Kafka's Perspective of the truth in Jim Naureckas's, "A Conspiracy of Dunces: Right-Wing Distortion Goes Mainstream."
             Kafka's viewpoint on the truth of Prometheus is of skepticism. The structure of the essay is simple and concise, as it discusses the four legends concerning Prometheus. There is an introductory sentence, which provides the thesis of the story. The introductory sentence ends with a colon, and lists the four legends in chronological order with each legend starting with "according to."
             The syntax and organization of the story suggest that Kafka has a skeptical viewpoint as to which the legends are true or not or whether or not the legends contain any validity about Prometheus. He blatantly informs the reader that there are four legends that he will tell without explaining any background or historical information of how or why the legend originated. This interpretation suggests that Kafka did not believe the legends because he did not validate them with any background information nor suggest he did believe in them. Even more, the words "according to" mentioned in the beginning of every legend, suggest that Kafka does not believe the legends are valid. Yet, he keeps the reader open-minded by giving us the supposed facts so that we may decide for ourselves as to which legend to believe or to believe in any of the legends at all. Using key words as "according to" suggest that the legend, when told and passed on from one person to the next, was interpreted differently from each person's unique point of view. Thus, the original legend may have been changed of its original meaning, intent, and text, which could possibly account for the various legends formed.
             At the conclusion of the story, it mentions an inexplicable mass of rock. This rock is the origin of the four legends of Prometheus. Kafka cannot explain why the rock is there or if that particular rock had any truth about it. Thus, he attempts to explai...