Many masters have influenced Kafka's writing, mainly in philosophy, biology and literature. We divide literature into two parts: western literature and eastern literature.
Influenced by the Danish existentialist philosopher Kierkegaard, Kafka originally wanted to study philosophy at university, but his father strongly opposed it because he could hardly find a job in philosophy and even had to be a missionary. Later, influenced by a friend, I studied chemistry for 14 days. Finally, at the urging of my father, I chose the law that I didn't like very much. If you have read Kierkegaard's Tremor and Fear and Kafka's Trial and Castle at the same time, it is not difficult to find that they are inextricably linked. Here I quote a passage from "Tremor and Fear":
"Even a man of humble origin, I will ask him not to be so cruel to himself, so that he only dares to imagine the king's castle from a distance, vaguely longing for its grandeur, and at the same time trying to raise it and destroy it by despicable means." (Soren? Kierkegaard's Fear and Tremor ——P65 Can ethics be suspended from the perspective of teleology? )
Kierkegaard's philosophy and Kafka's novels both try to clarify the corresponding relationship between man and social system and state machine. Kierkegaard is known as the father of existential philosophy, while Kafka is known as the father of modern literature or the pioneer of expressionist literature. With the efforts of the two "fathers", existentialism philosophy and expressionism literature constitute an indestructible fortress against the cold state machine and distorted modern society. The relationship between them is so close that Camus, Sartre, Beckett and others later reflected this relationship with absurdity and black humor in their respective works, such as The Outsider, Confinement and Waiting for Godot.
Freud's dream interpretation theory has a far-reaching influence on Kafka's creation. Kafka literature, also called dream literature, is almost a retelling of dreams, such as Metamorphosis and Dream. Pascal's exposition of time, Schopenhauer's pessimistic philosophy and Nietzsche's superman philosophy also fascinated Kafka. In addition, Kafka and his friend Brody often read Plato's dialogues about Socrates. Kafka read some pre-Qin philosophical books in China, such as The Analects of Confucius, Laozi and Zhuangzi, and highly praised Zhuangzi (a South China classic). Kafka confidently said in his letter to a friend that he was actually a native of China. China's classical literature and the story of his uncle living in China made Kafka look forward to the ancient and mysterious oriental civilization, which was reflected in his work A Documentary of Fighting.
Kafka was born in the middle and late19th century, which is the period when Darwin's theory of evolution swept the world. The theory of evolution overthrew the religious spirit that God created man from the rational analysis and field demonstration of biological science, and gave modern artists new creative inspiration. Based on this idea, Kafka applied "evolution" to the field of literary creation, which made the literary characters "evolve" or even "degenerate" in a short time, and achieved the effect similar to drama. For example, in Metamorphosis, a traveling salesman degenerated into a bug overnight and was abandoned by society and family until he was forgotten. Another example is the report to the Academy of Sciences that an orangutan is considered to have "evolved" into a human being because it can imitate many human behaviors. In fact, it is intended to satirize the self-proclaimed higher animals of human beings, but in fact they are just monkeys in clothes.
"According to Darwin's view, the formation of human beings seems to be the original sin of monkeys, and it is impossible for a creature to completely get rid of what constitutes the basis of his existence." (Kafka on Darwin)
At the same time, Kafka read 1927, the French philosopher Bergson who was awarded to Nobel Prize in Literature. His book "The Theory of Creative Evolution" has aroused widespread concern in society and is deeply favored by Kafka. Bergson further developed Darwin's theory of evolution. He believes that not only life is evolving, but also inanimate matter and even abstract thinking, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of global modernization. This also explains that the behavior of characters and the unfolding of stories in Kafka's novels always do not follow the routine, and substances such as trees, clouds and bridges actually have biological forms. Below, I quote a few paragraphs of the original text to prove it:
"Because we are like trees lying in the snow. On the surface, they are lying on the smooth snow, and you can push them away with a touch. " (Selected from Tong Yali's translation of Kafka's Tree)
"The long clouds pulled him, and the small cirrus clouds pushed him, causing a big disturbance, which can be detected from the river hitting my knees and the stones on the river bank." (Selected from a battle documentary, translated by Tong Yali into Kafka)
"I'm cold and stiff. I am a bridge across a deep stream. My foot is stuck at this end and my hand is stuck at that end. I am firmly fixed in the broken soil. " (Excerpted from Bridge, translated by Kafka and Ye Fangting)
Third, reading: European and American literature
Although Kafka lived in Prague, Czech Republic, the area was under the jurisdiction of Austria-Hungary at that time, and the official language was German, so Kafka was used to writing in German. Modern European countries experienced repeated division and reorganization, which made many people lack a sense of belonging. Because he writes in German, the Czech Republic doesn't quite recognize Kafka as a Czech writer, just like the Czech writer Kundera who writes in French. Kafka, whose mother tongue is German, first came into contact with German literature. Like most German writers, Kafka worships Goethe, the master of German literature, especially his diaries and conversations.
