like a red indian

There are other aspects to Kafka than distortion of place and time; certainly his characters typically try to squeeze into tiny spaces, appear too small or take an infinity of time on small events. It is said (Benjamin) that these moments are gestures like the gestures in early expressionist films; it is easy to imagine this; silent film actors have to exaggerate.
Contrasting gestures are for example Wishing to Be a Red Indian ie being instantly alert, leaning against the wind, throwing away the reins etc. Better to be a Red Indian than the student who reads obsessively, book pressed to his face, the same book, forever? Possibly. Benjamin thinks these lighter gestures have their home in The Nature Theatre of Oklahoma: there are actors and angels; also the theatre is on a race course offering opportunities for Red Indians to lean against the wind and throw away the reins. Are these gestures of hope offering an escape from melancholy? Melancholy is the predicament of immutable circumstance not a mental state. Kafka's people/animals are never depressed. But they are resourceful; there is no hope for the ape or the dog but they press on always coming up with new ideas. The nearest to hope is resourcefulness eg the ape learns to talk and drink. The highest form of this facet however is found in Pancho and Bucephalus; both send their demons off on the maddest exploits while they stay behind in an armchair, reading and turning the pages of ancient tomes in the quiet lamplight.