In order to provide an introduction to Kafka, we have a parable by him followed by an essay about the story. We hope this will give you a taste for what Kafka has to offer and the themes he explores in his work.

AN OLD MANUSCRIPT

FRANZ KAFKA

It looks as if much has been neglected in our country’s system of defense. We have not concerned ourselves with it until now and have gone about our daily work; but things that have been happening recently begin to trouble us.

I have a cobbler’s workshop in the square that lies before the Emperor’s palace. Scarcely have I taken my shutters down, at the first glimpse of dawn, when I see armed soldiers already posted in the mouth of every street opening on the square. But these soldiers are not ours; they are obviously nomads from the North. In some way that is incomprehensible to me they have pushed right into the capital, although it is a long way from the frontier. At any rate, here they are; it seems that every morning there are more of them.

As is their nature, they camp under the open sky, for they abominate dwelling houses. They busy themselves sharpening swords, whittling arrows and practicing horsemanship. This peaceful square, which was always kept scrupulously clean, they have made literally into a stable. We do try every now and then to run out of our shops and clear away at least the worst of the filth, but this happens less and less often, for the labor is in vain and brings us besides into danger of falling under the hoofs of the wild horses or of being crippled with lashes from the whips.

Speech with the nomads is impossible. They do not know our language; indeed they hardly have a language of their own. They communicate with each other much as jackdaws do. A screeching of jackdaws is always in our ears. Our way of living and our institutions they neither understand nor care to understand. And so they are unwilling to make sense even out of our sign language. You can gesture at them till you dislocate your jaws and your wrists and still they will not have understood you and will never understand. They often make grimaces; then the whites of their eyes turn up and foam gathers on their lips, but they do not mean anything by that, not even a threat; they do it because it is their nature to do it. Whatever they need, they take. You cannot call it taking by force. They grab at something and you simply stand aside and leave them to it.

From my stock, too, they have taken many good articles. But I cannot complain when I see how the butcher, for instance, suffers across the street. As soon as he brings in any meat the nomads snatch it all from him and gobble it up. Even their horses devour flesh; often enough a horseman and his horse are lying side by side, both of them gnawing at the same joint, one at either end. The butcher is nervous and does not dare to stop his deliveries of meat. We understand that, however, and subscribe money to keep him going. If the nomads got no meat, who knows what they might think of doing; who knows anyhow what they may think of, even though they get meat every day.

Not long ago the butcher thought he might at least spare himself the trouble of slaughtering, and so one morning he brought along a live ox. But he will never date to do that again. I lay for a whole hour flat on the floor at the back of my workshop with my head muffled in all the clothes and rugs and pillows I had, simply to keep from hearing the bellowing of that ox, which the nomads were leaping on from all sides, tearing morsels out of its living flesh with their teeth. It had been quiet for a long time before I risked coming out; they were lying overcome round the remains of the carcass like drunkards round a wine cask.

This was the occasion when I fancied I actually saw the Emperor himself at the window of the palace; usually he never enters these outer rooms but spends all of his time in the innermost garden; yet on this occasion he was standing, or so at least it seemed to me, at one of the windows, watching with bent head the on goings before his residence.

“What is going to happen?” we all ask ourselves. “How long can we endure this burden and torment? The Emperor’s palace has drawn the nomads here but does not know how to drive them away again. The gate stays shut; the guards, who used to be always marching out and in with ceremony, keep close behind barred windows. It is left to us artisans and tradesmen to save our country; but we are not equal to such a task; nor have we ever claimed to be capable of it. This is a misunderstanding of some kind; and it will be the ruin of us.”

Laura's Essay on Kafka

An Old Manuscript, by Franz Kafka, incorporates themes of misunderstanding, lack of communication and power interplay. The descriptive elements, narrative voice, characters populating the story, and physical terrain seen in the story all play important roles in understanding the complex ideas incorporated within the composition.

The narrator of An Old Manuscript is a defined entity, a local cobbler who speaks both for himself and for the artisans as a group. The story starts and ends with the incorporation of the artisans collectively in the narrative and therefore utilizing the plural narrative voice. However, the body of the story has significant sections written in first person singular, from the individual perspective of the cobbler. This malleable narrative voice allows a broad overview of the situation, showing how the artisans as a group feel, and a specific first person account of how the tensions within the story affect one artisan.

