1. THE JUDGMENT FRANZ KAFKA
MISS SWANK
WESTERVILLE SOUTH HS
IB ENGLISH

2. THE JUDGMENT DIFFERENCES FROM OTHER STORIES CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
SEEMINGLY OPTIMISTIC CHARACTER
HOPE DOES NOT SEEM HOPELESS UNTIL THE END
LACKING IN MANY STEREOTYPICAL KAFKAESQUE QUALITIES
KAFKA’S MINDSET AS A WRITER

3. LOOKING AT BIOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
KAFKA COMING FROM AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS OWN FATHER
Who or what, from the real world, is Kafka criticizing in “The Judgment”? His father? Family values? Capitalism? Himself? Or do you read “The Judgment” as a story that, instead of aiming at a specific satiric target, simply aims to shock and entertain its readers?

4. LOOKING AT PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXT
SIGMUND FREUD AND FREUDIAN THEORY
OEDIPAL COMPLEX
WHAT IS IT?
DISSOLUTION AND RESLOVE IN “HEALTHY” INDIVIDUALS
THE DESIGN OF THE SUPER-EGO
MORAL AUTHORITY, UNREALISTIC STANDARDS

5. LOOKING AT PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXT
SEMANTIC OPPOSITION
USUALLY GIVEN IN LEXICAL CONTEXT, SEMANTIC OPPOSITES ARE WORDS THAT ARE INHERENTLY INCOMPATIBLE. (E.G. MALE/FEMALE, LONG/SHORT, UP/DOWN) THE NOTION OF INCOMPATIBILITY PROVIDES A SENSE OF NOT BELONGING TO A CERTAIN GROUP.
OEDIPAL REVOLT
NUCLEAR FAMILY AS THE ULTIMATE SIGN OF REPRESSION
DESIRED SELF-REPRESSION AS AN ADULT
REVOLT AGAINST THE FATHER FIGURE

6. KAFKA DISCUSSION
Freud says that the Oedipus complex dissolves and is eradicated in healthy individuals.  What does this imply for the therapeutic aspect of Kafka's "The Judgment"?  Can the story still be therapeutic for individuals whose Oedipal wishes are completely sublimated?
 Freud claims that the emergence of the ego-ideal, or the super-ego, occurs once the Oedipus complex is successfully dissolved. How can we apply this to the "revelation" scene (the reemergence of the father's authority) in "The Judgment?" How can this dissolution, or lack thereof, explain Georg's actions in the final scene?
What aspects of this text do you feel a Freudian reading cannot adequately explain?  How else might you interpret the story?
Gray, R. "Freud and The Literary Imagination." The Judgment Study. Web. 16 Sept <