The Literary Greatness of Franz Kafka An attorney turned author, Franz Kafka switched from drafting legal notices to drafting stories. While Kafka’s writings had little effect while he was alive due to the fact that few of them were published in his lifetime, they have now had a great effect on the world (“Franz Kafka”, Biography.com). His texts have been published and widespread since his death and several of them have now become books used in education systems far from Prague, where he lived. Franz Kafka’s surreal and ghastly stories full of excellent symbolism, as well as his critical appeal, make Franz Kafka a literary great. Kafka was heavily influenced by his relationship with his family, particularly his father. Kafka was born the oldest of his parents’ six children in Prague, Bohemia in 1883. He had two younger brothers who both died in infancy when Kafka was still a child. He also had three younger sisters who all later tragically died in the holocaust (“Franz Kafka.”, Contemporary Authors). His father Hermann Kafka was a large …show more content…
Stanley Corngold states “The Metamorphosis” displays “the desire to represent a state of mind directly in language” meaning Kafka tries to show his thoughts and intentions directly through his writing (Corngold 84). Kafka is an excellent writer in the way he transmits the intent of his thoughts onto paper, through his incredibly well thought out symbolism and metaphors. The uniqueness of Kafka can be best described by Walter Sokel, who writes “It is difficult to place Kafka in a literary tradition” due to his nightmarish and absurd storytelling there are not many authors that can be compared to Kafka