2) What is the significance of the very last line of the story: “At this moment, almost endless traffic rolled across the bridge”?
The significance to the very last line of the story is that life is very repetitive, and that this repetition is never ending. It is all so endless, this life and his problems will never go away it will be their forever all clattered together and never stopping to take brake. It is very overwhelming. You can picture life just moving on for everyone while his is ending. It is also very dark. As if no one truly care about each others problems. All the tragedies in the world and life just goes on for everyone else. This is shown when Kafka stated, “He reproached himself of having neglected the father. Doubtlessly he should have seen it as his duty to watch over his fathers change of underwear” (4). His father was getting older, but yet Georg overlooked this and did not really watch over him. His life was moving forward. He was getting married, he did not have time to take care of his father all the time. Everyone has problems of their own. However, Georg needed the endlessness and the repetition to end. Kafka states, “He continued to hold onto the railing though his hands were getting week” (7). Georg simply gave up. He let go of all his problems but the endless amount of traffic will never go away. Everyone will always have their problems, however life goes on, it is an endless cycle.
To say that the significance of the, endless traffic rolled across the bridge, has a meaning referring to how life is repetitive and never ending, is a interesting take on this line. Kelly states that “It is all so endless, this life and his problems will never go away it will be there forever all clattered together and never stopping to take a break”. I can see how Kelly reached that conclusion by thinking of the traffic as the young merchants problems which seem to be never ending and continuous, all came to him once. This comparison to me gets a lot right about the merchant as in the beginning in the story he talked about how he has been talking to his troubled friend for years and yet he has been unable to offer him any help because he overthinks about the consequences. A never ending cycle of problems seem to describe the merchant very well.
I really appreciated your perspective on the last line Kelly, especially the point you made about everyone having problems of their own. A recurring theme throughout The Judgment seemed to be each character’s inability to recognize the problems of the people around them, and therefore sympathize with those people. The merchant’s problems were belittled by Georg, and Georg’s problems were then belittled by his father, albeit more harshly. For that reason I think your point about Georg neglecting his father because his own life was moving forward is particularly accurate.