my thoughts on "The Trees"
		please read my disclaimer read "The Trees" | excerpts from the kafka discussion list | my thoughts | [toby:] The most common interpretations I've come across are: that it's a discrediting of the senses. that it makes the statement that illusion and reality are identical. I like to bring in the toppling aspect and imagine that the piece boils down to the statement "pretend to be strong and you will be, for your weakness is just as illusory." [sarah:] I feel that I can see each in the writing. Another take on it might be, extending from the one stating that "illusion and reality are identical", is the idea that while they are identical, they are the viewer's perception and his alone. No two viewers will see the 'tree' the same way. Thus, while illusion and reality are one in the same, they only hold true for that specific veiwer, and one must come to his own conclusion concerning what he sees. It's not necessarily that there are 'multiple realities' in my opinion - more so that while there is only one reality, it is perceived in a unique way by each person, thus making it appear as if there might be 'multiple realities'. The story, if I remember correctly, posed a question concerning reality and illusion. The narrator spoke using the subject "We" - suggesting a sense of unity, and he the spokesperson. However, later in the writing after stating how 'we'/they feel, he changes his mind- this not only suggesting the question of 'reality versus illusion', in my opinion, but also suggesting a differing opinion possibly from an outside source...a different take on their state of being and the topic at hand. Another idea is that the narrator is speaking to someone in the story - telling them how it is (or how it isn't), but nonetheless, spreading *his* opinion. He would not have to be spreading his opinion if everyone else felt the same way. [what i think about this story:] although i do agree with the ideas on multiple realities and subjective interpretations of an objective reality, for some reason these ideas just didn't sit right with my initial impression of the parable. so i keep rereading it and then it hit me- the first sentence seems to be the most important, and is what is left out of the reality-interpretation discussion. kafka seems to be talking less about what can happen with a person's viewpoint (of an external object), and more directly about what can happen with a person's character (their internal personality). the parable is a metaphor for the alterable human state of mind- "for we are like tree trunks..." i think he's saying that, when it comes to humans, trying to get to know someone, learn how they think, or just even maintain a day-to-day relationship with someone, don't expect it to be easy or consistent. for not only can appearances (of reality) be decieving, in fact that reality can _change_, too. and man, he couldn't be more right. not to be sexist or anything, but there is this one girl i know who says one thing and then acts a different way, and in the meantime has changed her mind and says something else, while quickly again changes how she acts. i know this is the stereotypical femaleness, but that's not the way i intend it; it's just an example of how kafka pointed out yet one more aspect of human nature that makes the act of dealing and interacting with humans exceedingly difficult. exasperatingly depressing, actually. anyway, therefore, even as you cut through the levels of appearance and, well, crap, to get down to the real root of the person's character, it's quite likely that you are in fact looking for a moving target. even though someone might seem to have a certian, definte set of opinions on something, who's to say they can't change (or at least change their minds)? even though the tree trunk, upon closer inspection, is found to be firmly rooted to the ground, that's not necessarily the end of the story, as that situation is easily changed or modified, too. if you've ever read "the wreakage of agathon," you might see the similarity between this parable's lesson (my version of it, anyway) and the only truth the ancient king's scholars could come up with; "someday, this too will pass." and then, to this constantly changing state of affairs of the universe, you add in the infinitly varying personal interpretations of all these changing situations, and you inevitably end up with kind of a mess. read "The Trees" [ home | back to my kafka index ] [ my views on things | stupid stories | fun things to do | links galore ]
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