"A cage went in search of a bird."
This aphorism is something I've been pondering from Kafka's The Zurau Aphorisms.
At first I couldn't parse it, further thought on it has given me only two posssible interpretations.
First, the cage is an opinion, and an untrained mind is the bird. In this case I see a possible criticism of philosophers and thinkers, opinions flitter about like rumours, loud, increasingly intricate and enticing. When a 'thinker' adopts an opinion he becomes caged. From that cage he studies the world and while he can still see his view is changed. He is now constant instead of free and interprets everything with himself as the axis mundi.
My second interpretation stems from the introduction to the book which states that Kafka was happiest when he was sick and certain of death. Such a temperament/outlook might indicate that Kafka considered the human body a cage and his mind/soul a bird. This seems like a very religious view however so I can't say how likely it is.
What do you guys think this aphorism means? What do you think of my interpretation?
At first I couldn't parse it, further thought on it has given me only two posssible interpretations.
First, the cage is an opinion, and an untrained mind is the bird. In this case I see a possible criticism of philosophers and thinkers, opinions flitter about like rumours, loud, increasingly intricate and enticing. When a 'thinker' adopts an opinion he becomes caged. From that cage he studies the world and while he can still see his view is changed. He is now constant instead of free and interprets everything with himself as the axis mundi.
My second interpretation stems from the introduction to the book which states that Kafka was happiest when he was sick and certain of death. Such a temperament/outlook might indicate that Kafka considered the human body a cage and his mind/soul a bird. This seems like a very religious view however so I can't say how likely it is.
What do you guys think this aphorism means? What do you think of my interpretation?
Comments (44)
:fire: :clap:
It also reminds me of meme theory.
But it could be more literal: A cage is for removing the freedom of a bird; a bird is not for caging. The cage must find its bird, not vice versa. Seems obvious, but back then it was probably a common mindset that the purpose of a bird is to be held in a cage (in the same way the purpose of a cat is to mouse, the purpose of an ox is to plough, etc.).
It's that theme -- "Jemand musste Josef K. verleumdet haben". That "they're going to get you, they're going to bring you down". And "Gib's auf!".
This, too:Quoting Kenosha Kid
But I'd say I'd shift the focus onto the cage. This being Kafka, there's no guarantee the cage will ever find a bird, or will declare that an ostrich isn't a bird, because it's not what it's looking for...
Kafka was a beaurocrat. Imagine people creating an office to solve a problem, and then when the office actually solves that problem, do they dissolve the office?
I think the line is ironic. We think of the caging to cage the bird, but the cage is a cage unto itself. If there's no bird in it, it's empty.
Like defiance, overcoming?
But that makes it a Pyrrhic victory: remove, undo the self, so that there's no one to cage.
I think overcoming the situation is outside of the scope of the quote. It's just a description of the situation. You can try to overcome the situation, or you can lament its inevitability (which would probably the default reaction for Kafka himself, if I read him right). Note, too, that the purpose of a bird in a cage lies without the cage. For the cage it's just the way things are.
I see it somewhat blankly. The cage is like Chekov's gun. Once the cage is built, it just finds a bird to live in it. It's about how authoritarian societal structures have a life of their own. I think it's sort of an Absurdist phrase.
Two similar ironic aphorisms come to mind:
[i]To a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.[/i]
The second is apparently a fake quote attributed to Leon Trotsky by author Alan Furst.
I liked the first one.
My favourite version of the first which I was told was Maslow (but such quotes seem to transmigrate) is this: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything as a nail.' Which sharpens it for me.
The limits of a person's world view.
My reading of a cage went in search of a bird is - a cage is pointless without a bird in it. So it describes all the empty people 'cages' in search of their truth 'birds'. When they find it they will trap it and render it a prisoner in their mind - where the meaning no longer soars.
I haven't read Kafka or The Zurau Aphorisms.
Thanks for the introduction. Great question.
