3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Life, Literature and the Absurd
A Kafkaesque Office, Doublethink & Bartleby's Decision
I. A Kafkaesque Office
/ˌkafkəˈɛsk/ adjective
characteristic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of Franz Kafka's fictional world.
Franz Kafka’s work transcends time and office spaces. Here’s Noah Tavlin of Ted-Ed explaining the disorienting nature of Franz Kafka’s work:
In the short story Poseidon the ancient Greek god is an executive so swamped with paperwork that he’s never had time to explore his underwater domain. The joke here is that not even a god can handle the amount of paperwork demanded by the modern workplace. The reason why is telling. He’s unwilling to delegate any of the work because he deems everyone else unworthy of the task. Kafka’s Poseidon is a prisoner of his own ego.
This story contains all of the elements that makes for a truly Kafkaesque scenario. It’s not the absurdity and bureaucracy alone, but the irony of the character’s circular reasoning in reaction to it that is emblametic of Kafka’s writing. His tragic comic stories act as a form of methology for the modern industrial age.
—Noah Tavlin, What makes something ‘Kafkaesque’?
For more fascinating absurdities, check out my essay on 7+1 Paradoxical Examples of Mind-Bending Contradictions
II. Doublethink
War Is Peace; Freedom Is Slavery; Ignorance Is Strength.
In his dystopian novel 1984, author George Orwell masterfully dissects and illustrates ideological indoctrination by employing the thought-controlling process of Doublethink:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again: and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself.
That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word ‘doublethink’ involved the use of doublethink.
—George Orwell, 1984
You can find 1984 and other books worth checking out on my Reading List.
III. Bartleby’s Decision
Bartleby is a highly productive employee in a busy Wall Street legal firm. Until he is not. One day he suddenly refuses to do his work with passive resistance. The narrator recalls:
In this very attitude did I sit when I called to him, rapidly stating what it was I wanted him to do — namely, to examine a small paper with me. Imagine my surprise, nay, my consternation, when without moving from his privacy, Bartleby in a singularly mild, firm voice, replied, “I would prefer not to.”
I sat awhile in perfect silence, rallying my stunned faculties. Immediately it occurred to me that my ears had deceived me, or Bartleby had entirely misunderstood my meaning. I repeated my request in the clearest tone I could assume. But in quite as clear a one came the previous reply, “I would prefer not to.”
“Prefer not to,” echoed I, rising in high excitement, and crossing the room with a stride. “What do you mean? Are you moon-struck? I want you to help me compare this sheet here—take it,” and I thrust it towards him.
“I would prefer not to,” said he.
—Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
Bartleby’s continued refusal is met with incredulity. Eventually, he is arrested, imprisoned and dies of starvation. “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!” the story ends.
On a more uplifting note, I can recommend my essay on how to say ‘No’ without feeling guilty. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com