The Castle – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

September 10, 2026

‘It’s a strange time to be a man’: in The Castle, Jon Ronson investigates the plight of unanchored men

Alexander Howard, University of Sydney

Jon Ronson’s new book on the masculinity crisis was sparked by his son’s strange journey to a castle in upstate New York and a series of late-night text messages.

A statue of Franz Kafka by the sculptor Jaroslav Róna in Prague, Czech Republic, inspired by Kafka’s short story “Description of a Struggle.” (Shutterstock)

March 12, 2023

Kafka’s modest output had an outsized impact on modern culture

Alexander Carpenter, University of Alberta

Franz Kafka was not well known during his lifetime, but his legacy provides a useful and necessary way to confront the current state of global affairs.

July 21, 2022

Friday essay: 30 years after Mabo, what do Australia’s battler stories – and their evasions – say about who we are?

Jeanine Leane, The University of Melbourne

What do popular ‘settler’ Australian stories like The Castle and Trent Dalton’s books say about who we are? What do they evade? Jeanine Leane investigates the state of post-Mabo Australian literature.

April 7, 2022

Straight to the pool room: a love letter to The Castle on its 25th anniversary

Daryl Sparkes, University of Southern Queensland

Australian classic The Castle is turning 25 this month - here’s why its iconic quotes and Aussie battler story have become beloved and revered.

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