《乡村医生》的存在主义解读
毕业论文关键词 《乡村医生》 自由选择 他者 责任
Abstract A Country Doctor is one of Franz Kafka’s masterpieces, and it ranks among the literary treasures in German history. This paper tries to discuss it from the perspective of existentialism. Based on Jean-Paul Sartre's freedom concept, the author studies the relationship between freedom and others in the first section. Centering on ―the others‖ including the servant girl Rose, the groom and people in the district represented by the boy’s family, the author concludes that although the country doctor has made choices to take positive actions, he still fails to rescue Rose, the sick boy and himself as he is in the limitation of the given ―situation‖ and ―the others‖. In the second section, this paper analyses the short story from the angle of freedom and responsibility, which illustrates that the theme of A Country Doctor is the concern for the living conditions in the absurd and embarrassing situation of the modern society.
Keywords A Country Doctor Free Choice the Other Responsibility
Table of Contents
1 Introduction .. 1
1.1 A Brief Introduction to Franz Kafka and Literary Career 1
1.2 A Brief Introduction to A Country Doctor 2
1.3 A Brief Outline of this Paper .. 3
2 Literature Review.. 3
3 Theoretical Framework .. 4
3.1 Introduction .. 4
3.2 Sartre's Connotation of Freedom .. 5
3.2.1 Freedom of Choice and Action .. 5
3.2.2 Freedom and Facticity. 6
3.2.3 Freedom and Responsibility 6
4 Analysis.. 6
4.1 Freedom and Others: Hell is the Other People .. 6
4.2 Freedom and Responsibility 9
Conclusion . 11
Acknowledgements 12
Bibliography . 13
1 Introduction 1.1 A Brief Introduction to Franz Kafka and Literary Career Since the 20th century, German-speaking countries have been playing increasingly important roles in world literature. Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka and Bertolt Brecht are recognized as the most representative writers. Moreover, Kafka, along with Marcel Proust and James Joyce, is considered as the important founder of Western Modernist Literature. Kafka is regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His main contribution to world literature consists of three parts. The first part is short stories published during his lifetime: Contemplation (a collection including eighteen short stories), The Stoker, The Judgment, The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, A Country Doctor (a collection including fourteen short stories), A Hunger Artist (including four short stories), and The Bucket Rider. Secondly, about thirty-four posthumous short stories, such as Description of a Struggle, A Hole in the Ground. The third part is three unpublished and unfinished novels, Amerika, The Trial, and Castle. According to Sun Kunrong (1983), Kafka’s short story, based on the theme, can be broadly pided into the following four categories. The first is to reveal the social reality of the absurdity, irrationality, and pain of existence and the sense of original sin. In addition, it is quite usual for Kafka to expose the phenomenon of ―alienation‖ in a capitalist society which human beings cannot grasp their destiny due to the heavy persecution. Next is the description of loneliness and fear in a capitalist society that the petit bourgeoisie cannot find a way out. Moreover, the last is to reflect the evil of the reactionary ruling classes, and the hatred of alien invasion, and to some extent, also expressing the disappointment with the motherland.