What makes something "Kafkaesque"? - Noah Tavlin

Zbog čega za nešto kažemo da je "kafkijansko"? - Noa Tavlin

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

"Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K.

"Neko mora da je oklevetao Jozefa K.

He knew he had done nothing wrong, but one morning, he was arrested."

Znao je da nije učinio bilo šta loše, ali jednog jutra je uhapšen."

Thus begins "The Trial,"

Ovako počinje "Proces",

one of author Franz Kafka's most well-known novels.

jedan od najpoznatijih romana pisca Franca Kafke.

K, the protagonist, is arrested out of nowhere

K, protagonist, iznenada je uhapšen

and made to go through a bewildering process

i primoran je da prođe kroz zbunjujući proces

where neither the cause of his arrest,

u kome mu ni razlog hapšenja,

nor the nature of the judicial proceedings

ni priroda pravnog postupka

are made clear to him.

nisu jasni.

This sort of scenario is considered so characteristic of Kafka's work

Ovakav scenario se smatra karakterističnim za Kafkino stvaralaštvo

that scholars came up with a new word for it.

te su učenjaci smislili novu reč za njega.

Kafkaesque has entered the vernacular to describe unnecessarily complicated

Reč kafkijanski je postala deo žargona i opisuje bespotrebno komplikovana

and frustrating experiences,

i frustrirajuća iskustva,

like being forced to navigate labyrinths of bureaucracy.

poput primoranosti da se snalazite u lavirintima birokratije.

But does standing in a long line to fill out confusing paperwork

No, da li stajanje u dugom redu radi popunjavanja zbunjujuće papirologije

really capture the richness of Kafka's vision?

zaista obuhvata punoću Kafkine vizije?

Beyond the word's casual use, what makes something Kafkaesque?

Mimo uzgredne upotrebe ove reči, šta nešto čini kafkijanskim?

Franz Kafka's stories do indeed deal with many mundane and absurd aspects

Priče Franca Kafke zaista se bave mnogim banalnim i apsurdnim aspektima

of modern bureaucracy,

savremene birokratije,

drawn in part from his experience of working as an insurance clerk

što je delimično inspirisano njegovim iskustvom činovnika za osiguranja

in early 20th century Prague.

tokom ranog XX veka u Pragu.

Mnogi njegovi protagonisti su kancelarijski radnici

Many of his protagonists are office workers

compelled to struggle through a web of obstacles

koji su primorani da izlaze na kraj s mrežom prepreka

in order to achieve their goals,

kako bi ostvarili svoje ciljeve,

and often the whole ordeal turns out to be so disorienting and illogical

a često se ispostavi da je iskušenje toliko dezorijentišuće i nelogično

that success becomes pointless in the first place.

da uspeh postaje besmislen u svakom slučaju.

For example, in the short story, "Poseidon,"

Na primer, u kratkoj priči "Posejdon",

the Ancient Greek god is an executive so swamped with paperwork

antički grčki bog je administrator, toliko preplavljen papirologijom

that he's never had time to explore his underwater domain.

da nikad nema vremena da istraži sopstvenu podvodnu oblast.

The joke here is that not even a god can handle the amount of paperwork

Fora je da čak ni bog ne može da izađe na kraj s količinom papirologije

demanded by the modern workplace.

koju zahteva savremeno radno mesto.

But the reason why is telling.

Razlog za pripovedanje

He's unwilling to delegate any of the work

je što on ne želi da prebaci drugima bar deo posla

because he deems everyone else unworthy of the task.

jer svakoga smatra nedostojnim tog zadatka.

Kafka's Poseidon is a prisoner of his own ego.

Kafkin Posejdon je zatovrenik sopstvenog ega.

This simple story contains all of the elements

Ova jednostavna priča sadrži sve elemente

that make for a truly Kafkaesque scenario.

koji sačinjavaju istinski kafkijanski scenario.

It's not the absurdity of bureaucracy alone,

Ne radi se samo o birokratskom apsurdu,

but the irony of the character's circular reasoning in reaction to it

već o ironiji kako lik reaguje na to nizom obrazloženja,

that is emblematic of Kafka's writing.

a to je amblematično za Kafkino pisanje.

