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THE JUDGEMENT and IN THE PENAL COLONY By Franz Kafka. Penguin Books. 55 pp.  $0.95     Franz Kafka is dark indeed. The grotesque illustration on the cover of this miniature book is a fitting companion for these two stories. The Judgement and In The Penal Colony are not stories the reader will be comfortable warming up to on a winter evening next to the fireplace. And they are arguably less interesting than the mind of the man who wrote them.         The Judgement begins with a young Georg Bendemann struggling with the estrangement of his friend who has moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. Where he moved from, how long ago, and the history of his relationship to Georg is not made known to the reader. The story begins and ends without Kafka developing much of a context. It is, as many students of Kafka's writings have suggested, an aphorism. Georg considers writing to his friend to inform him of his engagement and to encourage him to return home for the wedding. At the same time he reflects on having been reproved by his fiancé after telling her that his friend may not return for the wedding. "If you have friends like that Georg, you should never have got engaged." Throughout the story Georg presents a consistent mood of anxiety and despair. His mother died when he was young, he can speak only dubiously of his engagement, and his relationship to his father is divided -- half respect, half fear. The story moves to the bedroom of Georg's father. There Georg informs his father of his intention to write his friend telling him of his engagement. Georg's father becomes indignant, mocking his son and suggesting that his friend is fictional. Later, though, he tells Georg he knows his friend, and has been writing to him all along. The conversation continues with Georg becoming increasingly insecure and obsequious in his father's company while his father becomes more angry and intolerant of Georg's presence. In spite of the fact that Georg acts as a nurse for all his father's needs during the conversation, even carrying him to bed. Finally, Georg finds his father's tirade unbearably hostile and he runs out of the room with a death by drowning sentence, issued by his father, echoing in his head. And then the story ends. It's tragic.      In The Penal Colony is a gruesome story about the experience of an unknown voyager who is asked by a military commandant to witness an execution. Like The Judgement, this story provides no context, the characters are abstract and without name. The voyager is invited by a commandant to witness the execution of a condemned man to be carried out by an officer and a soldier. The story opens at the site of an execution. Present are the officer, a soldier, the voyager, and the condemned man. . The officer is intent on convincing the voyager of the merits of the execution apparatus that he has operated for a long time. He is certain that the voyager has been sent by the commandant to witness an execution and then report back with a recommendation on whether to continue or stop them. The execution apparatus, called a harrow in the story, is a heinous device of torture with long metal spikes mounted on a large slab which is lowered onto the condemned man who is strapped down on a table. Then, when the tip of the spikes contact the condemned man's skin they begin to vibrate, and as the condemned man is rotated the spikes scribe his flesh. Kafka spares no chilling detail describing the operation of the harrow.      The execution lasts precisely 12 hours and the harrow is designed with a glass frame so onlookers can view the execution. The officer is proud of his record at having carried out many executions, but the apparatus is in disrepair and support for the executions in jeopardy. He's desperate for the voyager to speak well of it to the commandant. The officer instructs the soldier to begin the execution of the condemned man. But just as the spikes contact the condemned man, he vomits. Angered, the officer blames the problem on the commandant and "his ladies" for having fed the condemned man before the execution. He tries in vain once more to gain the support of the voyager by concocting a strategy he is sure will work to secure the commandant's support. But finally the voyager speaks, and tells of his opposition to the executions, but assures the officer he has overestimated his influence over the commandant. Realizing his defeat, the officer instructs the soldier to free the condemned man, and then the story ends with an unexpected tragedy.      Franz Kafka died in 1924 at the age of 41 when the tuberculosis in his lungs invaded his larynx. The Judgement and In The Penal Colony were the only stories Kafka wanted to see published. Just prior to Kafka's death he instructed his friend, Max Brod, to destroy everything else he had written. Brod did not honor his friend's wish and spent many years working to publish Kafka's work. It is tempting to grasp for a simplistic interpretation for these stories. The Judgement is probably autobiographical to some extent; it's very likely Kafka's attempt to write about the ambivalent feelings he had toward his father. But the desperate voice, the bleak dialogs, and the fatalistic end are excessive and demand a more considered explanation beyond simple autobiography. Likewise, In The Penal Colony could be understood to represent Kafka's contempt for the persecution he witnessed in WW1. But again, the macabre details, the callous indifference of the officer, and the sudden turn of events at the end of the story are clues that in the dark recesses of Franz Kafka's mind, something else was smoldering -- something very dark indeed. © Copyright 2008 RKN. Nonsense, distribute widely and freely! Last update: 7/23/2008; 8:30:03 PM.			Readers Amused       Home About Me Airedale Philosophy How this all got started       FAQ What's an Upright? Upright: noun : a by and large bipedal companion, also referred to as a human being. What's a Cheechako? Cheechako: noun : a person new to Alaska who has come with the intention to live here. Who's Master? Master: pronoun : just the finest upright on the face of the earth, that's who! To read him is to love him. What's Dogdom? Dogdom: noun : Life's venue from a dog's point of view. What's a Sourdough? Sourdough: noun : A long time Alaskan who has an automatic suspicion of cheechakos. What does Outside mean? Outside: noun : A provincial reference to somplace other than Alaska; usually the lower 48. What's Breakup? Breakup: noun : A uniquely Alaskan season between winter and spring when the snow and ice begins to melt for good. Where is SquareBanks? 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