kafkaesque World: An Ontological Study of Kafka's "Researches of A Dog" and "The Silence of Sirens." Elementary Education Online, 20(4), 2842-2848.
- Akbar, M. A., Khan, N. U. & Khan, I. U. (2021). Satire amidst Uncertainty and Transformation: A Comparative Study of The Metamorphosis and Gulliver's Travel. Multicultural Education, 7(3), 400-404.
- Alberes, R. M. and Boisdeffre, P. D. (1967). Kafka: Torment of Man. Trans. Baskin Wade. London: Vision Press Limited.
- Amerson, R. J. (1988). Power and Authority in The Castle. Harold Bloom (ed). Modern Critical Interpretations: Franz Kafka's The Castle. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
- Church, M. (1960). Kafka's A Country Doctor. Beebe, M. (ed). Literary Symbolism: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Literature. Belmont.
- Creighton, M. (2019). Understanding Franz Kafka by Allen Thiher. German Studies Review, 42(1), 162-164. https://doi.org/10.1353/gsr.2019.0019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/gsr.2019.0019
- Danta, C. (2007). Like a dog… Like a lamb: Becoming Sacrificial Animal in Kafka and Coetzee. New Literary History, 38(4), 721-737. https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.2008.0011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.2008.0011
- Danta, C. (2008). Kafka's Mousetrap: The Fable of the Dying Voice. Sub Stance, 37(3), 153-168. https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.0.0014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.0.0014
- Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1986). Kafka: Toward a minor literature. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
- Edmunds, L. (2010). Kafka on Minor Literature. German Studies Review, 33(2), 351-374.
- Emrich, W. (1965). Franz Kafka: Portrait. Geist und Wiedergeist. Emrich (ed). Frankfurt.
- Engel, M. (2019). Franz Kafka: Modernism, Modernity, Myth, and Religion. Ken Seigneurie (ed). A Companion to World Literature. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0238 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0238
- Flynn, T. (2013, Fall). Jean-Paul Sartre. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. N. (ed.) Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/sartre/
- Gardiner, P. (1988). Kierkegaard. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Gilman, S. L. (2005). Franz Kafka. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.
- Gray, R. (1973). Franz Kafka. London: Cambridge University Press.
- Greenberg, M. (1965). The Terror of The Art: Franz Kafka and Modern Literature. New York.
- Hamdan, M. (2019). Spatial ambiguity and the question of Jewish identity in Franz Kafka's Jackals and Arabs, The Explicator. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2019.1626329 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2019.1626329
- Heller, E. (1986). The Castle. Bloom, H. (ed). Modern Critical Views: Franz Kafka. New York: Chelsea House Publishers
- Kafka, F. (1948). The Diaries of Franz Kafka (1910-23). Max Brod (ed). Great Britain: Penguin Books.
- Kafka, F. (1953). Wedding Preparation in the Country and other Stories. England: Penguin Books.
- Kafka, F. (n. d). Great Works of Franz Kafka. Delhi: Janco Publishers.
- Mairowitz, D. Z. and Crumb, R. (1993). Kafka: For Beginners. Great Britain: Icon Books.
- Pawel, E. (1984). The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux.
- Ryan, J. (1985). Our Trial: Franz Kafka's Challenge to Literary Theory. A Forum on Fiction, 18(3), 257-266 https://doi.org/10.2307/1345791 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1345791
- Sokel, W. H. (1999). Kafka as a Jew. New Literary History, 30(4), 837-853. https://doi.org/10.1353 /nlh.1999.0052 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.1999.0052
- Stringfellow, F. (1995). Kafka's Trail: Between 'The Republic' and Psychoanalysis. Cordozo Studies in Law and Literature, 7(2), 173-205. https://doi.org/10.1525/lal.1995.7.2.02a00050 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/lal.1995.7.2.02a00050
- Sussman, H. (1993). The Trial: Kafka's Unholy Trinity. New York: Twayne Publishers.
- Wellek, R., & Warren. A. (1956). Theory of Literature: Rene Wellek and Austin Warren. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
- Wheeler, M. (2020). Martin Heidegger. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. (ed.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/heidegger/
References
Ackermann, P. K. (1950). A History of Critical Writing on Franz Kafka. The German Quarterly, 23(2), 105-113. https://doi.org/10.2307/401846 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/401846
Akbar, M. A. (2017). Nothingness: Anguish, Refutation, Rebellion and Submission. Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences, 7(2), 204-210.
