June 2020 BOTM - Franz Kafka

[Sylvia]

Join us for a vitual zoom meeting about this short story. We will discuss if we should have the meeting on Sunday (Father's Day) or change the date. I will post and let you know.

[Sylvia]

Oh boy - we are taking a sharp turn with this short story! See below for a brief description. Join us this Saturday, 06/20/20 for a Zoom discussion. You are also welcome to join and just listen. (3:00 pm - or 15:00 Pacific Standard Time.)

Here is the link and password to join:
Sylvia W is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Penal Colony by Franz Kafka
Time: Jun 20, 2020 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88071419874...

Meeting ID: 880 7141 9874
Password: Colony

Synopsis:
"In the Penal Colony" ("In der Strafkolonie") (also translated as "In the Penal Settlement") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919.

The story is set in an unnamed penal colony. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. "In the Penal Colony" describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin and original justification.

[Angie]

I just finished "In the Penal Colony". And I think it's actually much more chilling and haunting than the The Black Cat. I won't be joining you for the Zoom meeting, I hope you have fun - there is certainly a lot to talk about with this short story.

[Sylvia]

Yes, please post comments for a discussion here! Share more about what you thought. We don't want Zoom virtual discussions to replace these threads. We just want to add another option given the isolation and quarantine of late.

[La Tonya]

This link will take you to a pdf version of this short story where you can download.

https://genialebooks.com/ebooks/in-th...

Enjoy Reading, 📚

[Nidhi]

I read the story. This is the second work by Kafka which I have read, the first one was The Trial. I am really impressed with the character of officer as depicted by the author and of course the description of machinery.
But I didn’t expect the end.
I wonder what made Kafka to imagine such a machine.

[La Tonya]

I will join in on this conversation. But, I will be late zooming in.

Enjoy Reading,
La Tonya 📚

I do apology. My plans have changed yet again. I will not be able to attend. Do have a great conversation.

Enjoy Reading,
La Tonya 📚

[Danny]

Nidhi wrote: "I read the story. This is the second work by Kafka which I have read, the first one was The Trial. I am really impressed with the character of officer as depicted by the author and of course the de..."

I'm always impressed with the fluidity of Kafka's writing, as well as its timelessness. I kept thinking about Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" with the officer's talk about old system vs new system. I was surprised, as much as you, about the left turn at the end of the story.