Images of the defense of a court

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pictures of the defense of a court is a story by Franz Kafka . It was written between 1922 and 1924. Critics disagree on whether the narrative should be seen as a complete short story or as a fragment .

action

The story describes some incidents in a military team whose job is to defend a court and its residents. The actual task takes a back seat in the narrative because there is never any real defense. Kafka describes the role of a trumpeter, that of the commander and that of a scout. The trumpeter plays military signals on his trumpet, to which the landlord's daughter listens intently. For his part, the commandant does not even write or eat to be able to continue writing. He has had all disturbing work moved to another part of the court and he forbids the trumpeter to play. A scout sits on a tree to observe the enemies, and his turn to distribute food is the last because he has to hold out at the top of a tree with a telescope, which he is annoyed about. Irritated, he starts a fight with a soldier without leaving his post. When his telescope fell to the ground, they made up and returned to their tasks.

shape

It is a prose piece of average length that narrates continuously, without structure or formatting. The narrative perspective is impersonal. The language corresponds to the well-known Kafka style in its sober, detailed descriptive style. The cinematographic representation, which is increasingly recognized in Kafka's style, is striking. Optical and acoustic processes are implemented in cinematic sequences over time.

Text analysis and reference to other Kafka works

The prose piece at hand is associated with a bizarre contemplation, which is about a languishing girl, an eager commander, somewhat clumsy soldiers and, most preferably, about eating activities. The danger of war and defense against whom or what is never mentioned; The “tense situation” is mentioned only once, but not explained.

This literary approach, namely simply ignoring very important moments in the text, is not uncommon with Kafka, see also An old paper , Research of a Dog or The Troop Recruiting . In the first case, there seems to be no connection between the text and the heading. In the second case, the existence of the dog-owner is stubbornly negated. In the third case, the reader asks himself how the troop, drawn up in this strange way, can even be capable of combat.

The title of the present piece does not speak of the defense itself, but of images of it. It is not about explanation, about the before or after, but only about moving still images of the moment.

The appearing persons, the commander, officer and soldier, remind of those involved in the penal colony . But compared to the dark and cruel penal colony, the prose at hand is rather cheerful and full of slapstick moments, which makes it so suitable for filming.

The commandant, however, tries to avoid the hustle and bustle in the yard and is only obliged to do his work. This person, described as sensitive to noise, reminds one of Kafka himself, the ascetic vegetarian who often felt disturbed by acoustic events, as he describes it in Großer Lärm .

filming

In 2006 a short film based on the narrative was released under the same title. The Federal Association of German Short Films says: "A subtle, humorous war-and-peace allegory in the beguiling sepia tones of the Western, which is about eating, morality and love in times of waiting."

output

  • Postponed writings and fragments II. Edited by Malcolm Pasley / Jost Schillemeit, Fischer, Frankfurt / Main 2002, pp. 495–502.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Rolleston: A companion to the works of Franz Kafka , Boydell & Brewer, 2002, ISBN 1571131809 , page 24. ( Preview in Google book search)
  2. ^ Peter-André Alt : Kafka and the film. Beck Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58748-1 , pp. 7-11.
  3. ^ Peter-André Alt: Franz Kafka: The Eternal Son. A biography. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-53441-4 . P. 209
  4. ↑ Pictures from the defense of a court (short film) In: OFDb.de , 2009, accessed on January 8, 2017
  5. ↑ Pictures from the defense of a court In: shortfilmlivemusic.de , accessed on January 8, 2017

Web links