The main individuals populating the story fit into three broad categories; the artisans, the nomads and the emperor and courtiers. The artisans, whose collective thoughts and feelings are included throughout the story, are a group of highly skilled and refined citizens. They have lived and worked in a “peaceful square” but the arrival of the nomads changed their bourgeois lives. The artisans are paralyzed by the nomads and instead of taking action against them, they simply ignore the problem. “We have not concerned ourselves with it until now and have gone about our daily work.” The artisans do not use any methods of discouraging the nomads’ behavior and therefore seem to enable their own exploitation. “They [the nomads] grab at something and you simply stand aside and leave them to it.”

The refinement and passivity that characterizes the artisans is not seen in the nomads. The nomads are animalistic, primordial and aggressive. They are in control within the square. The nobles are afraid of “falling under the hoofs of the wild horses or of being crippled with lashes from the whips.” The animalistic tendencies of the nomads are seen through their lack of communication and refinements. “They will not have understood you and will never understand.” The nomads “were leaping on [the ox] from all sides, tearing morsels out of its living flesh with their teeth.” One sees these animalistic and primordial tendencies not only with the nomads’ actions but also through their physical appearance, which seems less than human. “They often make grimaces; then the whites of their eyes turn up and foam gathers on their lips.” The artisans seem to have the view that the nomads are purely animalistic and have no dreadful motives against the city but rather are merely acting out of instinct. “They do it because it is their nature to do it…You cannot call it taking by force…The Emperor’s palace has drawn the nomads here.” However, it is not clear whether the nomads’ true motives are primordial or conscious.

The character of the emperor is unique as there is no narrative insight into his thoughts, save his body language. He is the silent observer of the action within the square. He, supposedly, witnesses a key moment within the story, the reaction of the nomads to the live ox. “He was standing, or so at least it seemed to me, at one of the windows, watching with bent head the goings-on before his residence.” His “bent head” seems to suggest that he is not content with the scene he has just witnessed. Yet he takes no action and does not provide any explanation for the presence of the nomads. Just like the emperor, the courtiers and guards who used to be a common presence around the palace have remained silent and do not appear in the square. One naturally assumes an emperor has power; however this one either does not have it or does not wield it. His lack of action and presence gives rise to the idea that he perhaps just a shadow of an actual emperor; a powerless figurehead.

The emperor’s lack of power is echoed in the terrain in which he lives. The palace, which should be the power and heart of the city, is now quiet, with closed gates and barred windows. The magnificence it once held seems now to be transformed into a prison. Where it once kept enemies from entering, it now allows no one to leave. While the palace “has drawn the nomads here” it is not where the action of the story takes place. The increasingly filthy square is where the nomads and artisans must interact. “This peaceful square, which was always kept so scrupulously clean, they have made literally into a stable.” The increasing filth can be metaphorically linked to the increasing control the nomads are gaining in the square. The artisans used to “clear away at least the worst of the filth.” However, cleaning becomes increasingly dangerous and does not address the root of the problem; the nomads have a strong presence and the artisans cannot continue with their old way of life.

The last statement of the story “this is a misunderstanding of some kind; and it will be the ruin of us” seems to reflect the many forms of misunderstanding present in the story. There is an informational and cultural misunderstanding present between the artisans and the nomads. The artisans try to communicate with the nomads, but claim, “speech with the nomads is impossible” and that the nomads are “unwilling to make sense even out of our sign language…You can gesture at them till you dislocate your jaws and wrists and still they will not have understood you and will never understand.” There is a misunderstanding between the emperor and artisans as well. The emperor has not made any attempt to describe why the nomads have arrived or what action the artisans should take. The “guards…keep close behind barred windows. It is left to us artisans and tradesmen to save our country; but we are not equal to such a task; nor have we ever claimed to be capable of it.” Perhaps there is even a misunderstanding between the emperor and the nomads, “The Emperor’s palace has drawn the nomads here but does not know how to drive them away again.”

The insurmountable communication barriers between the groups coupled with the lack of information regarding how or why the nomads have arrived lead to a dismal and unclear future for the artisans. No agency has attempted to explain the nomads’ presence or purpose; the palace is silent and the artisans are hesitant