In the Penal Colony and The Judgment Reflect Kafkas Views on Language

by benboy55 (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Ben Zelkin

Pd. 7

11/13/2012

“In the Penal Colony” and “The Judgment” Reflect Kafka’s Views on Language

Franz Kafka once wrote that “All language is but a poor translation.” He meant that true meaning, true communication, cannot be conveyed through simple words alone. The idea of the inadequacy of plain text is most evident in Kafka’s short stories “The Judgment” and “In the Penal Colony”. Within those works, Kafka asserts that language is but a tool; in the hands of a simpleton, it will accomplish nothing. An expert however, can use language to share his thoughts in a manner as close to perfection as is possible with such a cumbersome instrument.

The torture machine of the story “In the Penal Colony” is a symbol of the authority language has. Despite being lifeless and inanimate, the machine seems to devolve the people around it to mere additions who lack names and identities. Even the titles the characters are given only reflect their position to the machine; the Officer controls it, the Condemned is to be placed within it, and the Explorer (or Researcher in some translations) observes and judges. In observance with the presence of command and superiority it possesses, the machine is also constructed on a pedestal so high, that the man controlling it must to use a ladder to reach its upper parts. This shows that even the one who constructs the machine, becomes its servant. Furthermore, the dehumanization of the characters gives the story the sense of being a sort of parable or joke, a motif present is many of Kafka’s works. He even went so far as to emphasize the dark humor with a pun; before being explained the purpose of the machine and the punishment it inflicts, the explorer asks the Officer “And how does the sentence run?”, unknowingly answering his own question. The same pun is repeated, with the explorer asking whether the prisoner “knows his own sentence”; of course not, says the officer, he’ll learn it “on his body”. This is ironic in that the Condemned never learns what horror he narrowly escaped from, or the phrase that was to be inscribed upon him. The double meanings inherent within the delicate art of the pun are used in “In the Penal Colony” to create the sense that it is necessary to examine things multiple times to divine the real implication of what is being stated. Combined with the superiority of the machine, and what it symbolizes, Kafka asserted that the humor in the short story served to illustrate that language is

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In contrast, “The Judgment” showcases an example of the opposite, a shallow and superficial use of language, in Georg’s correspondence to his friend. The writing of these letters is described as drawn out and painful, with Georg dithering over every last detail. In addition, he only gives the friend news “such as could be…told to the most distant acquaintance.” To justify this lack of personal connection, he makes excuses questioning the kindness of giving advice and sharing real meaningful details of one’s life. This, combined with Georg the pity has for his friend of and his description of him as an “over-age child, characterize Georg as condescending and arrogant. In summary, the letters and the man writing them are shallow, superficial, and enlighten no one to anything beyond the words written on the page. Thus, the letters showcase the effect, or lack there-of, of the tool of language when it is wielded by a simpleton. In contrast, the messages that Georg’s father claims to have passed on to the Russian acquaintance are powerful in their message, “a thousand times” more illuminating than the letters “[the friend] crumples unopened”. In comparison to Georg, the father’s letters are depicted as potent in their semantic genius and in their ability to convey truth. This expert authorship gives him power over Georg and the ability to compel him to do what he wants. The contrast between the ability to use language effectively and an emphasized absence of that ability demonstrates that language full potential can only be seen by an expert user.

The idea that language is nothing more than an instrument, albeit a developed an complex one, to convey one’s thoughts is usually a frame of mind embraced by pragmatists and logical thinkers, such as engineers or other practitioners of the “hard” sciences. A student of literature or an author, however, would likely view the opposing viewpoint, that language is in fact a complex construction explicitly designed to convey deep meaning and influence society. Franz Kafka is unique in that he accepts the former notion and combines it with the latter. He believed that language is a tool that can be used simply, shallowly, to relate surface information or as a device that has power to affect the world. In his mind, the purpose of language depends on its user. He illustrated this in his works “In the Penal Colony” and “The Judgment”, both of which show how the control a scribe, living or not, can have.