...Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka , is a story about change, as the title of the novel implies. But As we go deeper into the story, the continuous changes brings us to the root that it is the desire to existence that Gregor truly wants. In an unsettling dream, Gregor Samsa wakes up and realizes that he has transformed into a “monstrous vermin”. By examining the story, the metamorphosis of the protagonist represents his true self and his yearning of freedom from maintaining the entire financial stability of his family. Gregor’s metamorphosis and the dependence on him greatly affects Gregor’s sister, Grete. This leads to Grete’s drastic transformation from a child to a young woman and is in turn the biggest effect to Gregor's fate. Gregor’s mind never fully copes with his physical change into a bug. Gregor approaches life the same after the metamorphosis, doing almost the same routines; in fact Gregor almost completely ignores the change of his physical body, and only spends a small amount of time worrying about such a significant occurrence. Gregor becomes travelling salesman because his father loses his job, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire...
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...Absurdity in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” This title is in the reference of the novella “The Metamorphosis” (“Die Verwandlung”) by Franz Kafka (first published in 1915). One day Gregor Samsa woke up to find himself turned into a monstrous insect. And thus begins the story of the Samsa family. Wrapped in a very descriptive narration of Gregor Samsa as an insect and his family adjusting to their new lives, Kafka wove a tale that seem absurd and surrealistic in nature but is soberly realistic. It is the tragedy of Gregor Samsa in which everyone else lives happily ever after. The structure of this novella is a very unique than the standard structure of exposition, complication, climax, and unravelling as Kafka...
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...Kean Nicole Nagui Master Ho English 116-602 4/8/2014 Essay 1, prompt 2 Common grounds of “The Trial” and “The Metamorphosis” Works from the one of the most influential author, Franz Kafka, is like trying to read hieroglyphics. Unless, of course you are Egyptian. It is difficult to comprehend someone that comes from a total different era or background. Usually an author, relates their theme of their works with simple and easy literary devices, such as symbolism. So does Franz Kafka, but on a greater scale. All of the aspects and elements of his works seem unimportant, because of the different interpretations of his works. Most of his works , depicts his own thoughts and dreams. Like some authors, Kafka focuses on a single character symbolizing himself or his life. To fully recognized and understand this method , the audience must study his background and just basic history to understand his motive. He stands out against all these other authors because he goes against the flow of the writing norms. Some of the genre's found in his works are Kafkaesque, Magic Realism,Dystopia,Fantasy,Science Fiction,Modernism,Post Modernism and Existentialism. First time reading one of Kafka's predominant novel, "The Trial" was pretty overwhelming. Personally, I have nothing to compare his works to, other than his own work, in particular, "The Metamorphosis." While these two have some obvious similarities, there are some hidden and usually inconspicuous ones that readers, like myself, don’t...
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...Michael Willar Essay #1 Alexander Balogh World Lit II The underlying metaphor in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” The story, which I have chosen, is “Metamorphosis” written by Franz Kafka. Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” can be read as a depiction of humanity’s condition in the modern. The text can be depicted as humanities condition in the modern world, as Gregor Samsa transformation into a “monstrous” insect. Gregor’s transformation is in fact a metaphor for his realization, as what he is in the Samsa household. He is in actual fact an insect; he exemplifies the characteristics of an insect, he leaves no fun for himself, “He just sits here at the table, quietly reading the newspaper or poring over timetables.” This illustrates that Gregor does not possess human characteristics, but is in actual fact an insect to the Samsa household. One could argue that Kafka’s “Metamorphosis depicts human conditions, as these days, everything is about work, the focus on one’s inner self and inner person has diminished. The human race is infatuated with greed, money, power and status, but we as humans have forgotten and lost the beauty of one’s inner being and self. People have lost identity, in Gregor’s case, he is just an insect, who’s sole purpose is to provide for his family, and not for one second think about his own well being. Gregor does not have any real hobbies; any form of fun, friends (apart from his sister Grete) and all he can do and think about is work. Thus drawing the parallels of...
