Amerika: The Missing Person

This chapter signals Karl’s return to unemployment, his dismissal by the Head Waiter placing him in the same position he was in before becoming a lift-boy. Karl’s firing emphasizes how little control he has over his life. He knows that as a lift-boy, he is “from the lowest and most expendable rank in the enormous hotel hierarchy” (110), and yet, he is still shocked by his confrontation with the Head Porter and Head Waiter. The injustice of Karl’s firing is exacerbated when the Head Porter steals his only means of shelter: the Head Cook’s card to the Pension Brenner.

At the same time, Karl has moments in which he picks up on others’ motives—yet, fails to act and turn bad situations into favorable ones. In addition to terrible luck, Karl’s lack of confidence and tendency to ignore his instincts contribute to his termination. Rather than acting out of self-interest, Karl tries to help people such as Delamarche and Robinson—who only mean him harm—and ignores the advice of well-meaning people such as Therese. Karl worries about Robinson being discovered in Rennel’s bed, but reassures himself that Rennel is “a practical character, particularly when his own interests were at stake” (115). Rennel acts as a foil to Karl: While Karl tries to earn his place through hard work, Rennel seeks to ease his way up the social ladder. This makes the Head Porter’s accusations especially frustrating as they reflect Rennel’s behavior, not Karl’s. Karl fails to see Rennel’s budding friendship with Delamarche as alarming and continues to cover for him—his kindness eventually being repaid with betrayal.

In a drunken stupor, Robinson reveals that Delamarche and Rennel sent him to collect Karl. Without understanding his being manipulated by the three men, Karl attempts to help Robinson. Karl has yet to realize just how precarious his position is because he is accustomed to privilege. He believes he will be given a fair trial despite witnessing how “utterly insignificant” (115) low-level employees are to their bosses in Chapter 1.

Like the stoker airing his grievances in Chapter 1, Karl’s firing echoes the dynamic of earlier exiles: The Head Cook, a woman, sympathizes with Karl as a compatriot. The Head Porter and Head Waiter, both men, dislike Karl. The Head Cook acts as a maternal figure, while the Head Waiter falls into a paternal role with his harsh sense of justice. No matter where Karl goes, his banishment by his parents is repeated.

In the Head Porter’s case, his hatred for Karl is rooted in the younger’s alleged disrespect (the latter does not address the Head Porter as “Sir” or greet him when passing by his office). The Head Porter is a cruel man with an inferiority complex that Karl accidentally offends—this small act being deemed serious enough to have the younger fired. The older man physically bullies Karl as well, an act of further vengeance. The Head Porter represents the ways in which social hierarchies can produce resentment and rage. Karl becomes the object of the Head Porter’s rage because he does not observe these rules.