The Stoker: A Fragment

Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 66K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Der Heizer: Ein Fragment by Franz KafkaAuthor: Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924,Language: German, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Jul 15, 2005

Editor's review

Der Heizer: Ein Fragment is the first chapter of Kafka's novel The Missing Person (also translated as Amerika) and one of the few narrative works he published during his lifetime. The original German is short but complete in atmosphere. The story begins with the boy Karl Rossmann arriving at the port of New York and, through his encounter with the stoker, his appeal, and his frustration, quickly unfolds Kafkaesque power structures, identity anxiety, and misplaced warmth. Its value lies in this: it can be read as a standalone short story and also serves as an entry point for understanding Kafka's conception of the novel and the theme of the stranger; the language is restrained, the dialogue dense, and the scene arrangement dramatic. The public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg is convenient for searching and comparative reading and is suitable as close-reading material in the original German, or for reading alongside a Chinese translation to appreciate the rhythm and feel of the language. When reading, pay attention to the closeness and detachment of the narrative perspective and to the core situation of the misunderstood appeal, which foreshadows the bureaucratic and trial imagery that recurs in Kafka's later works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

German learners who wish to build vocabulary and syntax through literary originals
Kafka readers who want to trace the beginnings of his novel writing
Researchers of foreign literature who need a public-domain German electronic text for comparison
Readers who enjoy short narratives and are sensitive to issues of identity and power

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no German at all who are unwilling to use a translation
Readers expecting a complete novel plot and a sense of closure
Those who prefer light, entertaining reading and are impatient with unfinished texts

Reading tips

First read through once without worrying about full comprehension, grasping the scenes and character relationships, then look up words and read closely paragraph by paragraph.
Read alongside a Chinese translation and mark differences in narrative perspective and dialogue tone in the German.
After reading, return to the stoker's appeal and sort out how the power hierarchy and misunderstandings accumulate.
Read it as an extension of the first chapter of The Missing Person and observe the foreshadowing of later themes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a complete novel?

No. It is the first chapter of Kafka's novel The Missing Person, published independently as a fragment. It is not long, and the plot unfolds in the port and on the ship without developing into a complete novel structure. Readers should regard it as the beginning of a novel rather than a self-contained full text.

Can I read this book without knowing German?

Yes, but you will need a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition. The original is in German; the language is not very difficult, but it pays attention to tone and perspective. Readers without German who read only the original may easily lose patience, so it is advisable to rely mainly on a translation with the original as a supplement, or simply choose a translated version.

What is special about this electronic edition?

It comes from the Project Gutenberg public-domain e-book project. The text is freely available and convenient for full-text searching, copying, and citation, making it suitable for study, research, and comparative reading. It does not include modern annotations or an introduction, so readers need to supplement the background materials themselves.

How does reading this chapter help in understanding Kafka?

It concentrates the themes Kafka favored: a boy entering an unfamiliar environment, a misjudged appeal, and an apparently mild yet immovable structure of authority. These elements recur in transformed ways in his later novels and short stories, so this chapter can serve as a starting point for understanding the trajectory of his writing.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924 Author

Kafka, Franz (1883–1924) is a highly influential writer in German-language literature, known for his absurd, austere and parable-like narratives. Through sudden transformations and trials set in everyday circumstances, his works reveal the loneliness, fear and powerlessness of individuals within family, society and bureaucratic systems. The library holds 12 of his works, including representative titles such as Die Verwandlung, Das Urteil, Ein Landarzt, Ein Hungerkünstler, The Trial and In der Strafkolonie. These works are concise yet profound, with restrained language and plots that often carry a surreal quality. Because public information is limited, his biography and creative background are not well documented in the library, but the works themselves have had a broad influence on modernist literature and later writing.