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...Eva Lane April 29, 2015 Essay 2 Modernism/Post-Modernism World Lit Isolation Various radical and utopian influences stimulated by new ideas in psychology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and political theory were influential to various modernist works. Franz Kafka's, “The Metamorphosis”, which was written during the era of Modernism, provides dynamic visuals meant to awaken its readers to the frightening isolation of individuals in the modern, bureaucratic state, as well as providing an autobiographical undertone. Moreover, the work is reportedly one of the few stories that satisfied him enough that he desired that it be published. In order to truly appreciate Kafka's work it is important to understand who he was and what his state of mind and overall disposition was when he wrote “The Metamorphosis”. In many regards his own personal background mirrors the character Gregor in the story. Although Kafka was intelligent, he lacked confidence and assertiveness in his daily interactions with others. It could be speculated that he felt like an outcast being a German-speaking Jew living in Prague. Throughout the story his inadequacy is represented by the theme of isolation. The insect that Gregor has transformed into following some unpleasant dreams could signify his self-concept, but also his desire to convey the target audience's sense of isolation in the modern, bureaucratic state. There are several themes of isolation that occur during the story. Gregor feels...
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...Despite Gregor’s complete physical transformation into an insect at the beginning of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, his character’s personality changes very little over the course of the book. Gregor is a good man with a good heart – he is very close with his family, especially his little sister. This essay analyzes Gregor’s lonely yet compassionate and selfless character. The reader is immediately brought into Gregor Samsa’s bizarre world in the first sentence of the novella: “Waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered… he had been changed into a monstrous venomous bug” (3). A normal reaction for someone who goes to sleep as human and wakes up the next morning as a hideous insect would be utter shock and panic – but for some odd reason, this doesn’t happen with Gregor. Instead, he rolls over in bed, looks out the window, and the first thing he thinks is that he will be late for work. “I have to deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart… to hell with it all!” (4). Gregor is oblivious to the fact that his transformation even occurred. He’s concerned about the morning’s commute – and the crowded train – even the bad food he might eat that day! He’s overly pessimistic. But as the novella progresses, the reader learns more of the Gregor’s personality – in particular, his loneliness. It’s obvious he has a lack of interaction within his own family...
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...all aspects of human life in our modern consumerist society. The growing strength of manufacturing and urbanization occurring during Kafka’s life created massive tensions between social classes spawning a multitude of economic and social philosophies which addressed issues caused by the growing industrial might of nations as well as the rapidly growing wealth and poverty apparent in most industrialist cities and was further enforced by the onset of the First World War. The Metamorphosis reflects upon the economic struggle caused by the onset of the industrial revolution and the chaos caused by the onset of the First World War in Europe, between the large number of diverse economic and social philosophies such as the struggle between communism and capitalism which shaped the global struggles in the latter half of the twentieth century. In 1847 Frederick Engels, defined communism in The Principles of Communism as, “the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat” (1), the proletariat’s being the lower working classes which sell their labor to gain capital (Engel 2). The communist ideal calls for the rejection of capitalistic ideals and the adoption of a classless society with no private ownership of resources but rather public ownership of capital resources in order to avoid the evils of capitalism (Engel 13). The Metamorphosis reflects communistic ideals in its depiction of Gregor and the Samsa family, Gregor in the first pages of the book is depicted as a...
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...Meaning and Existentialism in My Life - Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it.... [tags: Existentialism, ] 675 words (1.9 pages) $14.95 [preview] Understanding Existentialism - Do we matter. Do we seek personal happiness in life. These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as an individual’s experience filled with isolation in a hostile universe where a human being attempts to find true self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. Hamlet is an existentialist character who believes that he is forced to avenge his father’s death and the hatred builds in his heart because of the many betrayals which direct him towards a senseless life and constant thoughts about suicide; this ultimately leads to his demise and he is left with naught.... [tags: Existentialism] 872 words (2.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Life Value vs. Existentialism in Grendel - A main theme in John Gardner’s Grendel...
