Josephine the singer or the mouse folk is one of the last short stories written by a German writer called Franz Kafka. It is a story of Josephine who is one of a kind among the mouse people. She is a singer or rather she believes she can sing."Those who have never heard her sing simply haven't experienced the power of song" states Phillip Lundberg. This Report Gives the summary of the questions forwarded in the text and relates the theory on the subject by Michel Foucault to the review provided in this case Josephine the singer, or the mouse people.
The mouse people are a very unusually hardworking people. Their days are long, occupied with a lot of cares. Josephine is the only singer in this community and not only can she sing but she does it very well. Once she starts singing everyone in the community forgets their sorrows and their doubts, and they all gather around her, She is special, and the people see her as susceptible or delicate. They find her to be different from the rest. According to her what makes her different is her singing and sees it as her responsibility to the people, and with this, she trusts the people to take care of her.
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Some of the mice people do not believe that she is indeed singing, while others treasure her. There are those who think that she is just whistling and feel that there is nothing special about her. In times when the mice are alone and speaking privately with their friends, they criticize Josephine's music and openly say that there is nothing special about them. They even question the song's validity but when she sings they all gather and listen regardless because no one can do what Josephine does.
Later, even the narrator begins to doubt their views on Josephine. He starts to wonder whether the people have judged her wrong. They put into question that maybe it's not Josephine's talent and singing that bring the people together to listen to her but maybe they all yearn for the peace and quiet that befalls them every time she sings. They tend not to see that her singing sometimes attracts their many enemies and despite her being the reason their enemies attack them, she is the only one who is rushed into safety. The relationship between Josephine and the mouse people is somehow of a patronizing one; the people adore her, and they see a need to protect her.
Kafka, Franz, and Phillip Lundberg. Essential Kafka: Rendezvous with 'otherness, ' Five Stories. Bloomington, Ind: AuthorHouse, 2009.
Apparently, all the mice can whistle. But no mouse has ever considered it as a form of art…" but the greater majority”, have no idea that its whistling that says exactly who they really are, pg228.Nevertheless, Josephine has caused the mouse community to be subjects of her ‘no different than the rest' whistling. According to Michel Foucault by Lynn Fendler, the way knowledge is produced and how people relate to it contributes to the creation of the subject. A subject is the opposite of an object and being subjective is personal.
The mouse people view Josephine as an object of adoration. They have little or no knowledge of their whistling defines them and maybe being reminded of who they are and subjecting to that creates the inner peace they experience when listening to her' Josephine seems to have this knowledge and takes advantage of it. She has a kind of authority on them when she sings. There is also that who know this but continue to listen to her. They become subjects of choice since they are afraid of individuality. They see it as a high price to pay because they have to work. Destruction is almost inevitable for those who choose to express themselves as it happens to Josephine who after disappearing, her music becomes forgotten.
Bibliography
Fendler, Lynn. Michel Foucault. 2014. <http://alltitles.ebrary.com/Doc?id=10930117>.
Kafka, Franz, and Phillip Lundberg. Essential Kafka: Rendezvous with 'otherness, ' Five Stories. Bloomington, Ind: AuthorHouse, 2009.
Bibliography
Fendler, Lynn. Michel Foucault. 2014. <http://alltitles.ebrary.com/Doc?id=10930117>.
http://www.kafka.org/pdfdocuments/JosephineMY.pdf
Kafka, Franz, and Phillip Lundberg. Essential Kafka: Rendezvous with 'otherness, ' Five Stories. Bloomington, Ind: AuthorHouse, 2009.
