Analysis of Kafkaesque Elements in the Selected Stories

Franz Kafka, a German Jewish modern writer, has a unique approach toward the anxiety-ridden life of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque which characterizes the 'nightmarish' situation of Kafka's life determines the choice of elements in his stories. This dissertation has examined the inner world of Kafka's characters' by analyzing three of his stories namely The Metamorphosis (1915), a novella and two other longer stories, Unhappiness (1915), and A Country Doctor (1918). The researcher has dealt with the following elements such as self-conflict, surrealism, alienation, guilt, fear, insecurity and absurdity to unfold the psychic struggle of Kafka's characters. Along with the characters' conflicts due to repressed desire, the study also reflects their existential crisis perceived through immoral consciousness and a sense of "otherness" enforced by the dominant family atmosphere, inadequate bureaucratic organization, and absurd socio-cultural setting of the bourgeois society. Thus, using close textual analysis, the researcher has explored the meaning of Kafkaesque-ness present in the stories by applying Freud's model of Psychoanalysis and excerpts from Kafka's diaries.