Franz Kafka: A Report to an Academy
“A Report to an Academy” (Ein Bericht für eine Akademie) is a short story by Franz Kafka, first published in 1917 in the magazine Der Jude and later included in the book Ein Landarzt (1920). A peculiar ape who has adopted human behaviors is summoned before an academic assembly to give an account of his former life in the wild. Captured on the Gold Coast and locked in a cage aboard a ship, he recounts in detail the harsh conditions of his captivity and the reasons that led him to seek escape through imitation of the men around him. His narrative reconstructs the beginning of a forced adaptation that would forever shape the course of his existence.