Quotes from Amerika

Franz Kafka ·  336 pages

Rating: (18.4K votes)


“So then you’re free?’
‘Yes, I’m free,’ said Karl, and nothing seemed more worthless than his freedom.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“It's impossible to defend oneself in the absence of goodwill”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“He looked sadly down at the street, as though it were his own bottomless sadness.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“In the morning and in the evening and at night in his dreams, this street was filled with constantly bustling traffic, which seen from above seemed like a continually self-replenishing mixture of distorted human figures and of the roofs of all sorts of vehicles, constantly scattered by new arrivals, out of which there arose a new, stronger, wilder mixture of noise, dust, and smells, and, catching and penetrating it all, a powerful light that was continually dispersed, carried away, and avidly refracted by the mass of objects that made such a physical impression on one's dazzled eye that it seemed as if a glass pane, hanging over the street and converging everything, were being smashed again and again with the utmost force.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“After all, one does not laugh at senator's nephew at the first opportunity that presents itself.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika



“Karl, oh my Karl!' she cried, as if by gazing at him she were confirming her possession, while Karl saw absolutely nothing and felt uncomfortable in the warm bedding that she seemed to have piled up specially for his benefit.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“He had vented all his woes and now they might as well see the few rags that covered his body, after which they could carry him away.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“[...] jeder nützte seine Macht aus und beschimpfte den Niedrigen. War man einmal daran gewöhnt, klang es nicht anders als das regelmäßige Uhrenschlagen.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“Pero tales cosas por lo visto no se toman en consideración en el momento decisivo, en ninguno de los continentes, ni en Europa ni en América, sino antes bien se toman decisiones según el rapto de furia del primer momento y conforme a la primera sentencia que salga de la boca.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“Zavallı küçük bir göçmen olarak karaya ayak basmış olsaydı, nerede kalırdı acaba? Evet, belki de onu -göçmen yasaları konusundaki bilgisine dayanarak bunu çok olası buluyordu dayı- Birleşik Devletler'e almazlardı bile, artık bir yurdu olmadığını umursamadan eve yollarlardı. Çünkü burada kimse kimseye acımazdı, Karl'ın bu açıdan Amerika hakkında okumuş olduğu şeyler de çok doğruydu; yalnızca şanslı olanlar çevrelerindeki kaygısız yüzler arasında şanslarının gerçekten tadını çıkarıyor gibiydiler.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika



“Annesi korkunç bir akşam pencerenin önünde Amerika yolculuğunu haber verdiğinde, asla mektup yazmamaya geri dönülmez biçimde yemin etmişti etmesine, ama deneyimsiz bir gencin ettiği böyle bir yemin buradaki yeni koşullarda kaç yazardı! O zamanlar, Amerika'da iki ay kaldıktan sonra Amerikan ordusunda general olacağına da yemin etse olurdu; gerçekteyse New York dışında bir otelde; tavan arasında bir odada iki serseriyle beraberdi, ayrıca burada gerçekten yerini bulmuş olduğunu da itiraf etmeliydi.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


“„Dann sind Sie also frei?“ fragte sie. „Ja frei bin ich“, sagte Karl und nichts schien ihm wertloser.”
― Franz Kafka, quote from Amerika


About the author

Franz Kafka
Born place: in Prague, Austria-Hungary
Born date July 3, 1883
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