Term paper from 2013 in the field of German Studies - Modern German Literature, grade: 1, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, course: Thomas Mann - Early Stories, language: German.

Abstract: Thomas Mann was engaged with life in all its facets from a very early age. At just 23 years old, his first collection of novellas, "Der kleine Herr Friedemann," which is the subject of this paper, was published. The central theme of the six stories is the problem of life, which manifests differently in each of the individual protagonists. His debut work was not a commercial success. Of the 2000 copies of the first edition released in May 1898, only about 400 had been sold by the end of 1899. Despite Thomas Mann being so young and the success - unjustly - taking its time, the stories are brimming with wisdom about life.