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...KAFKA MARX COMBO _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kafka wrote about the contradictions and anxieties of his time but the central theme of his works, indisputably, is the theme of alienation. Alienation is a complex subject which is linked with its vast historicity from the Judeo-Christian beginnings. To understand alienation in Kafka’s works, it is essential to understand its foundation within a socio-economic context of the modern society. In this regard, Karl Marx and his theory of alienation can help steering our way. The human society, as Marx had stressed in the Grundrisse, “does not consist of individuals; it expresses the sum of connections and relationships in which individuals find themselves”. Human beings therefore cannot exist independently of the society but are shaped by the society they live in. Human lives are dominated by natural and impersonal forces that control society to a great extent. While studying the nature and functioning of the capitalistic form of production Marx had discovered the uniqueness of human labor: “At the end of every labor-process, we get a result that already existed in the imagination of the laborer”. This physical and intellectual labor of man has resulted in the collective development of the productive forces and subsequently became capable of producing a surplus. By taking over control of the means of production, a particular minority class of people adroitly...
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...My First Essay My Personal Essay I walked into the first class that I have ever taught and confronted utter chaos. The four students in my Latin class were engaged in a heated spitball battle. They were all following the lead of Andrew, a tall eleven-year-old African-American boy. Andrew turned to me and said, "Why are we learning Latin if no one speaks it? This a waste of time." I broke out in a cold sweat. I thought, "How on Earth am I going to teach this kid?" It was my first day of Summer bridge, a nationwide collaborative of thirty-six public and private high schools. Its goal is to foster a desire to learn in young, underprivileged students, while also exposing college and high-school students to teaching. Since I enjoy tutoring, I decided to apply to the program. I thought to myself, "Teaching can't be that difficult. I can handle it." I have never been more wrong in my life. After what seemed like an eternity, I ended that first class feeling as though I had accomplished nothing. Somehow I needed to catch Andrew's attention. For the next two weeks, I tried everything from indoor chariot races to a Roman toga party, but nothing seemed to work. During the third week, after I had exhausted all of my ideas, I resorted to a game that my Latin teacher had used. A leader yells out commands in Latin and the students act out the commands. When I asked Andrew to be the leader, I found the miracle that I had been seeking. He thought it was great that...
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...Flores 1 Antonio Flores English 2333 Final Essay May 10th, 2010 Topic #1: Describe some characteristics of literature in the 20th century and illustrate these characteristics using the texts studied in class. Okay let’s start with William Butler Yeats, who was not only the main figure in the Irish literary renaissance but also the twentieth century’s greatest poet in the English language. Yeats constantly uses allusive imagery and large symbolic structures. Yeats adopted a cyclical model of history which he created a private mythology that allowed him to come to terms with both cultural and personal pain. This model also helped explain the symptoms of the Western civilization’s declining spiral; the plight of contemporary Irish society and the chaos of European culture around World War 1. Yeats shares with writers like Rilke and T. S. Eliot the quest for larger meaning in a time of trouble and the use of symbolic language to give verbal form to that quest. For many years it is Yeats’s mastery of images that defines his work. From his early use of symbols as private keys, or dramatic metaphors for complex personal emotions, to the immense cosmology of his last work, he continued to create a highly visual poetry whose power derives from the dramatic interweaving of specific images. One of his poems called When You Are Old pleads his love for the beautiful actress and Irish nationalist Maud Gonne, whom he met in 1889 and who repeatedly refused to...
