Why does some European Literature (esp. German) avoid the use of names?
I think it is to universalize the character. Franz Kafka is the most obvious example of the literary device. In both “The Trial” and “The Castle” Kafka uses the initial K for the protagonist, although they have different first names. He uses this device is because he wants his reader to identify with the main character. He wants us to feel as if we are facing the impossible situations they are facing. It is to embody the lack of humanity in modern life. This reaches its climax in his work “The Penal Colony” where he doesn’t name the character at all. A fairly recent and wonderful book by Jose Saramago, “All the Names” makes ironic use of this idea. The only character named in the novel is the protagonist, Don Jose. It is a work of real genius. It explores this idea in very strange and interesting ways.
