What makes something "Kafkaesque"? - Noah Tavlin
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The term Kafkaesque has entered the vernacular to describe unnecessarily complicated and frustrating experiences, especially with bureaucracy. But does standing in a long line to fill out confusing paperwork really capture the richness of Kafka’s vision? Beyond the word’s casual use, what makes something "Kafkaesque"? Noah Tavlin explains.
When we dream, we often accept absurd premises as true because they are facts of the world our mind is existing in. This is a key element of what makes a story Kafkaesque: the protagonists are trapped in the framework of their own, dream-like logic. As readers, we have questions that the characters themselves do not ask because their logic does not allow these questions to occur to them. Name at least two examples from Kafka’s work of instances where characters are following dream-logic. In a more conventionally realistic story, what questions would these characters ask?
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Noah Tavlin
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Director Jeremiah Dickey
- Narrator Addison Anderson
