The Enigmatic Franz Kafka Trivia Quiz

Answer: Prague

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic in the twenty-first century, but at the time Kafka was born, in 1883, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The region was known as Bohemia. Kafka grew up speaking German and wrote in that language. His family was middle-class and Kafka trained as a lawyer, although he felt writing was his true vocation.

Answer: Jewish

The family was Jewish, which meant that trouble awaited in the future. As well as German, Kafka grew up speaking Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi Jews to which the family belonged. Franz was the oldest child born to the family. Two brothers died in infancy and he also had three younger sisters.

Answer: Insurance company

Kafka worked for an insurance company which provided cover for employees injured in accidents at work. Kafka's law degree would be useful in assessing liability and he appears to have done well at the work, even though he didn't enjoy it. It provided a steady income and the hours meant he finished early in the afternoon, giving himself time to devote to his true love of writing.

The haberdashery shop was his father's and there is no indication that Kafka ever worked in a bank or bakery.

Answer: Joseph K.

Like most of Kafka's best known works, 'The Trial' was published posthumously, in 1925 - Kafka had died the previous year. The plot involves Joseph K., who is arrested and prosecuted for a crime which is never made clear either to him or the reader. The identity of those who arrest him and who they work for also remains shrouded in mystery. Joseph never finds out what the accusations are, and his visits to court throw no more light on his situation.

As you might expect from this author, there is no happy ending to the story.

Answer: True

The sisters were Gabriele, Valerie and Ottilie. Franz was closest to Ottilie who supported her brother when he needed help. All three suffered the fate of many other Jews, being sent to ghettoes during World War II and dying either there or in concentration camps. Franz himself died prior to the horrors of the Holocaust, succumbing to tuberculosis in 1924.

The disease had affected his throat, which closed up completely leaving him unable to take in any nourishment.

Answer: The Plague

'The Plague' was written by French author Albert Camus, who admired Kafka greatly. Published in 1947, it is an absurdist novel which owes its inspiration to Kafka in many ways.

The other three works are by Kafka. 'The Burrow' is a short story published in 1926 while 'A Country Doctor' is another short story, written in 1917 and published, with others, in 1919. 'Amerika' was revised and published by Kafka's literary executor in1927. It was an early novel by Kafka, written between 1911 and 1914.

Answer: Max Brod

Brod was a contemporary of Kafka, being born in Prague just a year later, in 1884.The pair met at university in 1902 and found much in common - Brod was himself a prolific author. He was supportive of Kafka, and other struggling artists in various fields, and Kafka appointed him as his executor in his will. The will also instructed Brod to burn any unpublished works, but Brod refused to do this, saying that he had made it clear to Kafka that he would not carry out this wish.

Brod escaped Prague in 1939, taking a suitcase filled with Kafka's writings. He settled in what was then called Mandatory Palestine, part of which became Israel in 1948. Brod then devoted his time to editing and publishing Kafka's works, including his most famous novels.

The other three men named are famous Czechs, Dvorak was a composer of classical music and the other two were authors, with Havel also becoming president of Czechoslovakia.

Answer: No

Kafka had some success in romantic relationships, and was engaged more than once, including proposing marriage twice to the same woman. He never married though, partially due to a fear of commitment and the problems he foresaw in supporting a wife and himself from his writing. Even when engaged, he was having affairs with other women, and he is known to have had other love affairs, so maybe his decision to avoid marriage was wise.

Answer: Grete

Classed as a novella, 'The Metamorphosis' was published in 1915 and the absurdity of the plot is typical of Kafka's writings. Published in 1915, during his lifetime, the story is based on Gregor Samsa who wakes up and discovers that he has turned into an insect. His family is shocked by the change and worried as Gregor is the only wage earner in the family.

To begin with, his sister Grete brings him food and changes his room around to give him room to move. Even she grows tired of this and when the family all find jobs, Gregor ends up neglected before dying of starvation.

Answer: Complex and Illogical

The expression relates to the bizarre and inexplicable situations in which Kafka's characters find themselves, often involving nameless bureaucrats and senseless rules. The usage has become common, especially when referring to the illogical red tape which seems beloved by so many government institutions. Like Heller's 'Catch-22', it demonstrates the power of literature to become part of everyone's life even without having read any of the authors' books.