Rhetorical Analysis
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The social epidemic of missing children is a disturbing and widespread phenomenon, which brings up questions regarding how an absurdist writer like Franz Kafka would view and react to such a crisis. Kafka's literary examination of the human mind, typically including confusion and existence despair, provides a context for predicting his likely reaction to the terrifying and unsettling scenario of missing children. His surreal and existential works might provide a special perspective through which to examine the phenomenon of missing children.. The confusion and existential despair of the human mind, as depicted in Kafka's work, provide information that he would consider this phenomenon unpredictable, leaving people feeling alienated, pointless, guilty, and confused about this crisis of missing children.
Franz Kafka struggled with anxiety, and feelings of alienation are expressed in his writings, providing an understanding of his potential response to the social epidemic of lost children. When talking about his father he expresses that, "6-year-old Kafka set out to hold his father accountable for the emotional abuse, disorienting double standards, and constant disapprobation that branded his childhood" (Popova, 2015). This states a clear thought of how he grew up and what standards he was put under and had to reach with little to no approval. From a young age, Kafka was shown unrealistic goals by his father, who wanted him to achieve the same as him, and when he decided to write, his father showed disapproval (Popova, 2015). In absurd fiction, existentialism typically occurs as confusion and fear about position in the world. Kafka's being continually pushed to be like his father led to him feeling socially unacceptable. Kafka's protagonists tend to wrestle with a general sense of absurdity and alienation. By looking through Kafka's perspective of the absurd manifestation of existential dread, you realize that the world's view is the total uncertainty of a world of chaos.
Kafka's The Metamorphosis offers a striking lens through which to view the unsettling issue of missing children around the United States. In his novel, Gregor Samsa wakes up one day to find himself transformed into a giant insect. That bizarre, almost impossible transformation mirrors the shock and horror that comes with a child suddenly disappearing. Kafka writes, "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" (Kafka, Franz). The starkness of this change captures the abrupt and strangeness of a child's disappearance, an event that feels as unnatural and unexplainable as Gregor's transformation. What's even more striking is how Gregor's alienation and isolation echo what parents might feel when their children are gone. His family's withdrawal from him, their fear and discomfort, reflect the way society often turns, unsure of how to respond to such an overwhelming loss of a child. Kafka's exploration of absurdity in The Metamorphosis suggests that he would see the crisis of missing children not as a straightforward tragedy but as something that challenges our understanding of human existence, baffling, disorienting, and, at times, inexplicable. With such an event everyone is unprepared for Kafka's perspective shows that the path of life is so unpredictable that you never know what could happen and who it could happen to.
Kafka tends to have struggled with insecurities in his self-worth, particularly regarding his identity and masculinity; this contributes to understanding his potential response to the epidemic of lost children. In his writings Kafka expresses his disappointment with his self and societal expectations. "The loss of this role due to his transformation leads to a diminished sense of self-worth, as he becomes a burden rather than a provider" (Arcadia, Story). Originally, feeling a purpose in life as a salesman and turning into an insect overnight created an environment where the character felt pointless.
The majority of his stories lead to "Often depicting protagonists who find themselves trapped in bewildering and nightmarish situations. His works explore themes of alienation, guilt, powerlessness, and the struggle for identity and self-expression" (Franz Kafka, 2023). These statements go hand in hand with the feeling a parent of a lost child would inherit. After being blessed with the responsibility of the job to parent and getting that purpose ripped from you randomly can leave you feeling completely worthless and powerless, just as Kafka felt. This theme throughout his stories might suggest that he might view the crisis through a lens of profound insecurity, meaningless, reflecting the broader human condition. He and his father also had a strained relationship, which could also lead parents to feel guilt when unresolved conversations are left unfinished. "You can only treat a child in the way you yourself are constituted, with vigor, noise, and hot temper, and in this case, this seemed to you, into the bargain, extremely suitable because you wanted to bring me up to be a strong, brave boy" (Franz Kafka, 2023). When looking at Kafka's perspective of his father it leads the average parent to think about the reflection they had on their child. Unfortunately, kidnappings are becoming common in the modern world, and this tragedy leaves parents time to think about each and every conversation that could cause guilt. Knowing this tragedy could happen to any parents in the world, it still leaves them to feel as if karma led to it or the fact it was their fault they let them walk to the bus stop by themself. Whatever the cause, Kafka's perspective can be seen from the parent's eyes and the general idea of unpredictability.
All of the different perspectives Kafka might have on the topic of missing children, from alienation, unpredictability, guilt, and worthlessness, were projected throughout his writings. Throughout his writing, he expresses the multiple ideas of absurdity in life, which is also seen in the real world. How someone will never know who they truly are, or how life throws intense situations at someone at any moment. In "The Metamorphosis" and "Letter to his father," multiple feelings were expressed. Which could also be reasonably accurate in the situation of a child going missing. Knowing he didn't write directly about missing children, he gives us the resources to depict how he would react to the current epidemic.
Work Cited
Arcadia, Story. “The Metamorphosis Themes: Alienation, Identity, and Self-Worth - Story Arcadia.” Story Arcadia, 2 Feb. 2024, storyarcadia.com/the-metamorphosis-themes-alienation-identity-and-self-worth/.
“Franz Kafka: He Showcased the Human Struggle - Intelligence and IQ.” Intelligence and IQ - Information and Resources for Your Brain, 22 Aug. 2023, www.intelligence-and-iq.com/franz-kafka/.
Kafka, Franz. The metamorphosis. Modern Library, 2013.
Popova, Maria. “Kafka’s Remarkable Letter to His Abusive and Narcissistic Father.” The Marginalian, 5 Mar. 2015, www.themarginalian.org/2015/03/05/franz-kafka-letter-father/.