| Karl Rossman, Kafka's young and unassuming character, is in a frightening situation. Having made a young servant girl pregnant, his ashamed and unfortunate parents have sent him to begin a new life in America.
It is in Kafka's acclaimed short story "The Stoker", that the first chapter of "Amerika" also begins, as "The Stoker" was originally published on its own. Karl is about to leave the ship in New York when he encounters a member of the crew, who is himself in a difficult situation. Karl engages in debate with some senior members of the ships crew, fighting for the Stoker's well-being. And at this point the overwhelming authority and needless bureaucracy make their appearance in a novel that quit overwhelms the central character. Our hero runs into his uncle during this debate. It his uncle, a prosperous governor, who takes Karl in. Karl begins his life in luxury, learning piano, horse riding and English, when something unexpectedly shocking occurs. His uncles friend invites him to his mansion, outside of New York City, and Karl agrees, to his uncles dubious consent. However, in typical Kafka style, his uncle sends a note out to said mansion, declaring Karl banished from his home for not gaining his uncles "full permission" for the visit. Karl is now on the road, unemployed in a strange land. The Dickensian saga gets into full-swing, when he meets a pair of travelling workmen in a lodging house. Robinson and Delamarche. They take him under their unscrupulous wing, eating his food and spending his money along the way. Karl escapes them, and finds employment as a lift boy at a hotel that the three travel past. He settles in as best he can, getting on with the tiring job of attending to the lifts, and sleeping in a large dormitory specifically for lift boys. Unfortunately, the two rogues aren't about to let him slip away that easily, and he is paid an unwelcome visit whilst on duty one evening. It is this visit that spirals things out of control, once again, for poor Karl, who will meet with more danger in this stuffy and confusing hotel and beyond. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1900-1920's Poverty, surviving Yes Kind of living: - job hunting/hopping Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast City? Yes Misc setting Writing Style Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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