Akbar, M. A. (2017). Ontological Analysis of The Metamorphosis. Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences, 7(4), 220-224.
Akbar, M. A., & Khan, N. U. (2021). Anguish and Nothingness in Kafka's "A Country Doctor" and "The Starvation Artist." Elementary Education Online, 20(4), 2835-2841.
Akbar, M. A., & Khan, N. U. (2021). Question of Being in Kafkaesque World: An Ontological Study of Kafka's "Researches of A Dog" and "The Silence of Sirens." Elementary Education Online, 20(4), 2842-2848.
Akbar, M. A., Khan, N. U. & Khan, I. U. (2021). Satire amidst Uncertainty and Transformation: A Comparative Study of The Metamorphosis and Gulliver's Travel. Multicultural Education, 7(3), 400-404.
Alberes, R. M. and Boisdeffre, P. D. (1967). Kafka: Torment of Man. Trans. Baskin Wade. London: Vision Press Limited.
Amerson, R. J. (1988). Power and Authority in The Castle. Harold Bloom (ed). Modern Critical Interpretations: Franz Kafka's The Castle. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Church, M. (1960). Kafka's A Country Doctor. Beebe, M. (ed). Literary Symbolism: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Literature. Belmont.
Creighton, M. (2019). Understanding Franz Kafka by Allen Thiher. German Studies Review, 42(1), 162-164. https://doi.org/10.1353/gsr.2019.0019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/gsr.2019.0019
Danta, C. (2007). Like a dog… Like a lamb: Becoming Sacrificial Animal in Kafka and Coetzee. New Literary History, 38(4), 721-737. https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.2008.0011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.2008.0011
Danta, C. (2008). Kafka's Mousetrap: The Fable of the Dying Voice. Sub Stance, 37(3), 153-168. https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.0.0014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sub.0.0014
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1986). Kafka: Toward a minor literature. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Edmunds, L. (2010). Kafka on Minor Literature. German Studies Review, 33(2), 351-374.
Emrich, W. (1965). Franz Kafka: Portrait. Geist und Wiedergeist. Emrich (ed). Frankfurt.
Engel, M. (2019). Franz Kafka: Modernism, Modernity, Myth, and Religion. Ken Seigneurie (ed). A Companion to World Literature. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0238 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118635193.ctwl0238
Flynn, T. (2013, Fall). Jean-Paul Sartre. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. N. (ed.) Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/sartre/
Gardiner, P. (1988). Kierkegaard. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gilman, S. L. (2005). Franz Kafka. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.
Gray, R. (1973). Franz Kafka. London: Cambridge University Press.
Greenberg, M. (1965). The Terror of The Art: Franz Kafka and Modern Literature. New York.
Hamdan, M. (2019). Spatial ambiguity and the question of Jewish identity in Franz Kafka's Jackals and Arabs, The Explicator. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2019.1626329 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2019.1626329
Heller, E. (1986). The Castle. Bloom, H. (ed). Modern Critical Views: Franz Kafka. New York: Chelsea House Publishers
Kafka, F. (1948). The Diaries of Franz Kafka (1910-23). Max Brod (ed). Great Britain: Penguin Books.
Kafka, F. (1953). Wedding Preparation in the Country and other Stories. England: Penguin Books.
Kafka, F. (n. d). Great Works of Franz Kafka. Delhi: Janco Publishers.
Mairowitz, D. Z. and Crumb, R. (1993). Kafka: For Beginners. Great Britain: Icon Books.
Pawel, E. (1984). The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux.
Ryan, J. (1985). Our Trial: Franz Kafka's Challenge to Literary Theory. A Forum on Fiction, 18(3), 257-266 https://doi.org/10.2307/1345791 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1345791
Sokel, W. H. (1999). Kafka as a Jew. New Literary History, 30(4), 837-853. https://doi.org/10.1353 /nlh.1999.0052 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.1999.0052
Stringfellow, F. (1995). Kafka's Trail: Between 'The Republic' and Psychoanalysis. Cordozo Studies in Law and Literature, 7(2), 173-205. https://doi.org/10.1525/lal.1995.7.2.02a00050 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/lal.1995.7.2.02a00050
Sussman, H. (1993). The Trial: Kafka's Unholy Trinity. New York: Twayne Publishers.
Wellek, R., & Warren. A. (1956). Theory of Literature: Rene Wellek and Austin Warren. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Wheeler, M. (2020). Martin Heidegger. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. (ed.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/heidegger/