In the penal colony

by Franz Kafka

Overview

"In the Penal Colony" is a short story by Franz Kafka.
The story is set in an unnamed penal colony. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror.
"In the Penal Colony" describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin and original justification.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788826010175
Publisher:	Franz Kafka
Publication date:	01/30/2017
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	754,358
File size:	114 KB

About the Author

Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, where he lived most of his life. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories, including "The Metamorphosis", "The Judgement", and "The Stoker". He died in 1924, before completing any of his full-length novels. At the end of his life, Kafka asked his lifelong friend and literary executor Max Brod to burn all his unpublished work. Brod overrode those wishes.

Date of Birth:

July 3, 1883

Date of Death:

June 3, 1924

Place of Birth:

Prague, Austria-Hungary

Place of Death:

Vienna, Austria

Education:

German elementary and secondary schools. Graduated from German Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague.