There are no actual details to tell us where the story is taking place, but there are some clues. From the understanding of the location, we can stipulate the meaning Kafka intended the story to convey. It seems like the story is taking place in a French penal colony; as can be deducted from the warm weather in the colony, which the Officer tells us is unlike his home country, and from the Officer and the Traveler speaking in French. France had penal colonies, a specific one in a warm climate is Devil’s Island in French Guinea. Considering all of this, and the time in which Kafka wrote this story, it can be inferred that he was commenting on the Dreyfus Affair.
Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish artillery officer in the French military, in 1894 he was (wrongly) accused of spying for the Germans and subsequently sentenced to a French penal colony, called Devil’s Island. Kafka seems to be hinting at the wrongful imprisonment of Dreyfu. In Israel, we learn about the Dreyfus Affair, because of its inherent antisemitism. Kafka, a Jew himself, no doubt heard about, and was affected by the Dreyfus Affair.
Enjoy reading about the narrative of the chracters yoy explained.
Love how you notice the small detail that were mention in the story and said by the characters to give a more descriptive detail of the setting.
Oh! You went a different way with the penal colonies’ location. I think you’re right. I hadn’t even thought of these points.
I love the fact that you referred to a real life event with the full details behind it.
I liked how you used the context of the story to infer the location of the penal colony.