I read that Kafka wrote these quick mental illuminations while convalescing. So, in a way his physical body was holed up, or caged, but also free from his usual work or obligations.
http://zurauaphorisms.blogspot.com/2011/12/number-sixteen.html
If so limited, then our minds need occupation; to search and then attempt to capture or write down whatever thoughts or ideas arise. Just as a bird is held for the purposes of appreciation, so a golden aphorism is treasured.
The words, alive at the time, if kept for posterity aren't allowed to change, even if our minds do. There for all time for others to gape at and dissect...
When all they are is an expression of a moment's creativity.
If ideas become dead dogma, this might be likened to the rituals of tribes or a set of religious beliefs from which individuals can't escape. Stuffed birds. No flying allowed.
Not from any collection I know of. I don't know where I heard the first one. It's pretty common. See Tom Storm's response to my post -
The second, which I love, is used as an epigraph in "Night Soldiers," a wonderful book by Alan Furst. If you are interested in historical novels about the years surrounding World War II, there are none better than Furst's. Some people say Trotsky actually said it. Some say Furst modified a different Trotsky quote.
I don't doubt that Maslow's quote came first, but I like the one I quoted better. First - when it comes to aphorisms, shorter is usually better. Also - The idea of a live hammer searching out nails to smash always makes me smile. I think, most important, the version I quoted is ironic and sinister, which I think is appropriate to it's meaning. I think the quote @New2K2 used is ironic and sinister in a similar way, although others seem to see it differently.
Quoting Tom Storm
There's a psychological term, "functional fixedness," which gets at that. E.g., how many times have I used a knife as a screwdriver, usually because I'm just too lazy to go down in the basement? Some people might not think of that because they couldn't see around what knives are supposed to be used for.
Quoting Tom Storm
That's pretty close to my reading, although, as I said, it feels a bit more sinister than that to me.
Or, maybe, without a bird, it's not a cage at all, it's just a box made of wire.
I thought there was something sinister about your worldview, TC....
Just joking. I guess I like Maslow's because I have used it often with students and junior colleagues to great effect.
Quoting T Clark
That thought also occurred to me. A beautiful, decorated bird cage is just a lovely sculpture paused in the process of becoming a prison.
I am the brightest ray of sunshine on the forum.
For me, this thread has really brought home to me how our various interpretations reflect our own selves and what is important to us. Perhaps, I have been too cage-y with mine, not seeing any sinister aspects. So, on further reflection:
I began to think in terms of freedom and those associated with knowledge and understanding: comprehend, apprehend, grasp.
There is more than one bird or cage. What kind of bird, what size of cage. Whose cage ? Some birds are too big and can't be caged. Why would a cage want to capture a bird ?
A bird can be seen as knowledge or understanding to be grasped.
So, how might this be 'sinister' ?
Perhaps in alighting and settling on a Dangerous Idea; one which might upset the status quo.
My cage, or mind, might search for this as a way to gain freedom. To find and be myself.
However, other bigger cages ( perhaps society ) might seek to trap me and limit free thinking.
To live within current cultural mores.
A caged bird can't fly. What else cannot fly if restricted be e.g. lack of books or experience.
The spirit. The imagination. Thought ?
Our thoughts and imagination can fly or soar even when others might wish to stop free thinking.
But sometimes, we ourselves are scared to think out of the box or the cage of custom or upbringing for fear of the consequences. We feel safe clinging to the trappings of categories...we label ourselves for ease of description but... to confine ourselves to a single position...that can't be good for us ?
So, @T Clark I guess that's about as sinister as I can reach right now.
Could you expand on how you see it as such ?
Yes. Having thought further, this seems right to me. But only as part of a bigger cage where not only the self but others are involved in the trapping for their own purposes...perhaps ?
A nest of cages...
I have to say - 'A cage went in search of a bird' - initially had be thinking it was the start of a Jewish joke. It also sounds like a euphemism for what happens whenever I go to the library...
:smile:
You can go to a library ?
A virus went in search of a human...
Asking myself why I skipped over this - probably because it made me think of the Holocaust and the prison camps.
