20th Century Novel: Defining Traits and Kafka’s Enduring Literary Impact
The 20th-Century Novel: Defining Traits
Throughout the century, a commercial novel, catering to the general public, persisted, continuing the tenets of 19th-century Realism. Among its features are:
- Presence of an Omniscient Narrator: Often omniscient, the narrator guides the reader, interprets, and suggests the directions of the work.
- Linear Narrative Order: Events are narrated in a linear order.
- Classic Story Structure: The structure of the story fits the classic divisions of problem, development, and complication, leading to an ending that resolves the situation.
- Character Focus or Intrigue: Works focus on the character, analyzing their psychology and behavior, or narrating a series of incidents that captivate the reader through various means of intrigue.
- Adherence to Genre Structures: Common adherence to genre structures, such as historical fiction, autobiographical, detective, or science fiction.
Innovative Narrative Trends
In contrast to this commercial novel, another type of narrative emerged, embodying the century’s innovative spirit and aiming to break from 19th-century narrative conventions. This innovative trend drove the genre’s evolution, with many of its contributions later adopted by more commercial works.
Periods of the 20th-Century Novel
The 20th-century novel can be divided into two distinct periods, separated by World War II.
Pre-World War II Novel
The years before the war were characterized by a departure from realistic narrative forms and the influence of the avant-garde spirit. Existential and religious concerns were also common.
Post-World War II Novel
After the war, novelistic output saw a slowdown in technical experimentation. Social reality and reportage once again prevailed as primary references. As time progressed, novels began to emerge that diverged from social commentary and relative technical simplicity. Novelistic output increased, extending to all corners of the world and diversifying trends and genres.
Franz Kafka: Themes and Literary Technique
Franz Kafka’s work rightfully belongs to a literature of profound content, as it delves into issues surrounding the meaning of human life:
Key Themes in Kafka’s Work
- Loneliness and Alienation: The pervasive loneliness of humanity in an everyday world that reveals its absurd side and defies understanding.
- Pervasive Guilt: A pervasive sense of guilt among characters, a sensation not stemming from specific actions, but from the mere fact of their humanity.
- Frustration and Unfulfilled Desires: Frustration as a central concern, where characters’ desires remain unfulfilled, thwarted by social and familial circumstances.
- Life as Incomprehensible Absurdity: Life viewed as incomprehensible absurdity, leading characters to confront situations that defy rational logic, yet they accept them as normal or adapt until a tragic denouement.
- Anxiety and Pessimism: A prevailing sense of anxiety and pessimism. Everything can change in an instant; the delicate balance of human existence shatters for reasons characters don’t understand, yet they accept it as part of their natural condition.
Kafka’s Distinctive Literary Technique
In the field of literary technique, his narratives exhibit a high degree of avant-garde innovation, yet they depart from the realist tradition in the following aspects:
- Limited External Action: Limited external action, with focus centered on the study of character interiority, rather than plot development.
- Symbolic Characters: Characters often take on symbolic meaning, representing humanity. Kafka’s aim is to place contemporary individuals at the novel’s center, with their doubts and tragedies of the new era.
- Capturing the Strange and Sinister: His works have their starting point in reality, but his intention is neither to describe, denounce, nor explain it. He is interested in capturing the strange, abnormal, and sinister aspects of everyday bourgeois life.
- Dark Humor: His stories are particularly notable for the presence of dark humor that does not aim for laughter. The absurdity of human existence is such that, initially, the reader might smile at the seemingly rational logic, but as the story progresses, the humorous situation reveals its tragic significance.