A Visit to a Mine
Encyclopedia
A Visit to a Mine is a short story written by Franz Kafka
. The story told by a narrator
who works planning the drilling of a mine. It opens with orders from above to the workers around the mine. He details the elaborate rank and file
system amongst the workers. There are ten engineers total, and nine of them have specified functions. For example, one measures the area of the tunnel, while another follows him preparing to drill. Yet, similar to The Castle
, there is the suggestion that within the bureucratic structure there is a lack of efficiency. At least one engineer serves to answer the question "another does not want to ask."
The story ends with the narrator, and other engineers, not doing much of any work. There is note-taking, inspection, and measuring but not much actual drilling.
As with much of Kafka's works, the story has provoked various interpretations and analysis. At least one author has pointed to similarities between this story and Freudian analysis. Each character is seen both as representing the various states of the unconscious
desires, as well as Kafka's various personalities.
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
. The story told by a narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
who works planning the drilling of a mine. It opens with orders from above to the workers around the mine. He details the elaborate rank and file
Rank and file
In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....
system amongst the workers. There are ten engineers total, and nine of them have specified functions. For example, one measures the area of the tunnel, while another follows him preparing to drill. Yet, similar to The Castle
The Castle
The Castle is a novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist, known only as K., struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities of a castle who govern the village for unknown reasons...
, there is the suggestion that within the bureucratic structure there is a lack of efficiency. At least one engineer serves to answer the question "another does not want to ask."
The story ends with the narrator, and other engineers, not doing much of any work. There is note-taking, inspection, and measuring but not much actual drilling.
As with much of Kafka's works, the story has provoked various interpretations and analysis. At least one author has pointed to similarities between this story and Freudian analysis. Each character is seen both as representing the various states of the unconscious
Unconscious
Unconscious might refer to:In physiology:* unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuliIn psychology:...
desires, as well as Kafka's various personalities.