ULYSSES AND THE SIRENS – A CASE STUDY BASED UPON THE FIGURE OF ULYSSES AT KAFKA AND BRECHT
ULYSSES AND THE SIRENS – A CASE STUDY BASED UPON THE FIGURE OF ULYSSES AT KAFKA AND BRECHT

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the following paper is to present and analyze the way Ulysses’ figure is handled in two short stories, that is, in Franz Kafka’s „The Silence of the Sirens” and in Bertolt Brecht’s „Ulysses and the Sirens”. The main method used for the analysis is that of comparison. The two short stories are not only compared to each other but also to the original myth as related by Homer. At the end of the paper there is a conclusion that sums up the similarities and differences between the presentations. The case study also gives us an example of how mythology can be and is used in literature: on the one hand in several instances mythological stories and mythical characters are taken over by writers in different eras and serve to build the content of the given literary piece. On the other hand, especially in the second half of the 20th century and in contemporary fiction mythology is being used as a method of writing and not only as a layer to the plot.

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