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...By Yasmina Reza A Teacher’s Guide Table of Contents Audience Etiquette………………………………….……………….…3 Characters……………………………………….……………………...4 Synopsis………………………………...…………………………….…4 The Source...…...……….……..………..……………………………….6 The Playwright………..………….....……………..……………………7 Glossary of Words……………..……………………………………….8 Follow-up Considerations……………………………………………10 Internet Resources……………….……………………………………12 The Alley salutes its 2001-2002 Education & Community Outreach Season Co-Sponsors: its Student Matinee Sponsor: its Production Co-Sponsors: and Large Stage Season Sponsor: 2 Audience Etiquette For many of your students, a visit to the Alley may be their first theatre experience. It may be helpful to discuss what they can expect or to have other students relay their own experiences about theatre productions they have seen. Another important point to review is the difference between live theatre and watching a movie or television. Noise Live theatre means live actors who can hear not only what is happening on the stage, but in the audience as well. While laughter and applause at appropriate times are appreciated by the actors, excessive noise and talking is not. Any sort of distracting noise—humming, sighing, chewing gum, or carrying electronic devices—is discouraged. Cell phones, chiming watches and pagers must be turned off during the performance . Applause Applause is used to acknowledge the performers and to voice appreciation or approval. Traditionally, applause comes...
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...Proceeding for the School of Visual Arts Eighteenth Annual National Conference on Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists: Art and Story CONTENTS SECTION ONE: Marcel’s Studio Visit with Elstir……………………………………………………….. David Carrier SECTION TWO: Film and Video Narrative Brief Narrative on Film-The Case of John Updike……………………………………. Thomas P. Adler With a Pen of Light …………………………………………………………………… Michael Fink Media and the Message: Does Media Shape or Serve the Story: Visual Storytelling and New Media ……………………………………………………. June Bisantz Evans Visual Literacy: The Language of Cultural Signifiers…………………………………. Tammy Knipp SECTION THREE: Narrative and Fine Art Beyond Illustration: Visual Narrative Strategies in Picasso’s Celestina Prints………… Susan J. Baker and William Novak Narrative, Allegory, and Commentary in Emil Nolde’s Legend: St. Mary of Egypt…… William B. Sieger A Narrative of Belonging: The Art of Beauford Delaney and Glenn Ligon…………… Catherine St. John Art and Narrative Under the Third Reich ……………………………………………… Ashley Labrie 28 15 1 22 25 27 36 43 51 Hopper Stories in an Imaginary Museum……………………………………………. Joseph Stanton SECTION FOUR: Photography and Narrative Black & White: Two Worlds/Two Distinct Stories……………………………………….. Elaine A. King Relinquishing His Own Story: Abandonment and Appropriation in the Edward Weston Narrative………………………………………………………………………….. David Peeler Narrative Stretegies in the Worlds of Jean Le Gac and Sophe Calle…………………….. Stefanie Rentsch...
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...Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 i RTNA01 1 13/6/05, 5:28 PM READING THE NOVEL General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz The aim of this series is to provide practical introductions to reading the novel in both the British and Irish, and the American traditions. Published Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Daniel R. Schwarz Brian W. Shaffer Forthcoming Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel Paula R. Backscheider Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 Shirley Samuels Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 G. R. Thompson Reading the Twentieth-Century American Novel James Phelan ii RTNA01 2 13/6/05, 5:28 PM Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Brian W. Shaffer iii RTNA01 3 13/6/05, 5:28 PM © 2006 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and...
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...IRWIN PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE S E R I E S R Can drugs take us down the rabbit-hole? R Is Alice a feminist icon? curiouser To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com and WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Watchmen and Philosophy. curiouser RICHARD BRIAN DAVIS is an associate professor of philosophy at Tyndale University College and the coeditor of 24 and Philosophy. R I C H A R D B R I A N D AV I S AND PHILOSOPHY Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has fascinated children and adults alike for generations. Why does Lewis Carroll introduce us to such oddities as a blue caterpillar who smokes a hookah, a cat whose grin remains after its head has faded away, and a White Queen who lives backward and remembers forward? Is it all just nonsense? Was Carroll under the influence? This book probes the deeper underlying meaning in the Alice books and reveals a world rich with philosophical life lessons. Tapping into some of the greatest philosophical minds that ever lived— Aristotle, Hume, Hobbes, and Nietzsche—Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy explores life’s ultimate questions through the eyes of perhaps the most endearing ...
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