Franz Kafka

1833-1924

Biographical details

• Born in Prague in 1883. At that time Prague was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire

• His family lived under the growing threat of anti-semitism

• His Father verbally abused Franz• He was the eldest of six children; his two

youngest brothers died when they were young. His three sisters were sent to Jewish ghettos and concentration camps in their adult lives. They died there.

Biographical details, cont’d.

• “The situation for Jews in Bohemia at the turn of the century seems to have been one of somewhat suspicious tolerance most of the time, with exceptions such as the 1899 anti-Semitic riots in Prague, which wiped out many stores owned by Jewish shopkeepers. Kafka's father, who himself owned a shop, had registered his family as Czech nationals, and so escaped destruction” (http://www.kafka-franz.com/kafka-and-judaism.htm).

Health issues

• He suffered from depression, social anxiety, hypochondria

• In 1917, Kafka began suffering from tuberculosis, a disease of the lungs

• He died from this disease in 1924

Adult life

• He lived with his parents; he did not have a good relationship with his father

• He developed intense relationships with women. One almost resulted in marriage, but he called it off.

Writing style

• The adjective “kafka-esque” is used when describing situations or writing that is nightmarish, surreal, pointless or overly complex

Major works

• The Trial• The Castle• Metamorphosis• Amerika

• All published after he died

To read more…

• www.Kafka.org• http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/

kafka.shtml• http://www.kafka-franz.com/kafka-

Biography.htm• http://www.themodernword.com/kafka/

kafka_biography.html