The Clown (Mann short story)
Encyclopedia
"The Clown" or "The Joker" as it is usually translated in English (orig. German Der Bajazzo), is one of Thomas Mann
's short stories which were collected in Little Herr Friedemann
and later, after his death, in the collection Death in Venice and other Stories.
It is a satirical story about a man who wastes his whole life idling, but simply lives on the interest of his father's inheritance. When he was alive, his father had often told him that he 'was just a joker and would do nothing.' In the end, he makes a bitter speech and commits suicide. The story runs on similar lines as "Little Herr Friedemann".
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
's short stories which were collected in Little Herr Friedemann
Little Herr Friedemann
"Little Herr Friedemann" is a short story by Thomas Mann. Initially appeared in 1896 in Neue Deutsche Rundschau. Appeared in 1898 in an anthology of Mann's short stories entitled collectively as Der kleine Herr Friedemann.-Plot:Johannes Friedemann was dropped on his head as at birth...
and later, after his death, in the collection Death in Venice and other Stories.
It is a satirical story about a man who wastes his whole life idling, but simply lives on the interest of his father's inheritance. When he was alive, his father had often told him that he 'was just a joker and would do nothing.' In the end, he makes a bitter speech and commits suicide. The story runs on similar lines as "Little Herr Friedemann".