In addition, Kafka worships Thomas who lived with him at the same time? German writers such as Mann and Hesse, Hesse also appreciated Kafka's works. Although Hesse is older than Kafka, due to Kafka's early death, Hesse is more like Kafka's student. Although it is the same era, there is no communication between them; Amazingly, many of their ideas coincide. When Hesse's novel "The Glass Ball Game" (1943) was published, Kafka had been dead for nine years, and Kafka's exposition on Laozi and the glass ball game was only published at 195 1. This coincidence cannot be explained, but can only be attributed to providence for the time being. Their writing style is as rigorous as German craftsmanship, and they pay attention to the description of details.
"I have been a reader of Kafka since his early works ... He gave us the dreams and fantasies of his miserable and lonely life, his experience, the reappearance of emptiness and satisfaction. These dreams and fantasies are what we can get from him, not the meaning we get through clever explanation. " (Hesse comments on Kafka 1956)
"Lao tze's motto is hard walnut. I was intoxicated by them, but their core was still locked for me. I have read it many times. Then I found that, just like a child playing with colored glass balls, I let these proverbs slide from one corner of my mind to another and made no progress. Through these proverbs, glass balls, I actually only found that my think tank was too shallow to hold Laozi's glass balls. This is a frustrating discovery, so I stopped the glass ball game. " (Kafka Dialogue 195 1 Publication)
German culture has a wide influence in Europe, and the official language of Switzerland is German. Kafka's original prose style mostly imitates the prose collection Walking by Swiss writer Walther (also known as Walking Missing Time), and Walther also has a trilogy of poems and autobiographical novels (the book market is almost impossible to find now, so the specific title will not be introduced).
As the main force of the Enlightenment, French literature had a great influence on Europe and the world. /kloc-in the 0/9th century, realism became the main theme of European literary world, and French writers became the main force. Balzac started writing just to make a living, and later became fascinated with writing novels. He was inspired to write a big book, Human Comedy, which is estimated to have more than 120 volumes. By the time the writer died, he had finished more than 70 volumes, so Balzac was called "the father of modern French novels". Kafka doesn't like Balzac's works, but he is in awe of his tireless creative spirit and amazing output.
Flaubert, another French writer, pays more attention to the practical significance of his works. Zola, an equally great realist writer, praised him as "the father of naturalistic literature", and Flaubert also cultivated Mo Bosang, who is known as "the king of the world's short stories". Flaubert's masterpiece Emotional Education was regarded as a pillow book by Kafka, and it was the enlightenment reading of Kafka's youth.
"Flaubert's diary is very important and interesting. I already have these diaries. " (Kafka on Flaubert)
"Balzac has been living according to a special schedule for many years, which I think is very reasonable. He goes to bed at 6 o'clock every night, gets up at midnight 12, and then works 18 hours. What he did wrong was that he drank too much coffee and ruined his heart. There is nothing interesting about such a trip. I don't like Balzac's novellas. " (Kafka on Balzac)
19 12, 29-year-old Kafka began to secretly write the first chapter of the first novel The Missing Man (later renamed America by Brody), which originated from imitating his favorite English writer Dickens. Dickens' novels are mostly set in London, England, which was shrouded in smog during the industrial revolution, and created little people who are opposed to poverty and wealth, good and evil, beauty and ugliness. The scene is magnificent and the plot is touching. Many of his works have been popular in Britain for a long time, and even some people give Christmas gifts to the fictional characters in his works. This description of the state of modern industrial city is unprecedented, which also gives Kafka some comfort as a modern man who is helpless in the face of industrial behemoths.
