A reoccurring theme in “Kasper” is the idea that one can be shaped by the ideas of others. The main character, the man on the floor, starts off knowing how to do nothing. All he can do is eat when food is brought to him and drink when water appears. Eventually a man in black starts to appear and he teaches the man in the floor how to read and how to write. The man on the floors mind is shaped by the man in black. His knowledge is only limited to what the man in black teaches. He even teaches him how to walk. In the end the man on the floors learns everything the man in black teaches him, and he essentially becomes a copy of the man in black, who is supposedly his father,
The man in black
April 2, 2016 Written by a.sanchez | 3 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
3 responses so far ↓
JMERLE // Apr 2nd 2016 at 11:51 am
Yes, you make an important observation about what happens when a human begins as a “blank page.” The Romantics thought getting back to our original, “pure” primitive state, without language or cultural values, was the way to paradise for us all. We’ll discuss this more in class on Wed. As well, What do you think Gregor (“The Metamorphosis”) would have to say about this idea?
mt070235 // Apr 2nd 2016 at 12:00 pm
I like your idea that all humans are guided, some by parents and some by other kind people. In this text, a man in black could possibly be his father who wants Kaspar to be like him, a horseman. without any help by others, many people could get alienated.
b.martinez2 // Apr 2nd 2016 at 12:16 pm
The man is treated as a blank slate as you said in your post. He lives dependently on the man in black and doesn’t seem to have much sense to survive on his own. This is why he obeys the man in black without question. This relates to how parents treat their children and how they must discipline them as well as how children don’t have much choice over how they live because they don’t have the knowledge of the world that adults have. This is why since the man in black who is his father treats the man the way he does since he is a blank slate who must be taught how to live.
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