--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were offered the choice between…" description: "\"They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the couriers of kings. The way children would, they all wanted to be couriers. Therefore there a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/franz-kafka-214_becoming_they-were-offered-the-choice-between-bec_2731656.jpg" --- # They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the… ![“They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the couriers of kings. The way children would, they all wanted to be couriers. Therefore there are only couriers who hurry about the world, shouting to each other - since there are no kings - messages that have become meaningless. They would…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/franz-kafka-214_becoming_they-were-offered-the-choice-between-bec_2731656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/franz-kafka-214_becoming_they-were-offered-the-choice-between-bec_2731656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/franz-kafka-214_becoming_they-were-offered-the-choice-between-bec_2731656.jpg) > “They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the couriers of kings. The way children would, they all wanted to be couriers. Therefore there are only couriers who hurry about the world, shouting to each other - since there are no kings - messages that have become meaningless. They would like to put an end to this miserable life of theirs but they dare not because of their oaths of service.” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children prefer being couriers over kings, leading to meaningless messages and a trapped existence. **In simple terms:** People choose roles that feel futile. Key Takeaway Question purpose of work. Themes meaning service existence Mood critical reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choice - social roles - personal freedom Key Concepts courier king oath Questions to Reflect On - Why do we accept meaningless tasks? - What would you change in your role? A Different Perspective Societal expectations may limit self‑realization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Couriers Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couriers-kings-2959613/) [Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dare/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Kings Couriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings-couriers-2959615/) [Kings Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings-messages-2959614/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Miserable life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable-life/) [Oath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oath/) [Shouting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shouting/) [Shouting Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shouting-kings-2959617/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Couriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-couriers-2959616/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Slept, awoke, slept, awoke, miserable life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/slept-awoke-slept-awoke-miserable-life/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [For instance, he says I let him play golf, and he says, he lets me be miserable in my job. Now - that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-chung/for-instance-he-says-i-let-him-play-golf-and-he-says-he-lets-me-be/) [Connie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-chung/) > [I must confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost two years, I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/i-must-confess-that-i-lead-a-miserable-life-for-almost-two-years-i/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [“That was always the promised trade-off—a miserable life now for the hope of a golden and glittering one later. A life lived for Marinda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breeana-shields/that-was-always-the-promised-trade-off-a-miserable-life-now-for-the/) [Breeana Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breeana-shields/) > [But a slow, deeply satisfied smile came over him, and his breath quickened. 'So softly it starts,' he whispered. 'Foolishly clever and with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/but-a-slow-deeply-satisfied-smile-came-over-him-and-his-breath/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [But I think the majority of cows, and even more so chickens and pigs, are leading pretty miserable lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/but-i-think-the-majority-of-cows-and-even-more-so-chickens-and-pigs/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“In his opinion, humans were best when miserable, and so he had worked at being miserable his whole life, and in his generous way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodman-philbrick/in-his-opinion-humans-were-best-when-miserable-and-so-he-had-worked/) [Rodman Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodman-philbrick/) > [Most men employ the first part of life to make the other part miserable. \[Fr., La plupart des hommes emploient la premiere part vie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/most-men-employ-the-first-part-of-life-to-make-the-other-part/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [You didn't love her. You just didn't want to be alone. Or maybe, she was just good for your ego. Or, maybe she made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-didn-t-love-her-you-just-didn-t-want-to-be-alone-or-maybe-she-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we confine ourselves to a general and distant reflection on the ills of human life, that can have no effect to prepare us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/if-we-confine-ourselves-to-a-general-and-distant-reflection-on-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“Human society should very seriously understand that the body itself is the source of all miserable life. Modern civilization is supposed to be making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/human-society-should-very-seriously-understand-that-the-body-itself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-naylor/i-don-t-believe-that-life-is-supposed-to-make-you-feel-good-or-make/) [Gloria Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-naylor/) > [Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it,” Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. “I thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lily-and-james-only-made-you-secret-keeper-because-i-suggested-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“(…) It would kill her because she’s spent her whole life worrying about How She Messed Up Those Kids, and what better proof of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-j-miller/it-would-kill-her-because-she-s-spent-her-whole-life-worrying-about/) [Sam J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-j-miller/) > [“You'll be miserable your whole life if you fight who and what you are. But if you accept yourself, all parts of yourself, you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lux/you-ll-be-miserable-your-whole-life-if-you-fight-who-and-what-you-are/) [Alex Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lux/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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