"Jackals and Arabs" (German: "Schakale und Araber") is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. The story was first published by Martin Buber in the German monthly Der Jude. It appeared again in the collection Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor) in 1919.
A European traveler from the North, accompanied by Arab guides, is camped in the desert. When night falls, and the Arabs are at a distance, the traveler is accosted by talking jackals. The jackals speak of an age-old hatred for Arabs, whom they associate with uncleanliness. They relate a belief passed down from their ancestors, that a man such as the protagonist would be the one to "end the quarrel which divides the world in two". The jackals attempt to enlist the traveler's assistance in destroying them, offering him old rusted scissors with which to slit the throats of the Arabs.
At this moment an Arab happens upon the discussion, and cracks his whip, "laughing cheerfully". He declares the fondness of Arabs for jackals, and the Arabs bring out the carcass of a camel that had died in the night. The jackals begin to feast on it uncontrollably, and the Arab whips several of them as they tear at the flesh of the carcass, until the European interferes. The Arab agrees to stop, and the story ends: "We’ll leave them to their calling. Besides, it’s time to break camp. You’ve seen them. Wonderful creatures, aren’t they? And how they hate us.”
AnalysisEdit
Walter Herbert Sokel describes the role of the European as a Messiah figure to the jackals, observing that the jackals at times refer to the protagonist with the words "Oh lord" and "oh dear lord".[1] The jackals' need for a Messiah is an "admission of helplessness",[2] which ultimately "links the parasitic with the religious."[3] Sokel finds Kafka's tale reminiscent of Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality:
The sovereignly cheerful mockery and the ultimately good-natured tolerance exercised by the contemptuously benevolent figure of the Arab stands in remarkable contrast to the irrational and murderous hatred of the ascetic spiritualist. Evil, the monstrous product of impotent hate, exists only for the ascetics, the jackals. "The hell" they see in the Arabs is their point of view, their fabrication. For the dominant Arabs, who, thanks to their strength, feel secure and free from jealousy, there is no evil. Their archenemies are nothing more than cause for amused astonishment.[4]
On the Genealogy of Morality features a parable of its own, in which vengeful lambs condemn birds of prey as evil; the birds of prey, rather than reciprocating this hatred, suggest that they love the lambs—in part because "there is nothing tastier".[5]
Noting that "Jackals and Arabs" was initially published in a Zionist magazine, some observers have suggested that the jackals may represent Orthodox Jews, who looked to a Messiah for salvation. This perspective posits a critical Zionist perspective of Western Jewry: "As parasitic animals who rely on others to provide their food, they typify the lack of self-reliance ascribed by Zionists to Western Jews."[6] The jackals' inability to kill for food on their own has been argued to be suggestive of Jewish ritual practices.[7] The reading of jackals as Jews has been taken up by other critics as an allegory of Jewish-Arab relations, Kafka "caricaturing the concept of the Chosen People who appear as intolerant of the Arab culture as the Arab culture is of them."[8]
Gregory Triffit has suggested that to attempt to "find sources" for Kafka's tale is a futile endeavor, owing to the "very multiplicity of equally valid or invalid equivalents".[9]
AdaptationsEdit
Shakale und Araber - a short movie directed by the German-speaking French film maker Jean-Marie Straub in 2011 (with Barbara Ulrich, Giorgio Passerone, Jubarite Semaran).[10][11]
ReferencesEdit
^Sokel, Walter Herbert. The Myth of Power and the Self: Essays on Franz Kafka. 2002, page 130.
^Sokel, Walter Herbert. The Myth of Power and the Self: Essays on Franz Kafka. 2002, page 129.
^Sokel, Walter Herbert. The Myth of Power and the Self: Essays on Franz Kafka. 2002, page 133.
^Sokel, Walter Herbert. The Myth of Power and the Self: Essays on Franz Kafka. 2002, page 134.
^Nietzsche, Friedrich. Trans. by Smith, Douglas. On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic. page 29.
^Robertson, Ritchie. The German-Jewish Dialogue: An Anthology of Literary Texts, 1749-1993. 1999, page 196.
^Gilman, Sander. Franz Kafka, the Jewish Patient. 1995, page 152.
^Preece, Julian. The Cambridge companion to Kafka. 2003, page 156.
^Whitlark, James. Behind the Great Wall: A Post-Jungian Approach to Kafkaesque Literature. 1991, page 102.
^"L'année cinéma 2011 de Guillaume Massart". filmdeculte.com.
German Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Schakale und Araber
The original text of "Schakale und Araber":
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English translation
August 27, 2023
jackals, arabs, german, schakale, araber, short, story, franz, kafka, written, published, 1917, story, first, published, martin, buber, german, monthly, jude, appeared, again, collection, landarzt, country, doctor, 1919, contents, plot, analysis, adaptations, . Jackals and Arabs German Schakale und Araber is a short story by Franz Kafka written and published in 1917 The story was first published by Martin Buber in the German monthly Der Jude It appeared again in the collection Ein Landarzt A Country Doctor in 1919 Contents 1 Plot 2 Analysis 3 Adaptations 4 References 5 External linksPlot EditA European traveler from the North accompanied by Arab guides is camped in the desert When night falls and the Arabs are at a distance the traveler is accosted by talking jackals The jackals speak of an age old hatred for Arabs whom they associate with uncleanliness They relate a belief passed down from their ancestors that a man such as the protagonist would be the one to end the quarrel which divides the world in two The jackals attempt to enlist the traveler s assistance in destroying them offering him old rusted scissors with which to slit the throats of the Arabs At this moment an Arab happens upon the discussion and cracks his whip laughing cheerfully He declares the fondness of Arabs for jackals and the Arabs bring out the carcass of a camel that had died in the night The jackals begin to feast on it uncontrollably and the Arab whips several of them as they tear at the flesh of the carcass until the European interferes The Arab agrees to stop and the story ends We ll leave them to their calling Besides it s time to break camp You ve seen them Wonderful creatures aren t they And how they hate us Analysis EditWalter Herbert Sokel describes the role of the European as a Messiah figure to the jackals observing that the jackals at times refer to the protagonist with the words Oh lord and oh dear lord 1 The jackals need for a Messiah is an admission of helplessness 2 which ultimately links the parasitic with the religious 3 Sokel finds Kafka s tale reminiscent of Nietzsche s On the Genealogy of Morality The sovereignly cheerful mockery and the ultimately good natured tolerance exercised by the contemptuously benevolent figure of the Arab stands in remarkable contrast to the irrational and murderous hatred of the ascetic spiritualist Evil the monstrous product of impotent hate exists only for the ascetics the jackals The hell they see in the Arabs is their point of view their fabrication For the dominant Arabs who thanks to their strength feel secure and free from jealousy there is no evil Their archenemies are nothing more than cause for amused astonishment 4 On the Genealogy of Morality features a parable of its own in which vengeful lambs condemn birds of prey as evil the birds of prey rather than reciprocating this hatred suggest that they love the lambs in part because there is nothing tastier 5 Noting that Jackals and Arabs was initially published in a Zionist magazine some observers have suggested that the jackals may represent Orthodox Jews who looked to a Messiah for salvation This perspective posits a critical Zionist perspective of Western Jewry As parasitic animals who rely on others to provide their food they typify the lack of self reliance ascribed by Zionists to Western Jews 6 The jackals inability to kill for food on their own has been argued to be suggestive of Jewish ritual practices 7 The reading of jackals as Jews has been taken up by other critics as an allegory of Jewish Arab relations Kafka caricaturing the concept of the Chosen People who appear as intolerant of the Arab culture as the Arab culture is of them 8 Gregory Triffit has suggested that to attempt to find sources for Kafka s tale is a futile endeavor owing to the very multiplicity of equally valid or invalid equivalents 9 Adaptations EditShakale und Araber a short movie directed by the German speaking French film maker Jean Marie Straub in 2011 with Barbara Ulrich Giorgio Passerone Jubarite Semaran 10 11 References Edit Sokel Walter Herbert The Myth of Power and the Self Essays on Franz Kafka 2002 page 130 Sokel Walter Herbert The Myth of Power and the Self Essays on Franz Kafka 2002 page 129 Sokel Walter Herbert The Myth of Power and the Self Essays on Franz Kafka 2002 page 133 Sokel Walter Herbert The Myth of Power and the Self Essays on Franz Kafka 2002 page 134 Nietzsche Friedrich Trans by Smith Douglas On the Genealogy of Morals A Polemic page 29 Robertson Ritchie The German Jewish Dialogue An Anthology of Literary Texts 1749 1993 1999 page 196 Gilman Sander Franz Kafka the Jewish Patient 1995 page 152 Preece Julian The Cambridge companion to Kafka 2003 page 156 Whitlark James Behind the Great Wall A Post Jungian Approach to Kafkaesque Literature 1991 page 102 L annee cinema 2011 de Guillaume Massart filmdeculte com Schakale und Araber 2011 imdb com External links Edit German Wikisource has original text related to this article Schakale und Araber The original text of Schakale und Araber First page in German Second page in German Third page in German English translation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jackals and Arabs amp oldid 1071152363, wikipedia, 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