On Parables : Analysis Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On Parables

Short story by Franz Kafka

1933 (1933) London, Martin Secker
1946 (1946) New York, Schocken Books

"On Parables" (German: "Von den Gleichnissen") is a short story fragment by Franz Kafka.^[1] It was not published until 1931, seven years after his death. Max Brod selected stories and published them in the collection Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer. The first English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published by Martin Secker in London in 1933. It appeared in The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections (New York City: Schocken Books, 1946).^[2]

The piece consists of a narrative on the merit of parables. The debate is about whether they are useful, or merely folklore handed down from one generation to the next. The narrator mentions that parables are not necessarily useful; after all, they've been around for many years and yet, despite their "wisdom," people still struggle with the same difficulties. The story ends by claiming that the text in itself can be interpreted as a parable.

Analysis

The story was written while Kafka was reading Judaica and was particularly interested in the lore associated with Mishna.^[3] Kafka's The Blue Octavo Notebooks are full of parables, many observations about daily life intertwined with poignant twists.

References

^ The complete stories. Franz Kafka, NN Glatzer, W Muir.1971.
^ The Great Wall of China: Stories and Reflections. Franz Kafka - 1946 - Schocken Books
^ Parable and paradox. H Politzer, Franz Kafka - Ithaca, New York, 1962

Franz Kafka (works)

Novels

The Trial
The Castle
Amerika

Short stories

1902–1912	"Shamefaced Lanky and Impure in Heart" "Description of a Struggle" "Wedding Preparations in the Country" "The Judgment" "The Stoker" The Metamorphosis "The Aeroplanes at Brescia"
1914–1917	"In the Penal Colony" "The Village Schoolmaster" "Before the Law" "Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor" "A Country Doctor" "The Hunter Gracchus" "The Great Wall of China" "A Message from the Emperor" "A Report to an Academy" "A Dream" "Up in the Gallery" "A Fratricide" "The Next Village" "A Visit to a Mine" "Jackals and Arabs" "The Bridge" "The Bucket Rider" "The New Advocate" "An Old Manuscript" "The Knock at the Manor Gate" "Eleven Sons" "My Neighbor" "A Crossbreed" "The Cares of a Family Man"
1917–1923	"The Refusal" "A Hunger Artist" "Investigations of a Dog" "A Little Woman" "The Burrow" "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" "A Common Confusion" "The Truth about Sancho Panza" "The Silence of the Sirens" "Prometheus" "The City Coat of Arms" "Poseidon" "Fellowship" "At Night" "The Problem of Our Laws" "The Conscription of Troops" "The Test" "The Vulture" "The Helmsman" "The Top" "A Little Fable" "Homecoming" "First Sorrow" "The Departure" "Advocates" "The Married Couple" "Give It Up!" "On Parables"