Thursday, January 19, 2012
Kafka & Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In the introductory material for Metamorphosis, it is written that Kafka apparently influenced other writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez. My first reaction: "No way! Marquez writing doesn't have an ounce of realism in it at all. It's way too fantastic." However as soon as I began to read Metamorphosis, I saw the similarities. Both writers compose stories that are surreal. They entail fantastic events while maintaining a feeling of reality. All of the characters act so nonchalant towards the unreal events that unfold in their lives. I actually quite like the writing style and so far Metamorphosis has been an interesting read.
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3 comments:
I agree that both stories are very surreal. The idea that a man just turns into a big is just as surreal as the idea of cycles and all the magical realism in Marquez's novel.
I actually retract my blog post now that I understand the difference between the absurd and the surreal. Kafka's writing is absurd not surreal. Surrealism is associated with dreams, and Kafka makes it very clear that this is not a dream. One Thousand Years of Solitude isn't surrealism either. It is magical realism.
Kafka's metamorphosis is very strange but kafka makes it clear that it is not a dream. Gregor's metamorphosis is a reality that he and his family have to learn to deal with. Marquez is also realism but he adds a magical element which make it seems almost unreal like a giant cockroach
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