‘A book should be like an ice-axe that breaks the frozen seas within.’- Franz Kafka.
This quote seemed shallow at first, and unimportant. But then I realized how deep this quote truly was once I thought deeper into the many meanings. I realize that the ice-axe would be something of power and great importance, this makes me wonder that the image would be of a key or a battering ram, therefore the word ‘ice-axe’ suggests a powerful or strong object or word that would invoke/break something ‘frozen’ or paralyzed within us. I think that when Franz Kafka speaks of a ‘frozen sea’, I know that the ocean is a dangerous and vast, wandering thing. This creates the feeling that the ocean might be your soul or imagination because your soul is often described as a room with a key that only you hold, so the key is the ‘ice-axe’ or battering ram that destroys the door and submerges you into a world or a void that can be dangerous and limitless. This doesn’t mean that the frozen sea within us is bad; it just means that it can go its own way independently or with guidance. That is why people follow leaders, often because of a promise or hidden reason.
A lot of countries/nations have banned and burned books because of their influence or freedom that can lead people to fighting back against their leader or king. Fear of this happening has often corrupted once happy and innocent leaders to insanity or negative choices that often affect more than just themselves. When the Nazis took over the Jews, they burned all the books, for fear of having any of their captives to be able to learn more then what the government wished and how they were living compared to other countries. This could be potential information found not just in books but also in newspapers and texts. I found that this quote means to me: A book should be a key that opens and obstructs the walls around your soul or imagination. Not only does this quote hide many meanings but it runs true for everyone and anyone. Without books people would be just simply logical with no imagination to fuel their thoughts. How would you choose a job? How could you possibly imagine the future? How could you even live? All this relies on a book that is incredible!
Books truly are like treasure to your soul and mind. I once read a book that created this same feeling of my mind opening up, expanding; it was about a man who was on the verge of death because of an aging disease but decided not to let himself die unhappy, he found his former student and taught him everything he knew. After reading this book, I felt something change inside me and I realized that every day is a new adventure and that every minute is precious. The book was called Tuesdays with Morie, a book I recommend to all who need to break free from their own imaginations and see that you can make a difference no-matter who you are. This really shows that I truly and honestly believe that books are the key to your soul or imagination! It’s incredible to think that Franz Kafka could sum something so vast into a sentence worth a million thoughts.
This picture represents that every little thought leads to something new and captivating until your mind is just like a maze, never ending and always different, so that you never walk down the same path again just like when you read a good book its never the same twice. The imagination blob represents what once frozen in the minds of the non-educated. A lot comes from this ‘blob’ all the little nooks and crannies of thoughts are complex but liberating, freeing, and independent all at once. Once again, I refer to Tuesdays with Morie as my ice axe, my key to my soul, my liberty to think freely; and the key to my ‘frozen sea within.’
