Midterm

Question #1

In both ‘Kindred’ and ‘The Metamorphosis’ the two main characters are put into positions that they were not accustomed to and had to quickly adjust. In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Gregor was turned into a gigantic insect and in ‘Kindred’ Dana was taken from her time and taken back to the days of her great ancestors. For Gregor, turning into an insect wasn’t that big of a change, or it didn’t have that much of an affect on him psychologically. Gregor had accepted his position in society long before his change. This can be seen from the very beginning of the story, where we are introduced to Gregor as already having turned into an insect. For other people waking up one morning to find yourself turned into something other than yourself, it would probably freak you out! But for Gregor he didn’t even find it horrifying. It was more of a nuisance to him. He was more concerned with being late for work or furthermore losing his job, than he was concerned with the fact that he wasn’t human. To him he was the same person. This thought of still being the same person in his mind even though he had changed physically could give rise to the idea that Gregor probably had already thought of himself as a ‘nobody’ long before the physical change. It was as if the physical change was just the finishing touches to a metamorphosis that he had already been long going through. Not physically but psychologically, because even after he was revealed to his family and to the clerk, it still seemed to not dawn on him that he had changed. He was busy trying not to get the clerk to leave and stopping him from spreading bad reports about him. He even wanted to try to get ready for work and catch the late train. It never dawned on him that he was an insect; that he had changed. It was as if it was just another normal day in his life. There is a