Tin China

Kafka’s story: the innocent seeming phrases always yielding to contradiction; endlessly, dismayingly; the effect that this has is clear: it puts his material beyond the scope of reason. For example, the beginning of the Great Wall of China; something like: “The Great Wall of China was completed …” (ah so, it was finished!) “…in its North Eastern Section.” (Ah, so it wasn’t finished.) One could call this technique ’erasing the beginning/ending’.  The origin of an event or object is put beyond the reader’s reach, like a rabbit out of a hat.  Thus, for example, K.s trial; it begins “one morning”. But immediately this “one morning” loses its origin. No, no - it never began.  K. was always on trial. His trial is without beginning.  Just as our present is too.