First, why would Jews joke about this?
Until a few minutes ago, I didn't know about 'Holocaust humour' and its place in America.
An interesting read:
https://theconversation.com/why-holocaust-jokes-can-only-be-told-by-a-jewish-comedian-87027
Next, why did I shy away from the dark, or sinister, side. Perhaps a coping mechanism, I know about being depressed and try not to dwell on things which might affect my mood in a negative way.
I seem to have coached my brain/mind to assess and then lift up before any downward spiral occurs.
Now, I remember I did read Kafka's 'The Trial' a long time ago.
I couldn't remember the details, but here's the conclusion. From an article:
Tim, "Kafka: The Trial (Analysis), May 12, 2012, " in Philosophy & Philosophers, May 12, 2012, https://www.the-philosophy.com/kafka-trial-analysis.
So, now - it takes me while - I see the sinister side of the saying.
Quoting T Clark
Is that what you were getting at ?
Again, following the trail of prisoner camps - it harks back to something I mentioned earlier re categories.
Quoting Amity
I had meant that it takes a bit of courage or skill to think outside the box, or your comfort zone.
I mentioned 'safety'. However, labelling yourself as being a [fill in the gap] can give a false sense of security. It can bring dangers. One tribe against the other. How do we deal with that when so many seem intent to stir divisions in our society...
Is this human nature...cages going in search of birds...?
Quoting Holocaust Encyclopedia
I think you'll find, if you ever have a question about an interpretation, mine is probably the correct one.
Quoting Amity
In my first response on this thread, I included two quotes that the bird aphorism reminded me of. They were both pretty sinister, especially the ersatz Trotsky quote. Either for that reason or some other, the cage quote just felt threatening. I see a shifty-eyed cage going out hunting so it can trap the bird under it's control.
Ah, mais naturellement !! :roll:
Quoting T Clark
Yes, I noticed the 2 quotes.
I thought there might be another reason, other than a feeling - as you say.
Does the cage have wings attached to capture birds in flight or settle in trees...
Seriously, I understand the sinister aspect.
I read this recent article about the practice of capturing finches:
https://www.guernicamag.com/bad-birds-in-quarantine/?mc_cid=dd21d20830&mc_eid=c4d8566ef3
Horrible :fear:
Finally, someone agrees with me about that.
:lol:
I read a good portion of Kafka as pointing out how we become partners to agents intent upon our demise. The general ethic I get from those observations is that while you probably won't defeat the forces arrayed against you, don't add insult to injury by helping them.
I agree. Josef K should just have lain down that morning and offered them a butcher's knife... :joke:
I see that but he didn't seem interested in alternative responses as changes in the narrative. The narrative is a player too. In another aphorism, he said:
"The true way goes over a rope, not stretched at any great height but just above the ground. It seems more designed to cause people to stumble than to be walked upon."
After reading your comments, I wanted to find out more about Kafka. He is more intriguing than I first thought.
Understanding Kafka.
Have you read his 'Letter to His Father' ? What do you think of it ?
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/05/franz-kafka-letter-father/
Reading Kafka after the Holocaust gives it a different flavour and I can't unread that particular tragedy in the work.The Trial and Josef K's 'guilt' plays totally differently. We're back to a sinister cage looking for a bird.
Yup.
I was asking another question.
Quoting Amity
The letter is interesting. One can certainly see the anguish in The Metamorphoses. It makes a chilling passage in the story even more chilling:
The drive to go beyond the perspective of blame is clearly visible in Kafka's Reflections on Sin, Pain, Hope and the True Way. The reference to eating droppings from the table appears in aphorism #69:
.
The letter is astonishing.
Appreciate the quotes - they encourage me to read more.
Quoting Valentinus
I am truly impressed now with Kafka. Getting to know him seems like a good use of time.
Why didn't I see it before ? Possibly limited access, brain caged off or something...
I didn't have a comment on the letter.
OK.
I do believe that death will set us free. The challenge is to live a satisfying life until that moment comes.