Franz Kafka was an absurdist author who saw a different view of the world than the common man, and wrote impressive short stories that showed his view of the world. Kafka “viewed existence as a burden and a menace to the harmony of reality” (James 1). He often created lifeless, gritty, and menacing environments to visualize his thoughts of the world. Opioid drugs have been around for centuries, including when Kafka was alive, but the epidemic that comes in waves was not as well known and researched as it is now. The included deaths in the epidemic portray Kafka’s environments that appear in his novels. Due to these reasons, Kafka would think that the Heroin Epidemic was a reflection of how burdening life is, as well as proving that people want to find harmony.

            Franz Kafka believed that the world is meaningless and everything that everyone does amounts to nothing. He viewed the world as a “cold and shallow place to be in” (James 1). For instance, in Hannah Arendt’s essay Franz Kafka, Appreciated Anew, she says that “Kafka envisioned a possible world that human beings would construct in which the actions of man depend on nothing but himself and his spontaneity” (Wagner 1). Kafka seeing the current heroin epidemic would further support his theory that the cold and shallow world exists in the current era. The actions made over the centuries since Kafka’s death may appear to have amounted to nothing, as the dark parts of the world prosper everywhere. Kafka would also relate to the people and victims involved in the heroin epidemic, as he found his life to be torture due to “his routine office job and the exhausting double life” (Franz Kafka 1). Reasons such as financial struggles, overworking, and exhaustion of living could lead to the rabbit hole of heroin, and Kafka could relate to these situations. The general stress that Kafka had in life fueled his beliefs and the heroin epidemic reflects how torturous situations can shape life. Heroin victims may use heroin as an escape, as Kafka used his writing, and this is caused by conditions in their lives that drive them to feel a certain way. Kafka’s view of the world as meaningless and his possible relation to heroin victims reflects how Kafka would view the heroin epidemic as another cold place that the world has made for people to be tortured.

            Kafka also reflected his beliefs of the world into his writing. Sometimes he would have “an indifferent and lifeless environment,” or he would have “a gritty and menacing environment to represent his true sentiments for his reality” (James 1). Details such as these in Kafka’s stories show the effect of the world on him, and how this reality that he faces shapes his opinions. He believed that the world around him was cruel and unfair. He also reflects these beliefs in his novel The Trial. One article says that “The Trial uses concepts such as the law and truth as a means to explore how an individual is bound to them as a prisoner for the rest of his life” (James 1). This explores how Kafka sometimes viewed the world as unbalanced, almost as if there’s a higher power controlling everything. In The Trial, Kafka does not specifically mention how the law represents god, but it still proved to be a “mysterious force that has little sympathy for those it affects nor interested in truth,” reflecting an unjust power, similar to god (James 1). Overall, the lifeless, gritty reality that Kafka painted in his novels, and the unbalanced powers in his stories could show how Kafka would feel if he saw the current heroin epidemic, as it is just as gloomy and dark as some of Kafka’s realities. 

            The heroin epidemic is a dark topic, and the current heroin epidemic is still a large and ongoing crisis. Kafka’s renditions of the world that he illustrates in his novels can reflect the state of the epidemic, and some main issues in the epidemic can be compared to Kafka’s works. An example of this is the ongoing theme of “the ambiguity of a task’s value and the horror of devotion to it,” which is reflected in works such as In the Penal Colony and A Hunger Artist (Works of Franz Kafka 1). These stories show an officer who appeals to the mutilations of his own instruments of torture, and a man in a circus who starves himself to the point of no return, losing everything. These are reflected in the heroin epidemic as both leave someone with nothing and put them in horrible situations that can lead to death. Another theme seen in one of Kafka’s works that is reflected in the heroin epidemic can be seen in the unfinished Amerika. In this story, a boy is sent to America, only to be heavily exploited due to his innocence. This is seen in the heroin epidemic in how people can be influenced and exploited in society, both financially and mentally. This can lead to the downward spiral that is heroin, once again reflecting Kafka’s world. The works of Kafka exhibit key issues in the heroin epidemic that lead to a reality similar to how Kafka views the world.

            Today, Franz Kafka would view the heroin epidemic as a reflection of how he sees the world. Kafka sees the world as meaningless and he deems our actions pointless, but he can relate to victims of heroin. The worlds that Kafka creates reflect how he views the world, and seeing the heroin epidemic would support the way that he sees the world. Ideas in Kafka’s novels reflect key issues in the heroin epidemic, further proving his reality of a gritty, gloomy, and meaningless world. The heroin epidemic through our eyes is similar to the world through Kafka’s eyes. Showing how both are horrible ways to live, we should work to lessen the burden of those affected by the heroin epidemic today.

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                                                      Works Cited

“Franz Kafka.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2023,                                                 www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Kafka.

          James, Ezra. “Franz Kafka on Existence.” Medium, 8 Feb. 2019,                     ezrajames.medium.com/franz-kafka-on-existenceb6663dcac1c7#:~:text=Kafka%20extensively%20discussed%20ho            w%20he,shallow%20place%20to%20be%20in. 

Wagner, Martin. “The Politics of Kafka.” Bard HAC, hac.bard.edu/amor-              mundi/the-politics-of-kafka-2015-11-22#:~:text=%E2%80%9CKafka%20envisioned%20a%20possible%20world,f            rom%20above%20or%20from%20below. Accessed 10 May 2023.

“Works of Franz Kafka.” Encyclopædia Britannica,                                                     www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Kafka/Works.