More Alice than Kafka?
Kafka or Alice? Whose world am I in?
In moments of torment, and there can be quite a few, this question can cross the mind of a grumpy foreigner (let's call him Guy Gynn) as he sups his beer after a day in the Japanese workplace.
The obvious answer to the question would of course be "neither", but the obvious is not what you always hear, or for that matter what Guy always feels.
It's not unusual for Guy's answer to be an unequivocal "Alice's". The comparison, after all, has been made many times. Everything around him can seem removed from Guy's own reality, with his status seemingly dependent on which side of the mushroom he eats. A little nibble on this side and his status grows; a chomp on the other, and he positively withers. At times, in meetings, he is certainly at the Tea Party along with the Hatter, the March Hare, and the rest of the ensemble, making "decisions" that ultimately have no meaning. All authority is held by the Queen of Hearts. Anxious looks at the clock are met with despair. Time has stood still. The interminable meeting shows no sign of coming to an end. It is always 6 o'clock. Poor Guy.
When things are getting pretty bad and paranoia really sets in, Guy's answer may change to "Kafka's". Things look sinister. He is ill at ease, perplexed, lonely, and feels threatened. The Tea Party has taken on the nightmarish hue of The Trial. All the characters in all the scenes are grey and shadowy. Not knowing what is going on, who is in charge, or to whom he can appeal, Guy is passive and accepting. He can do nothing. The treadmill is moving and he is on it. An inexorable slide to a place from which he can't escape. He awaits the inevitable. He can run, but he can't hide. He has become, as you can see, very, very paranoid. Poor, poor Guy.
If you felt things couldn't get any worse for Guy, then you were wrong. Every now and again the answer to the original question "Kafka or Alice: Whose world am I in?" turns out to be "both". Guy leads a schizophrenic existence oscillating between the two worlds. One minute he is merely befuddled, jumping through hoops (or hitting hedgehogs through them with flamingo mallets) at the behest of the Queen of Hearts; the next he is in a Kafkaesque struggle with an invisible enemy, punching thin air in a state of wild exasperation. Which world is he in? Kafka's or Alice's? Poor, poor, poor Guy. He really has lost it.
Of course, Guy lives in neither of these worlds. It's just that, on occasions, it doesn't half seem like he does.
In moments of torment, and there can be quite a few, this question can cross the mind of a grumpy foreigner (let's call him Guy Gynn) as he sups his beer after a day in the Japanese workplace.
The obvious answer to the question would of course be "neither", but the obvious is not what you always hear, or for that matter what Guy always feels.
It's not unusual for Guy's answer to be an unequivocal "Alice's". The comparison, after all, has been made many times. Everything around him can seem removed from Guy's own reality, with his status seemingly dependent on which side of the mushroom he eats. A little nibble on this side and his status grows; a chomp on the other, and he positively withers. At times, in meetings, he is certainly at the Tea Party along with the Hatter, the March Hare, and the rest of the ensemble, making "decisions" that ultimately have no meaning. All authority is held by the Queen of Hearts. Anxious looks at the clock are met with despair. Time has stood still. The interminable meeting shows no sign of coming to an end. It is always 6 o'clock. Poor Guy.
When things are getting pretty bad and paranoia really sets in, Guy's answer may change to "Kafka's". Things look sinister. He is ill at ease, perplexed, lonely, and feels threatened. The Tea Party has taken on the nightmarish hue of The Trial. All the characters in all the scenes are grey and shadowy. Not knowing what is going on, who is in charge, or to whom he can appeal, Guy is passive and accepting. He can do nothing. The treadmill is moving and he is on it. An inexorable slide to a place from which he can't escape. He awaits the inevitable. He can run, but he can't hide. He has become, as you can see, very, very paranoid. Poor, poor Guy.
If you felt things couldn't get any worse for Guy, then you were wrong. Every now and again the answer to the original question "Kafka or Alice: Whose world am I in?" turns out to be "both". Guy leads a schizophrenic existence oscillating between the two worlds. One minute he is merely befuddled, jumping through hoops (or hitting hedgehogs through them with flamingo mallets) at the behest of the Queen of Hearts; the next he is in a Kafkaesque struggle with an invisible enemy, punching thin air in a state of wild exasperation. Which world is he in? Kafka's or Alice's? Poor, poor, poor Guy. He really has lost it.
Of course, Guy lives in neither of these worlds. It's just that, on occasions, it doesn't half seem like he does.
posted by jh at 21.2.06
2 Comments:
Guy Gnn! Hahaha
It sounds like you need a holiday, RR.
Post a Comment
<< Home