Amerika: The Missing Person

“Karl for his part felt stronger and more alert than he had ever done at home. If only his parents could see him, fighting for a good cause in a strange land among distinguished people, and while he hadn’t won yet, he was absolutely ready for the final push. Would they change their minds about him? Sit him down between them and praise him? For once look into his eyes that shone with devotion to them?”

Karl’s desire to gain his parents’ approval is emphasized by these rhetorical questions, which show why his parents’ disappointment—and his exile—are so upsetting. Karl is child-like by nature and wishes to receive not only praise, but affection. This serves as a reminder that Karl is extremely inexperienced in worldly matters.

“[T]he parents, to avoid scandal and paying maintenance, had their son, my dear nephew, transported to America with, as you may see, lamentably inadequate provision—thus leaving the boy, saving those miracles that still happen from time to time and particularly here in America, entirely to his own devices, so that he might easily have met his death in some dockside alleyway on his arrival, had not the maid written to me, which letter, after lengthy detours, came into my possession only the day before yesterday...”

Karl’s uncle, Edward Jakob, embarrasses him by disclosing the reason for his exile to a crowd. Karl hid this fact from the stoker when they first met and is surprised that the crowd doesn’t seem to care. This is an example of Karl’s expectations regarding people’s behavior and reactions being off. Jakob also discloses that Karl’s parents wanted their son gone because they could not support his illegitimate child. This reveals that Karl’s family is not particularly wealthy.

“His uncle the Senator appeared at his side, and, ever so gently, pulled him away. ‘The stoker seems to have put you under his spell,’ he said, and looked knowingly across to the captain over Karl’s head. ‘You felt abandoned, then you found the stoker, and you’re showing your gratitude to him, it’s all very laudable. But please for my sake don’t overdo it, and learn to come to terms with your position.’”

Karl’s ignorance of etiquette in a foreign land leaves him in the dark as he is elevated to a much higher class than he formerly occupied as an unknown immigrant. Karl’s innocence does not comfortably match his new social position. This awkward first encounter with Karl’s wealthy uncle foreshadows his later debacle with him.

“Karl examined his uncle a little more closely—their knees were almost touching—and he wondered whether this man would ever be able to replace the stoker for him.”

Karl’s attachment to the stoker emphasizes just how lost he is in a new country. He feels desperate, being in an unfamiliar place and without the support of his parents—which explains his attachment to the first person kind to him. This desperate desire to be accepted propels Karl as he moves from one temporary “family” to another.

“Karl soon got used to his new circumstances in his uncle’s house, and his uncle was also very kind to him in every little manner, so Karl never had to learn from bitter experience, which is the lot of so many when they begin a new life in a new country.”

This quote foreshadows the embittering experiences that will cause Karl to lose some of his innocence and gain a greater understanding of how America functions. Karl’s naivete and privilege are often on display. Compared to the experiences of most newly arrived immigrants, Karl managed to find a long-lost uncle, as if in a fairy tale. However, this fairy tale quickly turns nightmarish.

“The more Karl’s English improved, the more inclined his uncle was to introduce him to his circle of acquaintances, decreeing that his English teacher should always accompany Karl.”

Jakob wants Karl to become integrated into American society, buying him a piano and hiring an English teacher for him. It is implied that Jakob is preparing Karl to take over his transportation business someday. The man’s wealth and connections allow him to provide Karl with the best education money can buy, and while Karl is somewhat relaxed about his piano studies, he is determined to learn English.

“People were criss-crossing the middle of the floor, in all directions, at great speed. No one offered a greeting, greetings had been abolished, each one fell into the tracks of the man ahead of him and kept his eyes on the floor, across which he wanted to make as rapid progress as possible, or else he picked up, at a glance, single words or figures from the fluttering piece of paper he held in his hands.”

Jakob showcases his company: The business requires constant communication via telephone and telegraph, and Karl observes the bustle of the telephone room with fascination. He is impressed by the business—but there is also a note of sadness in none of the preoccupied workers greeting each other. Karl’s observations of American work life often critique its culture of efficiency at the cost of humanity.

“‘It’s strange how reluctant he was to give me permission to visit you, even though you’re his friend.’ But even Mr Pollunder, though he didn’t admit it, couldn’t find an explanation either and both pondered the matter for a long time afterwards as they drove through the warm evening in Mr Pollunder’s car, though their conversation was on other things.”

Jakob’s reluctance to let Karl spend the evening at business associate Mr. Pollunder’s estate foreshadows his banishing of him via letter (delivered by Mr. Green). Karl’s uncle is somewhat subtle about preventing him from leaving, but the younger fails to pick up on this. Karl intuits Jakob’s true feelings, but fails to fully understand them and goes on ahead to Pollunder’s estate. This partial understanding of Jakob’s requirements (for Karl, his business’s image and inner politics) leads to Karl’s downfall.

“It was really only because of the lack of frankness between them that he had shown a little disobedience to his uncle, or rather just stubbornness. And if he had to spend the night here—which unfortunately seemed probable, even though they left him to stand alone by a window and amuse himself—perhaps this unfortunate visit would become the turning point in his relations with his uncle, and perhaps his uncle in his bedroom tonight entertained similar thoughts himself.”

