Identity, Alienation and Theology in Franz Kafka's The Castle

摘要

The Castle is a presentation of a struggle of the Self and a quest in the direction of infinity and the transcendental world. The shadow of the other is felt everywhere. It suppresses each individual's self. No one can claim for his identity. The story opens a chaotic and incomprehensible situation with which the protagonist cannot cope. K cannot accept the irrationality and insanity of the standards and ideas in which the villagers have faith. Thus, he becomes a stranger, an outcast or perhaps a person with his own identity in doubt. This article examines Kafka's The Castle especially in terms of Existentialistic concepts.