The Departure (short story)

"The Departure" (German: Der Aufbruch) is a short story by Franz Kafka. Precisely when it was written is unknown, but it was probably sometime between February 1920 and February 1921. It was published only posthumously, appearing in Beschreibung eines Kampfes: Novellen, Skizzen, Aphorismen aus dem Nachlaß in 1936. Max Brod edited the volume, and is credited with giving this piece its name.^[1]

The piece takes the form of a conversation between a servant and his master. The master orders his servant to saddle his horse, but the servant fails to understand. The master then hears a trumpet sound, which his servant does not hear. The master sets about to leave, and the servant asks where he is going. The man's only answer is that his goal is to get away from his present location, rather than to seek out any particular destination.

References

↑ Richard T. Gray, Ruth V. Gross, Rolf J. Goebel A Franz Kafka Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. 20.

Works by Franz Kafka

Novels

Der Process (The Trial)
Das Schloss (The Castle)
Amerika

Short stories

1902–12	"Shamefaced Lanky and Impure in Heart" "Description of a Struggle" "Wedding Preparations in the Country" "Das Urteil" ("The Judgement") "The Stoker" "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis") "The Aeroplanes At Brescia"

1914–17	"In the Penal Colony" "The Village Schoolmaster" ("The Giant Mole") "Before the Law" "Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor" "The Warden of the Tomb" "A Country Doctor" "The Hunter Gracchus" "The Great Wall of China" "A Message from the Emperor" "A Report to an Academy" "A Dream" "Up in the Gallery" "A Fratricide" "The Next Village" "A Visit to a Mine" "Jackals and Arabs" "The Bridge" "The Bucket Rider" "The New Advocate" "An Old Manuscript" "The Knock at the Manor Gate" "Eleven Sons" "My Neighbor" "A Crossbreed" "The Cares of a Family Man"

1917–23	"The Refusal" "A Hunger Artist" "Investigations of a Dog" "A Little Woman" "The Burrow" "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" "A Common Confusion" "The Truth about Sancho Panza" "The Silence of the Sirens" "Prometheus" "The City Coat of Arms" "Poseidon" "Fellowship" "At Night" "The Problem of Our Laws" "The Conscription of Troops" "The Test" "The Vulture" "The Helmsman" "The Top" "A Little Fable" "Home-Coming" "First Sorrow" "The Departure" "Advocates" "The Married Couple" "Give It Up!" "On Parables"

Short story
collections

Betrachtung (Contemplation) (1912)
Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor) (1919)
Ein Hungerkünstler (A Hunger Artist) (1924)
Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (The Great Wall of China) (1931)
The Complete Stories
The Sons
The Penal Colony
Parables and Paradoxes
Dearest Father
Description of a Struggle

Diaries and
notebooks

Letters

Professional
writings

The Office Writings

Bibliography