His tragicomic stories act as a form of mythology for the modern industrial age,

Njegove tragikomične priče služe kao vid mitologije savremenog industrijskog doba,

employing dream logic to explore the relationships

u kojima koristi logiku snova kako bi istražio odnose

between systems of arbitrary power and the individuals caught up in them.

između sistema arbitrarne moći i pojedinaca zarobljenih u njima.

Take, for example, Kafka's most famous story, "Metamorphosis."

Uzmite, na primer, Kafkinu najpoznatiju priču: "Preobražaj".

When Gregor Samsa awaken's one morning to find himself transformed

Kad se Gregor Samsa probudi jednog jutra i otkrije da je transformisan

into a giant insect,

u džinovskog insekta,

his greatest worry is that he gets to work on time.

njegova najveća briga je da stigne na vreme na posao.

Of course, this proves impossible.

Naravno, ovo se ispostavi kao nemoguće.

It was not only the authoritarian realm of the workplace that inspired Kafka.

Nije jedino autoritativna stvarnost radnog prostora inspirisala Kafku.

Some of his protagonists' struggles come from within.

Neke od borbi likova potiču iznutra.

The short story, "A Hunger Artist,"

Kratka priča "Umetnik u gladovanju",

describes a circus performer whose act consists of extended fasts.

opisuje cirkuskog izvođača čija se tačka sastoji od produženog posta.

He's upset that the circus master limits these to 40 days,

Uzrujan je zato što je vlasnik cirkusa ograničio post na 40 dana,

believing this prevents him from achieving greatness in his art.

verujući da ga to sprečava da postigne slavu u svojoj umetnosti.

But when his act loses popularity,

No kad njegovoj tački padne popularnost,

he is left free to starve himself to death.

slobodan je da se izgladni do smrti.

The twist comes when he lays dying in anonymity,

Preokret nastaje kad leži na samrti u anonimnosti,

regretfully admitting that his art has always been a fraud.

sa žaljenjem priznajući da je njegova umetnost oduvek bila prevara.

He fasted not through strength of will,

Postio je ne snagom volje,

but simply because he never found a food he liked.

već prosto zato što nikad nije pronašao hranu koja bi mu se svidela.

Even in "The Trial,"

Čak i u "Procesu",

which seems to focus directly on bureaucracy,

koji je čini se usmeren direktno na birokratiju,

the vague laws and bewildering procedures point to something far more sinister:

nejasni zakoni i zbunjujuće procedure pokazuju nešto daleko zlokobnije:

the terrible momentum of the legal system proves unstoppable,

strahoviti impuls pravnog sistema se pokazuje nazaustavljivim,

even by supposedly powerful officials.

čak i od strane navodno moćnih zvaničnika.

This is a system that doesn't serve justice,

Ovo je sistem koji ne služi pravdi,

but whose sole function is to perpetuate itself.

već je njegova jedina svrha da ovekoveči samog sebe.

What political theorist Hannah Arendt,

Politička teoretičarka Hana Arendt,

writing years after Kafka's death,

koja je pisala godinama nakon Kafkine smrti,

would call "tyranny without a tyrant."

će to nazvati "tiranijom bez tiranina".

Yet accompanying the bleakness of Kafka's stories,

Ipak, sumornost Kafkinih priča

there's a great deal of humor

prati značajna doza humora,

rooted in the nonsensical logic of the situations described.

koji je ukorenjen u besmislenoj logici opisanih situacija.

So on the one hand, it's easy to recognize the Kafkaesque in today's world.

Dakle, s jedne strane, lako je prepoznati kafkijanstvo u današnjem svetu.

We rely on increasingly convoluted systems of administration

Oslanjamo se na sve zamršenije sisteme administracije

that have real consequences on every aspect of our lives.

koji ostavljaju stvarne posledice na sve aspekte našeg života.

And we find our every word judged by people we can't see

I svaku našu reč procenjuju ljudi koje ne vidimo,

according to rules we don't know.

koji slede zakone koje ne znamo.

On the other hand, by fine-tuning our attention to the absurd,

S druge strane, finim podešavanjem naše pažnje na apsurd,

Kafka also reflects our shortcomings back at ourselves.

Kafka takođe reflektuje naše mane nazad do nas samih.

In doing so, he reminds us that the world we live in is one we create,

Time nas podseća da je svet u kom živimo onaj koji stvaramo

and have the power to change for the better.

i da imamo moć da se menjamo na bolje.