Amerika is, in a sense, exactly like other works of Franz Kafka. Kafka is known for his recurring theme of helplessness. His protagonists, usually confident and energetic men, become locked in contest with a power they cannot overcome, and eventually subside. Devoid of any true help, cast into a surreal world with rules to which they are alien, the once able protagonist exerts himself to exhaustion to no avail.
Perhaps the least formidable of Kafka’s protagonists, Karl Rossman arrives at Amerika comparatively disadvantageous. In addition to the lack of experience in the new world he has been cast into, he has no money, no status, and most importantly no vocation. Furthermore, upon arrival he loses the box which contains his only belongings. However, he does prove to have a set of unmitigated qualities. While still aboard the ship he conducts the stoker’s argument with the captain eloquently, sympathetically and with an acute observance, solely for the sake of a person with whom he had just been acquainted. Prior to that he had shown honesty and a certain ambitiousness, and these characteristics cause the reader to set high hopes upon his prospects in Amerika, especially since it has not yet proven as bizarre as Kafka’s worlds are notorious for.
Karl’s argument does not fail to make an impression on a gentleman present in the room, who introduces himself as Karl’s unfathomably rich Uncle Jacob who happens to live in Amerika. Uncle Jacob takes Karl in, and our protagonist is unexpectedly introduced into a life of luxury and financial confidence of a rarity which the reader cannot yet comprehend. In spite of his good luck, Karl doesn’t allow himself leisure and immediately begins to study English so as to be deserving of his new position, a notion which would later prove essential.
It is however far from smooth sailing from now on for poor Karl. Without foreseeing the exaggerated and severe consequences, Karl insists upon visiting Uncle Jacob’s friend Mr. Pollunder (A visit which he did not contrive) thus disobliging his uncle. During the visit Karl regrets his decision and wishes to return to his uncle that very night, although he is detained by the arrival of another friend of Uncle Jacob, Mr. Green. After secretly thwarting Karl’s initial attempts to escape to the train station, Mr. Green openly addresses him and practically orders to him stay in the house until midnight. At due time Mr. Green hands Karl a letter from Uncle Jacob, in which Karl’s disinheritance is conveyed provided that he has not yet reached home by midnight, which was obviously prevented by Mr. Green’s interference. Extraordinarily, Mr. Green also reveals Karl’s lost box, which Uncle Jacob must have had all along and which sadly proves Karl’s disinheritance to be his original design.
Although calmly accepting his dismal degradation of circumstances, Karl confronts Mr. Green and accuses him of purposely delaying him in order to ensure his downfall. This is the first incident of enmity against innocent Karl, directed by incomparably more prosperous men than himself who allegedly have nothing to fear from his favorable condition in life, and yet make a special effort to diminish him. It appears the rich of Amerika cannot afford yet another competitor, amateur as he may be. Even so, it is later demonstrated that Karl’s prospects would have been ever more dismal had he not had the initial support of his uncle and a chance to master the English language.
To his sympathetic anguish, the reader finds that Karl’s heretofore smooth sailing has come to a halt. Reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, it almost seems as if Karl’s unexpected elevated condition was conceived by Kafka solely to increase the magnitude of his downfall. The days of piano lessons and early horse-rides are past, and the future holds little more than reeky inns and a frantic, anxious struggle for a living. Who could claim that Karl, as generally occurs in the Greek tragedy, had brought this outcome upon himself through hubris? Contrarily, he submits to his new status and moves onward unhesitatingly. It is, however, precisely this calm resoluteness of his that leads Karl into the hands of Delemarche. After wandering into a sordid inn, bereft of any aid or aim, Karl is accommodated in the same room with Delemarche and thus the acquaintance is made. In the perpetual struggle for existence, what Karl makes up for in spirit Delemarche makes up for in cunning. A shrewd, immoral machine, honed by the immoralities of its surroundings, Delemarche quickly finds the means to exploit the boy. As they travel about, allegedly with the goal of finding jobs as steam-fitters, Delemarche and his pawn Robinson make the best of Karl’s money and wares for their purposes. Even so, Karl continues to manifest patience and forgiveness. His only regret, which leads him to separate from the two ruffians, is the suspicious disappearance of a picture of his parents. Curiously, Karl lays a sentimental value upon a picture of those who had cast him out, subsequently bringing him to his current glum condition. Karl’s notions don’t indicate of innocence or docility, but rather of transcendence. His humanity illuminates the selfishness of the rest by stark negation.
