"The Stoker" is a short story by Franz Kafka. Kafka intended to include the story as the first chapter in a novel he did not complete; the novel was posthumously published under the title Amerika.[1]
Plot [2]
The story begins as a sixteen-year-old boy named Karl Rossmann arrives at the New York harbor on a slow-moving ship. We are told that Karl has been sent to America "because a maid had seduced him and then had his child". As he's about to come ashore, he remembers that he has left his umbrella below deck. He asks a young man with whom he had been briefly acquainted during his voyage to watch over his trunk as he runs to get his umbrella. The boy soon gets lost in the corridors and begins pounding on a door nearby. A gentleman lets him in and two soon start having a conversation. The gentleman explains that he's a stoker and he works at the ship, but he's about to be fired because his boss (a Romanian named Schubal) has a preference toward Romanians (the ship and the stoker are both German). He goes on to explain that he has worked on a countless number of ships and he's always been praised for his hard work. Karl soon sympathizes with the stoker's story and pledges to help him. Together they go to see the captain of the ship. The captain is in an informal meeting with a few gentlemen. The stoker is at first allowed to enter the room, but is then asked to leave after the chief purser indicates he's too busy to hear the stoker's case. As they are being shooed off the room, Karl immediately runs across the room and grabs everyone's attention. He then explains that he believe the stoker has been done an injustice and that he needs to be listened to. The captain steps forward and asks the stoker to make his case. The stoker, in return, begins describing the details of his case, but in a random and unorganized way. Karl intervenes and asks the stoker to be more organized and avoid unnecessary details. Right at this time Mr. Schubal comes in and dismisses any dishonesty on his part. He's accompanied by a number of witnesses waiting outside. In the middle of all this a gentleman identifying himself as Mr. Jakob (a respectable Senator) asks Karl for his name. After recognizing Karl's name, he explains that he is actually Karl's uncle—that he had been informed of Karl's arrival through a letter by the maid who had earlier seduced Karl. Consequenly the focus of everyone's attention changes from the stoker to Karl and everyone begins congratulating the Senator for finding his nephew. Karl tries to use his newly-found influence to gather some symphathy for the stoker's cause, but his uncle explains that it's really up to the captain what happens next. The captain, for his part, orders a boat lowered for the Senator and his nephew. In an emotional play (which leads to him weeping), Karl asks the stoker to stand up for himself and tell the truth before he leaves. His uncle then leads him away outside the room. As Karl looks at the ship from his uncle's boat, he can see the windows of the office. Schubal's witnesses have filled the room and are waving the boat goodbye. There's no sign of the stoker.
Notes
- ^ Kafka, Franz (1996). The Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. Donna Freed. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-1-56619-969-8. (217).
- ^ ibid. (77–111).
