The Second World War (1939 – 1945) not only influenced the 20th century, but also the lives of many people. After the defeat in 1945, Germany lay in ruins and had to be rebuilt by its people. Many were traumatized and had to start all over again after hour zero and build a new life for themselves.
May 8, 1945 is referred to as the «Zero Hour». On this day capitulated the German Wehrmacht unconditionally, the Second World War was over. The Allies, i.e. the victorious powers Great Britain, France, the USA and Russia, were then responsible for regulating the reconstruction.
This formative time has also left its mark on literature: the so-called rubble literature was published after World War II and addresses the effects of war. Many authors processed their experiences in this way. Among them is the author Wolfgang Borchert. One of his best-known short stories is «The Kitchen Clock» from 1947.
To find out more about the literature of the post-war period, please take a look at the explanation «Trümmerliteratur»!
Synopsis of «The Kitchen Clock»
In the short story «Die Küchenuhr» by Wolfgang Borchert from 1947 it’s about one young manwho lost his entire family and possessions in the war.
During a walk, he sits down on a bench with a young couple and proudly shows them his find: he found it in the rubble found his old kitchen clock. The clock is round and plate white and has numbers painted in blue and hands made of sheet metal. The man says he knows for himself that she worthless be, since the clock at least broken inside is.
Nevertheless, he is pleased that she is still looks healthy and stopped exactly at half past two is. The other gentleman on the bench assumes the kitchen clock is off stopped by the pressure of a bombbut the young man rejects this. He has another explanation for this: The young man is used to come home at half past two in the morning. His mother stood up for him every time, despite the late time, gave him that Dinner warmed up and waited for him to finish eating. At that time, the young man took this act for granted. Now the man realizes that this everyday life paradise of which nothing is left except the watch. The couple does not look at him, but the woman finally asks the young man about his family. He tells that he everything – except the watch – lost have. The other gentleman, sitting on the bench, meanwhile stares at his shoes and only thinks of the word «paradise».
Characterization of the people in «The Kitchen Clock»
As is typical for a short story, Borchert’s work contains only a few characters who are hardly characterized and remain limited to the essentials.
The young man
The young man is her central figure of the short story, whose name is not mentioned. His appearance is striking because he has a «a very old face». Nonetheless, he will about 20 years estimated. It is already in the first paragraph by this antithesis clearly that man shaped by the war became:
They saw him coming towards them from afar, because he attracted attention. His face was very old, but the way he walked showed he was only twenty. He sat down with them on the bench with his old face.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations come from Borchert’s collection of short stories «Nachts sleeping die Ratten doch» (2018, Hamburger Reader’s Booklet).
With this stylistic device, Borchert makes it clear that the war has left its mark on the man. You can see the horrors of war in the man, although he is still young. So he clings to his Kitchen clock, those for him that eonly remnants of his family represents. she symbolizes «paradise» for himhow he im it everyday life before the war would have. He lost his family and all his material possessions.
The young man also works disturbed or even mentally ill: He smiles when speaking, despite telling about his loss he repeats himself very often. At some point, the couple hardly listens to him, so he instead to talk to his kitchen clock begins:
Then he said softly into the white-blue round face of the clock: Now, now I know that it was paradise. The real paradise.
It is typical of Borchert’s texts that the literal speech is not marked by quotation marks so that the reader can concentrate more on the text.
The gentleman
The Lord who in the story with his family on the park bench sits, will also not mentioned by name. The story doesn’t tell much about him: he looks often on his shoeswhile the young man talks about his fate.
Otherwise he still expresses the Guess the clock stopped at two thirtybecause at this time the bomb hit:
Then your house was surely hit at half past two, said the man and pushed out his lower lip importantly. I’ve heard that many times. When the bomb goes down, the clocks stop. It’s from the pressure.
At the end of the story he is finally gripped by the young man’s story, because the Lord thinks through what is said to the word «paradise».
The woman
The woman who Likewise nameless is, sits next to her husband on the bench. she has a stroller at himself and look at the young man during his narration not on. Besides that she hardly participates in the conversation.
she points the young man only pointed out that his watch was broken and asks him in the end what now with his family happen is. This shows that they too gripped by history because she probably also experienced the effects of the war.