Leaving Delemarche and Robinson behind, Karl heads to The Hotel Occidental and submits himself to the care of the manageress. Also an immigrant from Germany, the manageress shows consideration for Karl from the very beginning. Before Karl’s argument with Delemarche, he encounters the manageress in the hotel’s crowded lobby. Being the only person to pay him any attention, she also offers him shelter in the hotel, which he denies for the sake of staying with his companions. After the separation, the manageress takes him in and offers him an employment as a lift boy, which she claims to be “The best beginning you can think of.” Karl’s and the manageress’s mutual European origin is no coincidence. The only people who have at all been inclined to assist Karl throughout the novel are Uncle Jacob and the manageress. It seems that foreigners, or at least former foreigners, are signified from indigenous Amerikans in their unique ability to manifest and implement compassion and care. And yet even theirs is temporary.
As expected, Karl becomes an exemplary lift boy. None of the older lift boys are as devoted and eager as he is. He refrains from spending his money and time on the card games and fist fights which are popular among them, and instead concentrates his efforts in order to promote himself further and later move into a more favorable position. For two months Karl ardently continues to shine the buttons of his elevator and to assist the hotel’s guests in the most trivial matters, ardently (and naively) believing that hard work leads to success, until a most unwelcome guest grants him a visit.
Robinson has shown himself again, after midnight and reeking of spirits, claiming to have found a suitable lodging for Delemarche and himself with a famous singer. In spite of Karl’s remonstrations he insists on the durability of their comradeship, and wishes to bring him back with him in order to make amends and share their good fortune (contrarily, he immediately asks Karl for a loan). His repugnant presence and loud insistences overcome Karl’s attempts of evasion and bribery, and after the already intoxicated Robinson continuously consumes more and more spirits, Karl’s sympathy causes him to lodge the helpless ruffian in the lift boy’s sleeping quarters, although he is completely aware of the risks brought upon him by aiding his nocturnal visitor. He fears being accused of stealing for Robinson’s sake, of disturbing the well-being of the hotel and of its visitors, and of disrupting the privacy of the lift boys. He is however caught in a plight, because leaving Robinson in the hall would just as likely lead to the same unfavorable outcomes.
When he returns to his post Karl finds that his absence has been realized by the head waiter, and the rest of the lift boys encourage him to attend to the head waiter’s office at once. At the office an argument ensues in which Karl is sorely harangued by the unforgiving head waiter, who refutes every claim with disbelief and exploits his authority to disregard Karl’s reasonable objections as mere lies. The impossibility of success without status is proven once again by the cruelty and uncompromising vindictiveness of the head waiter and his assistants. Karl is eventually forced to flee from the hotel, after being held by force in spite of his dismissal, and even searched for his possessions. He attempts to launch himself into the street and disappear among the multitude, but is again delayed by the notorious Robinson with yet another plea for help. As the quickest and most clandestine means of escape Karl enters a taxi with Robinson and together they drive away from the hotel.
After escaping the hotel, Robinson leads the taxi to his and Delemarche’s apartment. After quarreling over a requested additional fare due to his poverty, Karl’s honesty again leads him to trouble, this time with a policeman. After an uncompromising inquisition and unhelping remarks by Robinson and Delemarche, who appeared on the scene and whose intention it is to get a hold on him, Karl resorts to a flight, and is only saved by the interference and trickery of the dishonest Delemarche. Now in Delemarche’s debt, Karl is ultimately admitted to the famous singer Brunelda. Lethargic to the brim, the once famous singer has deteriorated to the state of a fat and pampered invalid. Even so, she is perniciously imperious, subjugating and tyrannical. To his amazement, Robinson and Delemarche dote upon her and are extremely attracted to her figure, whereas he is repulsed. Her enslaving manner, the attention she obtains, her size, and the less subtle hint to her apparel (She is only mentioned to wear the colors white and red) all point to one conclusion – Brunelda is Kafka’s embodiment of Amerika. Holding that parallelism in mind, Brunelda’s treatment of Karl perfectly aligns with the way he’s been treated hitherto. Kafka’s claim is that Amerika is as far as it is renowned for as can be. The land of opportunities has been so corrupted by its excessive capitalism that it no longer allows the populace to provide for themselves. Robinson, in the hands of such a master, has been degraded to the level of a dog, literally howling on the balcony and being served food on a plate through the door. And now he’s trying to drag Karl into the same state, so as to share his load. Karl is even detained by force when he attempts to escape.
