In paragraph 3, pp. 76-77, Kafka juxtaposes humanity and apedom, and subsequently -- under these two concepts --, the images of . . .
HUMANITY
| APEDOM
|
The first of these juxtapositions -- a cooling breeze and the violent wind of a storm -- may be interpreted in connection with the idiomatic phrase, "to have the wind at one's back." The idiom is used to express the idea of doing something with ease. This association may suggest that to be an ape is easier than to be a human, or that the motivation to behave as an ape is stronger than that to behave as a human.
This juxtaposition may also be interpreted as paralleling the respective natures of the ape and the human. The ape is wild and uninhibited. The human calm, cool and collected.
The second juxtaposition introduces the idea of freedom, an idea that becomes ironic when one considers that it is Kafka's ape who has been captured and imprisoned as an animal and has only subsequently (re)gained his freedom by becoming human.
Similarly, the Kafka's ape notes that the closing window through which he might return to apedom has now become so small that, were he to attempt to squeeze through it, he would have to "scrape the hide from [his] body in order to pass through" (77). This too is ironic in that by scraping the hide from his body he would become hairless and therefore appear more human. But it is this very act that is meant to release him from humanity and return him to apedom.
~ NEW
This juxtaposition may also be interpreted as paralleling the respective natures of the ape and the human. The ape is wild and uninhibited. The human calm, cool and collected.
The second juxtaposition introduces the idea of freedom, an idea that becomes ironic when one considers that it is Kafka's ape who has been captured and imprisoned as an animal and has only subsequently (re)gained his freedom by becoming human.
Similarly, the Kafka's ape notes that the closing window through which he might return to apedom has now become so small that, were he to attempt to squeeze through it, he would have to "scrape the hide from [his] body in order to pass through" (77). This too is ironic in that by scraping the hide from his body he would become hairless and therefore appear more human. But it is this very act that is meant to release him from humanity and return him to apedom.
~ NEW