Karl’s naive optimism is on full display in this moment, when he believes that the unfortunate turn of events at Pollunder’s estate will bring him and his uncle closer together. He regrets his disobedience and wishes he could return to Jakob’s comfortable home, and perhaps even forget about the terrible night—but this is not to be. Karl’s sensitive nature is embodied by his child-like wish to have a genuine, warm relationship with a relative whom he likes but does not understand.

“Beloved Nephew! [...] I am bound to send you away from me after what has happened today, and I must ask you neither to seek me out in person nor to attempt to communicate with me by letter or through an intermediary. Against my wishes, you decided to leave me this evening, so be true to your decision all your life, only then will it have been a manly decision.”

Jakob is first and foremost a businessman, and in this spirit, he is highly principled and refuses to accept disobedience. Karl is used to his uncle’s favor and stunned by his exile—but accepts it and leaves Pollunder’s estate without argument. The letter is evidence of Jakob’s inner ruthlessness, a trait that comes up later when Delamarche tells Karl how hated Jakob’s company is and how little he pays his workers.

“For all that, still determined not to sleep, Karl sat down on the one chair in the room... Then he picked up the photograph of his parents, in which his little father stood very tall, while his mother sat shrunken in the armchair in front of him.”

Karl longing for his parents seems odd given the way they treated him. However, Karl’s child-like tendency to grow attached to people—especially those who function as mother and father figures—is rooted in his rootlessness and wish to gain parental love. Karl cherishes his photograph (a symbol of homesickness) and later cuts ties with Delamarche and Robinson when they lose it.

“No sooner was he outside than he could hear the full noise from the buffet room again, which by now had a brass band added to it. He was glad he hadn’t had to leave through the hall... Cars were still going by, though no longer in an unbroken stream, growing out of the distance even faster than by day, feeling their way with the white beams of their lights, which dimmed as they entered the illuminated area in front of the hotel, and brightened again as they returned to darkness.”

Karl is overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the Hotel Occidental’s buffet room, where he cannot figure out how to order food for himself and his traveling companions. The bustling energy fascinates Karl, as he is still unaccustomed to American life; he hails from a less industrialized place. While Franz Kafka’s portrait of America is highly critical, there are also moments in which Karl is taken by the beauty and possibility of his new home.

“But America’s odd like that. Take that little boy, for instance, he only arrived here with his parents six months ago, he’s Italian. At the moment, it looks as though he couldn’t possibly stand up to his work, his face is gaunt, he falls asleep on his shift, even though he’s a very willing lad by nature—but give him another six months of working here or somewhere else in America, and he will make it with ease, and in five years’ time he will be a strong man.”

Grete Mitzelbach, the Head Cook at the Hotel Occidental, makes this statement about America’s work culture without any hint of irony or negativity: She finds it inspiring that America makes people stronger. However, when Karl ends up replacing an employee named Giacomo, he realizes how brutal America is—how precarious employment is. The Head Cook seeks to inspire Karl, but instead, he devotes himself to improving his station so he does not remain a lift-boy. After all, if he isn’t careful, he may end up like Giacomo.

“For the child it was incomprehensible suffering, now held by her mother, now holding on to her, without so much as a comforting word, being dragged along, and in her incomprehension the only explanation she could find for the whole thing was that her mother was trying to run away from her. Therefore Therese held on as hard as she could...”

Therese Berchtold, an illegitimate child from Pomerania and secretary to the Head Cook, befriends Karl and tells him the tragic story of her mother’s death. Therese’s immigrant experience offers a stark contrast to Karl’s luxurious life with his uncle—a far more realistic account of such an experience in America in the early 20th century. It also explains why she is so desperately lonely and overjoyed to have Karl’s friendship.

“In particular, you mustn’t take too hard what the Head Porter may have said to you. He is an excitable man, which is no wonder when you think about his job, but he has a wife and children, and he knows that it’s not necessary to torment a boy who’s all on his own, because the rest of the world will see to that anyway.”

The Head Cook tries to help Karl when he is accused of lying by the Head Porter and Head Waiter. However, Karl feels that the Head Cook’s kindness (or favoritism) may justify further punishment. The Head Cook excuses the Head Porter’s vile treatment, but her sympathetic portrayal proves terribly incorrect when he steals from Karl after his firing.

“‘What’s going to become of me? I’ll have to spend several months recuperating minimum, and I can tell you this right now, I have no one but you who can look after me, Delamarche is far too impatient. Rossmann, little Rossmann!’ And Robinson stretched out his hand to Karl, who had stepped back a little, to win him over by stroking him. ‘Why did I have to go and visit you!’ he said repeatedly, lest Karl forget his part in his misfortune.”

Robinson’s pitiful character and inability to take responsibility for his actions are on full display during his drunken appearance at the Hotel Occidental. Though Karl tries to take care of Robinson, the latter exaggerates his injuries in order to evoke pity while also blaming the former for his condition. It becomes clear that Robinson’s true motive was to bring Karl back to Delamarche, and that Rennel told Delamarche where Karl was—which only makes Robinson’s pitiful act even more despicable. Still, Karl chooses to join Robinson in his getaway car.