From the balcony on which he is incarcerated Karl witnesses an interesting tumult in the streets, regarding an election of a new district judge. An uplifted man (Standing on the shoulders of a giant, an allusion to Newton’s famous quote) is being cheered by a large crowd, boards carrying his slogans are brandished all about. Nevertheless, in spite of his allegedly tremendous advantage in the happenings of the street, the man is eventually deserted. The gathering turns to a havoc, and even he is eventually carried away by the stream of people, his voice drowned and his slogans lost. Even his fate is no better than that of Karl, as all are eventually downtrodden by the reality of Amerika.
After witnessing the outcomes of the street, and being physically coerced by Brunelda and Delemarche to stay, Karl finds himself alone on the balcony, with only the company of a dexterous student who studies long into the night. After engaging him in conversation and interrupting his work, Karl is told by the student about the shocking conditions of his life. Working menially at a store (which he claims to be his greatest achievement and an extraordinarily lucky job), he has given up on sleep for the sake of studying, although he has no hope for any promotion in his current occupation, nor for a prosperous substitution to be achieved by his studies. After hearing of Karl’s own sordid condition, the student unhesitatingly advises him to remain with Brunelda (He has previously admitted to furiously hating her and the rest of her household). Better be a slave than try your luck in the streets. Drawn to the edge of his ability, and advised against action by someone with a larger experience, Karl succumbs and retires to sleep.
A different scene, Karl is no longer in the company of his captors but alone on the street. An unknown period of time had passed since his encounter with Brunelda. On the street Karl chances upon a poster with an amazing advertisement – an offer to work for the Theater of Oklahoma, in which it is stated that anyone could be hired. Hopeful, Karl sets off to Clayton to try his luck yet again. Upon disembarking at Clayton he is astounded by the size and attempted grandeur of the area devoted to collect workers for the theater. He is welcomed by a hundred women standing on pedestals, blowing their trumpets unharmoniously and dressed as angels. He then recognizes one of his former friends among the angels, who apparently also ended up working for the theater. Karl is then lead by the theater’s personnel to the enlistment line, along with the rest of the job-seekers, who all share a miserable appearance and a lack of any possessions. They are all divided to hiring booths according to their experience, although Karl is shifted between booths as he has no experience in any of the required fields. The theater personnel, however, try to encourage him and state that nobody will be left unemployed. He eventually reaches the farthest booth, the one for people who had been educated abroad, and are therefore inferior. As it’s the last and the least of the hiring booths, without anywhere else to send him, Karl is immediately employed. When asked for his name Karl calls himself by the name given to him in his former job, “Negro”, which is written down as his official name. Karl then meets yet another friend who ended up being employed by the theater, and they are then sent with the rest of the new employees to Oklahoma by train.
And thus, the book comes to an end, with the Theater of Oklahoma as a representation of death and the afterlife. It is the inevitable fate of every unemployed and abused victim of the country of liberty to end up working for a theater, as the multitude of downtrodden, unoccupied and penniless people soon find their last resort in death itself. In a country of unending struggles for financial survival, heaven can be imagined only as a beneficent employer that accepts you for what you’re worth, and in which you might find an employment as an angel blowing trumpets for newcomers. Ironically, even in heaven you’re asked to show your documents, and you’re sorted according to your experience. It is the only in heaven that Karl can finally board a train without being worry-ridden, and in general cease to continuously worry about his well-being.