Franz Kafka Case

Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 in Prague. He was the oldest child and had 3 younger sisters. He had a very difficult relationship with his father and his father's family. He got along better with his mother and her side of the family (Snook). He was a very sensitive and gentle person. This was the complete opposite to his father's personality. His father was a "self made man" who was born into extreme poverty. His father's rough and aggressive personality was part of his success (Snook). Franz Kafka grew up with an aggressive parental cloud over his head. His gentle nature bothered his father and he had tremendous fears of failure throughout his life. Kafka was raised by household help because his mother and father were both often working in the family shop. He had a tremendous lack of self confidence. He attended university specializing in chemistry. This lasted two weeks and then he transferred into law. This pleased his father. Kafka felt very isolated in school not only because he was a Jew but because he didn't fit in. He realized that writing was something that fulfilled him. He didn't know how to balance working in law and writing at the same time. He often remarked that he wished he could devote all his time to writing. Kafka wanted to get as far away from his father and his father's influence as possible. He wrote The Child and the City in 1903 and in 1907 he wrote Wedding Preparations in the Country (Snook). He worked for the semi-governmental Workers' Accident Insurance Institute until he retired in July 1922. He was timid and shy without any self confidence as a child growing up. As he a writer he began to evolve into a different person. He was able to understand and transfer his feelings onto paper. He recognized that his fathers domineering personality had contributed to his feelings of failure. Writing was as important to him as breathing was. As an adult he looked at his inner