“On one balustrade there was a little girl crying so hard that her face was quite shiny with tears. No sooner had she spotted Delamarche than she ran up the stairs, gasping open-mouthed for breath, and only calmed herself when she had climbed several flights, looking round frequently to make sure no one was following her or was about to follow her. ‘I ran her down just a moment ago,’ said Delamarche laughing, and waved his fist at her, whereupon she screamed and ran up some more steps.”

Delamarche’s abusive nature is further fleshed out in his and Karl’s encounter with a young girl. When Delamarche runs after Karl when the latter is being chased down by a policeman, the former chooses to frighten a child on the streets. Delamarche’s unsavory behavior is not limited to Karl and Robinson: Everywhere he goes, he causes mayhem. This contrasts with how easily he manipulates the policeman and Karl, so Karl has no choice but to serve him and Brunelda.

“But immediately the servants were all gone, Delamarche said to Brunelda: ‘So now you’ve got no servants?’ She said: ‘But what about Robinson.’ And Delamarche gave me a slap on the back and said: ‘All right, you can be our servant.’ And Brunelda gave me a pat on the cheek, if you ever get a chance, Rossmann, get her to pat you on the cheek, there’s nothing like it.”

Robinson is a passive character, as he is easily controlled by Delamarche and seems to care very little about the indignities of their “friendship”—as long as he is able to drink and sleep. Robinson’s crush on Brunelda adds humor to his situation; he tries to frame her presence as making servitude worthwhile. In this regard, Robinson and Karl are foils: While Robinson embraces his low status, Karl cannot be satisfied with such a role.

“The student, who was so much more experienced than himself, and who hated Delamarche for reasons Karl had yet to learn, and who certainly wished no ill upon Karl, didn’t offer so much as a word of encouragement to Karl to walk out on Delamarche. And he didn’t even know about the threat that was posed by the police, and from which Delamarche offered the only possible source of protection.”

On a neighboring balcony at Brunelda and Delamarche’s apartment, Karl meets Josef Mendel, a salesman at Montly’s department store. Josef spends his evenings studying medicine in the hopes of becoming a doctor. Despite his career-oriented attitude, he does not advise Karl to leave Delamarche—rather, he thinks Karl should remain the couple’s servant until he finds something better. Josef’s cynicism regarding Karl’s prospects seems justified, given his own difficult experiences in the work world.

“He’s not an untalented man, and his political opinions and his political career to date would seem to qualify him as a suitable judge for this district. But no one gives him the slightest chance, he’ll fail just as comprehensively as it’s possible to fail, he’ll have blown his few dollars on his election campaign, and that’s all.”

Josef tells Karl that he should pay attention to politics and explains why the candidate for district judge will fail: No one wants to give him a chance. Through this story, he voices why Karl is better off remaining a servant rather than venturing out on his own. He draws a parallel between the politician’s ill-fated run and Karl’s employment prospects. Karl leaves the conversation determined to wait for a better opportunity.

“Luckily, Brunelda was hungry. She nodded graciously at Karl, as he set everything out, and often got in his way by filching little morsels for herself before he was ready, with her soft, fat, potentially all-flattening hand. ‘He’s done well,’ she said, smacking her lips, and pulled Delamarche, who left the comb in her hair for a later resumption, down next to her on a chair. Delamarche too was mollified by the sight of the meal...”

Brunelda and Delamarche eat Karl’s improvised breakfast (made from leftovers) without realizing there is anything wrong with it. This indicates Brunelda’s lack of taste and the otherwise manipulative Delamarche’s gullibility—heightening the comedy of the scene. Karl is beginning to learn how to handle his new masters and feels oddly encouraged, realizing that perhaps being a servant will not be as terrible as he initially believed.

“Karl barely listened to talk like that anymore, everyone used their own power and belaboured the next man. Once you’d gotten used to it, it wasn’t really much more than the regular striking of a clock.”

Once Karl brings Brunelda to Enterprise No. 25, the administrator gets annoyed with his late arrival. This moment signifies Karl’s change in personality: His adversities made him more equipped to navigate social situations and others’ motives regardless of their surface-level kindness or rudeness. He understands the power dynamics behind every interaction and is no longer offended by rude remarks such as the administrator’s.

“‘Could it be,’ said Karl ‘that the lavish displays with angels and devils put off more people than they attract?’ ‘Hard to say,’ said Fanny. ‘But it’s a possibility. You should tell our leader about it, perhaps you can help him by doing that.’”

The Theater of Oklahoma’s surreal promotional event strikes Karl as odd but intriguing. He notices people are hesitant to enter and recalls the event’s posters not being especially well-marketed. However, Karl’s question to Fanny could also be viewed as a broader critique aimed at Christian iconography. The absurdity of the scene and the characters’ exchange are emblematic of Kafka’s later writing style—despite Amerika being his first novel.