Kafka: Depression with absurdity of life

Franz Kafka was one of the most important figures in 20th- century literature, and writing while struggling with doubts as a writer and anxiety. Kafka had told an admirer, “My scribbling… is nothing more than my own materialism of horror, It shouldn’t be priced at all. It should be burnt”(Kirsch Afr.com 1). The 2022 finding in, The Death of Marat, picks out that Kafka states,” I am not well; I could have built the pyramids with the effort it takes me to cling on to life and reason”(Ismail Medium.com 1). Kafka’s immense struggle with anxiety and depression takes effort for him to maintain his sense of normalcy. Kafka had many related traits correlating with depression. Franz Kafka had many novels and diaries where his depression was easily notable. Knowing this his awareness of depression would have been agreed as a social widespread present time. For example Kafka had profound struggles with depression, and stated,” I have spent all my life resisting the desire to end it”(Gur ekvakesociety.com 1). In a diary from 1910, Kafka was teased about his introverted nature (Kafka 18). Then went to distinguish his insecurity as being” faults”(Kafka 18). Kafka wrote,”For like everyone, I too have my center of gravity inside me from birth”(Kafka 19). In another diary Kafka had written about never feeling joy for a long time (Kafka 19). Also describing he could open his windows, and see how empty it is and”being attacked,” he said” 2 November. This morning, for the first time in a long time, the joy again of imagining a knife twisted in my heart”(Peacock quotecatalog.com 1). Furthermore, the symptoms of depression were seen in Franz Kafka through himself, in his writing, insecurity, and dysphoria. They are the common attributes that connect with depression, and often seeked for. Mental health depression is a serious health issue that comes with many symptoms, emotions, and changes. Some common symptoms of depression are having a”continuous low mood or sadness; feeling hopeless and helpless; having low esteem”(nhs.uk 1). The symptoms included are hinted throughout some of Franz Kafka’s novels suchlike, The Trial. In the novel Kafka writes about a main character named Joseph K, and is unexpectedly arrested, and encounters frustrating obstacles about his arrest. This page in the novel picks out Franz Kafka’s reality, and the absurd difficulties Kafka had to go through. For example, he wrote about his feelings of being worthless, or helpless that ties to his depression. In this diary Kafka had written,”I cannot make you understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even understand it myself”(Kaur Medium.com 1). Kafka had felt helpless, and isolated, he was”a cage, in search of a bird”(Wood Irb.com 1). This symbolizes his deep sense of isolation and struggle with existence. Furthermore, in The Trial, Joseph K in the novel said,”I am not guilty, but I am not innocent either”(Kafka The Trial 2 ). Kafka’s perception of entrapment, and the helplessness of himself, are clearly visible in his writings. This big impact of negative feelings toward himself is gravely seen in others experiencing depression today. Moreover, many other depressed individuals had to endure from their identity. In Kafka's writing many clues were sought in his novels, and illustrations about his identity. For instance, Kafka’s struggle with identity was a leading theme in his work. Kafka picks out characters who are more antisocial, or disconnected around them. In Franz Kafka’s novel, The Metamorphosis, the salesman wakes up one morning, and realizes he had turned into an insect. Later on the change makes a decline from his family, and society. A quote in the novel states,”I used to be a man, but now I am nothing”(Ahonsi Medium.com 7). The quote really reflects the loss of identity the character feels after transforming, and how it reflects Kafka’s sense of self. In addition, many others suffering with depression are unhappy with how they go about it, or who they are and try to seek help to find a better solution. Franz Kafka had a difficult relationship with his father. The novel, Dearest Father describes the relationship with his father, and how it adversely affected Kafka. Numerous elements can be a factor in depression, and Kafka’s relationship with his father could’ve been a sign in his development of depression. In his “Letter to his Father,” Kafka writes:”I have always been afraid of you. I have been able to escape your influence”(Popova themarginalian.com 1). Clearly resonates Kafka’s relationship with his father, always being pressured and the expectations that came with. Kafka was also not a religious man, despite him and his father being Jewish. Which had led to Kafka's feeling of alienation, making him feel guilty for not meeting his father’s expectations. Kafka states,”I am not a Jew in the sense that I am a member of a people”(Medium.com 3). Furthermore, Kafka’s depressive thoughts and feelings in his life may have been contributed by his difficult relationship with his father. Showing this, Franz Kafka’s depression would have been acknowledged if he was more social. Kafka’s lack of seeing his mental state was still through his writing like, The Trial, and The Metamorphosis, than speaking directly about it. During the 1900s depression came about(Richardson federalreservehistory.com 1). Psychologists and theorists, like Aaron Beck, and Martin Seligman were brought out to bring awareness. Beck explains that depressed people interpret things in a negative way(Kafka 14). While Martin’s theory explains people give up on trying to change anything, because nothing will make a difference if they do it(Kafka 15). Therefore, many people have felt ”helpless” or “hopeless.” People with mental health issues like depression have often been treated badly by society. Society had thought they were weak, or lazy. As time progressed, there have been more ways and options to treat, and help diagnose. Kafka secretly had been suffering from depression and would have been able to seek a diagnosis if he had lived long enough for the changes to take place. Kafka’s doubts about himself, and his strenuous relationship with his father, Kafka would have agreed depression to be a social widespread. Furthermore, Kafka may have not acknowledged his depression, he would have agreed his hopelessness in his writing, believing it is socially widespread.