The others
In addition to the three figures that are actually named, one can guess more characterswhich hang around the bank. Because the The narrator always speaks of the people in the plural and mentioned explicit «those who sat on the bench».
In addition, the First question to the young man from a «somebody» posed, indicating that there are more people on the bench or in the immediate vicinity. she do not act actively in the story, but represent societysince all post-war citizens were affected by the effects of the war.
Structure and narrative perspective of the short story «Die Küchenuhr»
«The Kitchen Clock» follows that typical structure of a short story with an abrupt start and, as is typical for this type of text, deals with a characteristic part of a person’s life. In this case, the young nameless man is examined in more detail.
Construction
Borchert’s text is very brief, as is typical for a short story. Despite its brevity, the story basically boils down to three parts structure:
- Arrival at the bench – post-war period: The young man sits down on the bench with the strange couple and shows them his old kitchen clock.
- Memories of the past – review: In his memories, the young man looks back on coming home at night and his mother’s care. He now understands how precious those moments were to him.
- The paradise – post-war period: Everyday life before the war now seems like paradise to the young man – this idea also grips the previously apathetic strangers around him.
In the short story, by looking back, the past becomes so the war, reflected. One Voltage curve can be because of the short plot though not describebut the beginning and ending in the present tense of the short story form one frame.
narrative perspective
The short story is written by a authorial, i.e. an omniscient narratordescribed.
In many parts, however, he also appears personally, because the narrator focuses very much on the protagonist, the young man.
Most of the text is included direct speech of the young man created, which tells his tragic family history in a monologue. It is typical for the author Wolfgang Borchert that he direct speech not marked with quotation marks. That’s how they can Readers focus more on the content of the text. Borchert wrote the entire text – apart from the verbatim speech – in the past tensebecause history is about the past.
Stylistic devices in «The Kitchen Clock»
Although the text is not very long, the author Wolfgang Borchert uses a few stylistic devices. the kitchen clock acts as motive on. Of the linguistic style of the work is, as is typical for rubble literature, rather sober and factual held.
linguistic style
Striking in the short story are the many repetitions and often very short sentenceswho have favourited Wolfgang Borchert only a little longer in the young man’s monologue spelled out. With these stylistic devices builds Borchert tension up and does it Confusion and traumatization of the young man clear.
In the following excerpt, the man describes his watch:
It has no further value, he said apologetically, I know that too. And she’s not particularly pretty either. She’s just like a plate, like that with white lacquer. But the blue numbers look pretty pretty, I think. The pointers are of course only made of sheet metal. And now they don’t go either. no She’s broken inside, that’s for sure. But she still looks the same. Even if she doesn’t go anymore.
In addition, Borchert used in his short story many conjunctions, which increase the pace of the action. the Language is kept very simplesince the figures are about simple people and an everyday situation – a conversation in the park – acts.
The kitchen clock as a metaphor
As the previous quotations already show, the family kitchen clock is of enormous importance to the young man. she stands symbolic of his «paradise», thinking about the time before the war when his mother was still alive and caring for him. The clock is the only thing that reminds him of that time. Hence personified he also says something to her «white-blue round face».
At the same time, the kitchen clock also serves as one metaphor for the young man: The watch is broken inside but looks the same on the outside. The same is true of the young man who survived the war but lost everything and now has to deal with the psychological consequences and the trauma of this difficult time.
Interpretation of «The Kitchen Clock»
The short story «The Kitchen Clock» attempts the suffering of everyday life in the post-war period to illustrate. However, you can also do one timeless message derived from this text: Everyone can count themselves lucky with what they have right now, because happiness can be over quickly.
In Borchert’s short story, the protagonist only learns to appreciate her luck in hindsight, because before the war the young man took it for granted that his mother would prepare dinner for him at night. After the war and Loss of his family and material goods he refers to this time as this «Paradise», i.e. as an ideal. He now knows that this time was not to be taken for granted. Since the story with this…