Kafka Paper

Leanna Zamosc
English 28B
Analyzing the Influence of Fate and Character in Oedipus Rex and Kafka on the Shore
The influence of fate over one’s character was a subject of much concern for the ancient Greeks, and drama was one method that they used to explore the consequence of destiny over one’s character. What defines fate, according to modern scholars such as Agard, is that man surrendershimself to supernatural forces (Agard, 119). Yet, in terms of tragedies and tragic characters, that does not seem to be the entire definition of fate. In Oshima’s dialogue to Kafka in Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami echoes the words of Aristotle to say that, “Man doesn’t choose fate. Fate chooses man…And the sense of tragedy—according to Aristotle—comes, ironically enough, not from theprotagonist’s weak points but from his good qualities” (Murakami, 199). In the case of tragedy in drama, fate plays a role in destroying a character through his good qualities. According to Aristotle, who analyzed tragic characters in his Poetics, “tragedy is an imitation of people better than we are” (Aristotle, 24). Therefore, characters such as Oedipus from Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex and Kafka fromMurakami’s novel Kafka on the Shore were known as tragic characters who were cursed by fate to suffer tragedy as a result of their virtues. Still, despite this basic similarity, Kafka and Oedipus represent different definitions of what a virtuous character is. In the case of Oedipus, his virtues are defined by his devotion to his duty as king to help the people of Thebes, but his own personalcharacter flaws, his hamartia, of anger and arrogance, are the factors that lead him to his fate. Adherence to the duty to help the people was considered by the Greeks to be a sign of one’s virtue rather than one’s own personal character, and thus Greek drama portrayed virtuous men as those who adhered to their duty to protect their city rather than men who were virtuous characters. Kafka, on theother hand, is a virtuous character because of his own moral values, not because he fulfills his duty to be a good student or teenager. Thus, fate behaves differently between Kafka and Oedipus because the definition of character is different: Oedipus is seen by the Greek dramatists as a virtuous character due to his adherence to his political duty, while Kafka is seen as a virtuous characterbecause of his high moral values.
The character Oedipus is a perfect example of the Greek dramatists’ definition of a virtuous character on the basis of his ability to maintain his kingdom and people. According to Aristotle in Poetics—a guide to ideal drama and plays—“a good character is good if the choice is good” (Aristotle, 24). For the ancient Greeks, a good character is one who makes goodchoices in the context of serving the city. For Oedipus, who is the king of Thebes, it is his role to save the people of Thebes from plague and misfortune. His eagerness to follow his duty and help his people are evident when he says, “But my spirit/grieves for the city, for myself and all of you…once (Creon) returns (with the answer to save the city), then, I’ll be a traitor/if I do not do all thegod makes clear” (Sophocles, 162 lines 75-76, 88-89). With these words, Oedipus casts himself as the symbol of Thebes, committed to the protection of the city and fitting the Greek dramatists and philosophers definition of a ‘good’ character. His character is ‘good’ in the eyes of the ancient Greeks because his choice to protect Thebes is seen as ‘good’. When developing characterization,Aristotle argues, “one ought always to look for what is necessary or probable: it should be necessary or probable that this kind of person says or does this kind of thing” (Aristotle, 25). This is more evidence that, for the ancient Greek dramatists, a character must adhere to their role in society and behave in an appropriate manner that is benefiting to others as well as the character. This...