European civilization
The imagery that the essays assume is critical if the reader wants to understand the direction of Benjamin's philosophy. Life in Europe was radically different before the World Wars. Life had been conducted more or less the same way for hundreds and hundreds of years, but then, during Benjamin's life, the assumptions that governed life in Germany, for instance, started to change, first a little, and then a lot. By the time WWI happened, it was clear that Europe was changing forever, and the past ways of life were being lost.
Technology and change
Technology brings a new imagery into Europe, and although the emergence of machinery and factories had been a long time coming, those were like nothing when compared to the new technology: airplanes, fighter jets, tanks, machine guns, chemical warfare, and more—not to mention the growth of technology in the civilian and industrial spheres. The essays are a cry in the dark, attempting to record the changes in some meaningful way. The writer understands that nothing will stop these changes.
Academia and intelligentsia
Benjamin also notices that there is a threat of corruption in the academic institutions that guard knowledge and education. Notice that Benjamin is influenced by Zohar and Kabbalah mysticism, points of view that are neglected in modern philosophy. He sensed that his essays and criticisms might fall on deaf ears, and knowing that, he suspected that Academia might change in Europe to protect the points of view that worried him most.
Art and literature
Art and literature are offered as the imagery of hope, because through novels by authors like Kafka, Benjamin sees that he isn't alone in his concerns about Europe, and there is the added benefit that through fiction, people can explore philosophies and points of view without oversight from others. Benjamin explores Kafka's point of view, pointing to a sense of dread or even doom in Kafka's writings that Benjamin agrees with.
