The trip to the mountains

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The excursion into the mountains is a small piece in the form of a monologue by Franz Kafka , which appeared in 1913 as part of the anthology contemplation .

content

The central word of this short address is “nobody”. First the speaker complains that nobody comes and nobody wants to help him, but nobody has done anything bad either. Then he imagines a company of no one who goes on a trip to the mountains like a happy group of friends.

Text analysis and interpretation approach

As long as nobody comes and nobody wants to help, the speaker obviously feels deplorable and resigned. Because he speaks it with a voice without sound, a voice that nobody can reach. The statement that he has not harmed anyone and neither does anyone seem neutral. The idea of ​​not sharing a nice experience with anyone, like a trip to the mountains, makes him happy. Apparently, he only needs others in inferior situations in which he should be helped. Does he not want to share beautiful moments with others, i.e. nobody? It may also say a disappointed and defiant “I don't need anyone” from him.

The term “nobody”, which initially appears in the normal meaning of “absence of others”, is changing. In the speaker's imagination , this becomes, so to speak, personified anonymous non-people who are expressly welcome. The representation of Nobody expresses movement and great sociability, closeness, also in physical terms, and in the end a feeling of liberation. The euphoria felt here also gives an idea of ​​the speaker's obvious deficit in dealing with real people.

The ambivalence of interpersonal closeness or demarcation is particularly addressed in Kafka's earlier works, such as in the description of a struggle . The positive, liberating conclusion of the present little work is rather atypical for Kafka; significantly, no one (apart from the speaker's imagination) has a share in it.

expenditure

  • Franz Kafka: All the stories. Published by Paul Raabe . Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1970. ISBN 3-596-21078-X .
  • Franz Kafka: Die Erzählungen Original version Fischer Verlag 1997 Roger Herms ISBN 3-596-13270-3
  • Franz Kafka: Prints during his lifetime. Edited by Wolf Kittler, Hans-Gerd Koch and Gerhard Neumann . Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1996, ISBN 3-10-038152-1 , p. 20.

Secondary literature

Web links

Wikisource: The excursion into the mountains  - sources and full texts