"Dickens is one of my favorite writers. It can be said that he was even an example I tried to emulate ... his grasp of things, his balance between the outside world and his heart, his excellent and simple description of the relationship between the world and himself, and his very natural symmetry. Most painters and writers today lack these things. " (Kafka on Dickens)
Kafka's first novel, Missing, took place in America. At that time, as an emerging country with a history of less than 200 years and no experience of feudal society, American literature had begun to flourish. Because one of Kafka's uncles started a business in the United States, the social reality in the United States has more influence on Kafka's creation than on his literature. But there is one exception, that is, the famous "pioneer of suspense reasoning, science fiction adventure and humorous satire" Allen? Poe and Kafka often talk about his novels with friends. The thrilling plot and imaginative story inspired Kafka's creation. Friends often compare Kafka's works with them. Indeed, the works of the two masters have many similarities, such as black humor. Black humor is characterized by absurd stories, sad and happy characters and irrational thinking patterns; This literary form became the mainstream of American literature in the late World War II.
"Poe is ill. He is a poor man. He can't defend himself in the face of this world, so he escaped by drinking. For him, imagination is just a crutch. In order to get familiar with the world and adapt to it, he wrote many gloomy and terrible stories, which is completely natural. There are not as many wolves in the imagination as in reality. " (Kafka comments on Ellen? Slope)
Kafka versus Allen? Poe was interested, but he didn't seem to appreciate his work. Kafka's friend Brody thinks Kafka and Allen? There are essential differences between slopes, Allen. Edgar Allan Poe is good at creating dramatic plots by using the story environment and characters' behaviors, and finally revealing a great truth or discovery, such as the black cat, Moscone vortex, the collapse of Usher House, etc.
Kafka, on the other hand, created a specious absurd world with a great truth or discovery, which made the characters completely lost from beginning to end, in order to prove the existence of some indescribable fear or invincible force, such as the door of law, trial and castle.
The door of law is open for you, but you can never get in; Some people wake up and do nothing, and they are "guilty" and sentenced to death for no reason; A man named K was invited to work in the castle, but he didn't know in which direction the door of the castle opened until he died.
Are the above three stories very similar to the difficulties you encounter in your daily life? Yes, Kafka's literary theme is "People in Prague are in trouble".
In the process of Russia's transition from serfdom to the Soviet Union government, some literary and art workers also began to awaken themselves, and suffering literature took root in Russia. Dostoevsky, Lev? Based on the enthusiasm and fraternity of the Orthodox Church, Tolstoy, Gorky and other literary masters describe their hometown and people in a fatherly manner. In particular, Dostoevsky's philosophical novels, which deeply explore human nature, deeply attract Kafka, who is sensitive and delicate in his heart, and make his works go down, explore the depths of the underground, and at the same time go up and make a pilgrimage to the highest heaven.
Fourthly, he is a China person in essence.
Network celebrity Vlaf said: "I want to be a real China person!"
Kafka said: "Fundamentally speaking, I am from China!"
"I think if I come from China, I will go home soon ..." Kafka said in a postcard to his girlfriend Phyllis. As mentioned above, Kafka loves oriental philosophy, especially Zhuangzi, a Taoist, and he is unambiguous in China's classical literature. He often quoted some classical poems of China in his letters to his friends, and read almost all the German China classical literature translations at that time. There is a book "Ghost in China", in which 16 stories come from Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. Kafka's novella Metamorphosis is generally considered by academic circles to be born out of Pu Songling's Promoting Weaving in a certain sense, and the two stories have one thing in common. Perhaps, even Pu Songling himself never thought that a Jewish Czech writer of German Department would become his diehard fan hundreds of years later.
Modern western writers are almost invariably influenced by Kafka. As German-speaking Austrians, they grew up in Prague, Czech Republic (the Principality of Bohemia). At the same time, they have both Jewish identity and ideological tendency of Taoism and Buddhism, which makes his writing cast a mysterious oriental color. This attractive literary charm firmly attracts literary and art workers all over the world, just as Einstein in physics laid the foundation of modern physics, and Kafka in literature laid the foundation of modern literature. This is of course an exaggeration. No writer can hold up the sky of literature alone, and generations of writers are tirelessly building today's colorful literary world.