Comments on: A Bit Of Literature – The Last Judgment

By: Aamina

Aamina — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:42:31 +0000

i think what he tries to illustrate is that man is a much harsher judge than God is. Since God is all knowing, he will find it harder to make a judgement on an individual because he will have knowledge of both the good and bad sides of one’s character. When someone can see both sides to a story they will be more compassionate and find it harder to reach a firm judgement.

And God doesn’t really live on Earth and the crimes we commit do not affect him directly. They only impact man. Therefore man is a more appropriate judge for other men’s crimes than God is. God with his power serves as a suitable witness as he is able to reveal objectively every detail of a man’s life.

Finally I personally believe that Capek is out to show that man is much harder on his fellow beings than God can ever be.

By: lei

lei — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:36:26 +0000

i have a question.

1)What is the point in making God the witness instead of the judge, as 1 would normally expect? what are the implications made by this statement: because i know everything, i can’t possibly judge.
2)What do judges consider irrelevant in God’s account of Kugler’s life?for what instance, why does the water include and the theft for a rose?
3)Is this story a commentary in heavenly justice alone?what about any implication regarding the nature and consequences for the human justice?explain.

By: Vivien

Vivien — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:54:55 +0000

mhay ann, why do you ask that? nobody mentioned Čapek being inventive in this particular story.

By: mhay ann azada

mhay ann azada — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:42:46 +0000

can i ask? in the story of the last judgement by karel capek, how does it show his inventiveness?

By: Vivien

Vivien — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:12:21 +0000

Hi Joseph. Yes, I did read The Master and Margarita. Bulgakov was one of the persecuted and prohibited writers in Soviet Russia, so his books didn't get widely publicized until much later. There's another outstanding work by Bulgakov, called Heart Of A Dog. I highly recommend reading it. It's the harshest satire ever written about the Soviet regime. There was even a movie based on that book, that didn't get released until Gorbachev came to power, and started Perestroyka. The incredible thing about this book, that it could be applied not only to Soviet period. There's actually an online text version of this book, so you don't have to spend any money on reading it.

By: Joseph Devon

Joseph Devon — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:23:04 +0000

Interesting. And for some reason it seems so modern considering it was written in the early twentieth. Have you read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov? I makes me wonder why the Eastern Bloc seems to have taken a playful tone about god and religion so early on while American authors took decades before we got to play with god. I have to wonder if Hemingway and his terse prose didn’t have something to do with this. :)

By: Vivien

Vivien — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:07:02 +0000

that is quite a coincidence :-) I’m sure you’ll enjoy Stories from a Pocket. I’ve read them long time ago and should re-read them soon.
I didn’t read War with the Newts though. What do you think about it so far?

By: johno

johno — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:53:06 +0000

What a coincidence. I’m reading “War With The Newts”, and recently bought “Stories From a Pocket”, but haven’t started it yet. Čapek is a brilliant writer, and although the play, RUR feels a little dated now, his writing is beautiful, his imagination wonderful; he is a true story teller, insightful. and even gives humor to the profound.

Thanks, Vivien. Nice to start the day with Čapek.