Franz Kafka

'The condemned man looked so doggishly submissive, it really seemed as if one might allow him to roam the slopes freely, and only needed to whistle when it was time for the execution, and he would come.' Kafka transformed the possibilities of the short story, his unique imagination giving his dark tales a sense of dream-like logic and unreality, in which their horrors are humorous and unease pervades. In these two stories, a traveller is shown the workings of an elaborate machine with a bloody purpose, and a son awakens unimagined resentments in his father. This book includes In the Penal Colony and The Judgement.

In the Penal Colony

Cait🪼

An interesting premise, particularly the whole idea of a punishment derived from the phrasing of your crime/misdeed. One thing I can always admire about Kafka is the way his mind works - very few can compete. That being said, gore isn't really what I would expect from Kafka, so perhaps that's why this didn't actually feel complete to me.

shaymaa

** spoiler alert **
           Kafka's writing, as always is both powerful and thought-provoking, leaving an ongoing impact on readers. Furthermore, I find this novel a little haunting and atmospheric, Kafka draws the reader into the bleak and tyrannical world of the penal colony. The story is a powerful commentary on the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of questioning authority. It so on explores themes of justice, punishment, and dominion. Kafka centres the story on the planned execution of a prisoner who, rather than acquiring a trial, has been sentenced to death by a high-ranking officer who automatically presumes that every human who is charged with a crime is guilty. This officer has some sort of obsession with “preserving the old system” which we can find at every single time and place holding on to aged and unquestionably wrong values. Towards the end, the officer gets a taste of his own medicine.

Andrew John Kinney

A short book (really a short story) by Kafka which is an allegory of Europe moving from rigid, often unjust, punishment for minor offenses toward the more liberal society of the "present". Since it was written in 1914, Kafka had no way of knowing how vigorously the old draconian system would revive, if only for twelve years, in the form of national socialism under Hitler. But ultimately his allegory proved mostly correct.

Caitlin Berger

German lit, y’all. German Lit. You get to the end and just go: HUH WHAT WHAT DID I JUST READ?!

bel 

Kafka transformed the possibilities of the short story, his unique imagination giving his dark tales a sense of dream-like logic and unreality, in which their horrors are humorous and unease pervades. In these two stories, a traveller is shown the workings of an elaborate machine with a bloody purpose, and a son awakens unimagined resentments in his father.

Kate

Joey Toh

Sarah Sammis

Nihan 

Johanna

In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka - "In the Penal Colony" ("In der Strafkolonie") (also translated as "In the Penal Settlement") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. The story is set in an unnamed penal colony. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. "In the Penal Colony" describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin and original justification.

Ricardo Joaquinito

Nav Singh

Residual6

Alex 

heleen de boever

Joana Francener

andi valdes

The story is set in an unnamed penal colony. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. In the Penal Colony describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin in a script before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin, and original justification. Notice: This Book is published by Historical Books Limited (www.publicdomain.org.uk) as a Public Domain Book, if you have any inquiries, requests or need any help you can just send an email to publications@publicdomain.org.uk This book is found as a public domain and free book based on various online catalogs, if you think there are any problems regard copyright issues please contact us immediately via DMCA@publicdomain.org.uk

In the Penal Colony

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