edmond lau

"Franz Kafka's Amerika: The Amerikan Dream"

My AP English class in high school culminated in a senior thesis on Franz Kafka's Amerika.

Amerika traces the struggles of a sixteen-year-old immigrant Karl Rossmann as he journeys through unknown American territory in order to follow his American dream. In this essay, I contend that Kafka satirizes American ideals by absurdly portraying the land of opportunity and by tracing the protagonist's ironic fate as he struggles to attain the American dream. If you've enjoyed Kafka's The Trial or The Metamorphosis, you might enjoy this commentary on Kafka's first novel.

Edmond Lau, "Franz Kafka's Amerika: The Amerikan Dream," April 2001 [pdf]