...Samson Abdurachmanov An Existential Crisis Existential crisis is a moment at which an individual questions the very foundations of their life: whether their life has any meaning, purpose, or value. Sometimes there are men who will accept their fate graciously. Two works that depict these ideas are “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy and “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka. In both works by Tolstoy and Kafka, the main characters at some point question their lives’ and what life means to them. In order to question one’s life, it would be necessary that one evaluate the decisions they make. A person’s life can change in any event that has happened to them. Moreover, the decisions ones made in those events can create a ripple effect of what happens to them in the future. In Tolstoy, we have Ivan Ilych, a dying man looking back into his life. In Kafka, we have Gregor Samsa, a man transformed into a vermin watching his life change and witnessing his family learning to live without him. The main characters here now have an existential crisis and are going to have to make a choice. Both accept their fates in a similar fashion, acceptance. Both works have a similar theme of seclusion. In Kafka's work, Gregor transforms into an insect. His entire family and employer immediately reject him. His father locks him in his room; his mother faints at the mere sight of him. They worry more about who will provide for them...
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... The song “this little light of mine” is a source rom Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men, they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heaven. This is a gospel children’s song written by Harry Dixon Loes (1895-1965) in about 1920. “This little light of mine” inspired millions. People still sing the famous well-known song today and they don’t really have a clue what is means. “This Little Light of Mine” is a traditional Negro spiritual about the importance of unity in the face of adversity. The first spirituals were inspired by African music even if the tunes were not far from those of Christian hymns. Some of them, called “shouts,” were accompanied by dancing, hand clapping and foot tapping. Drawing on the Bible for inspiration and imagery, most spirituals instruct listeners in how to live with the Spirit of God. These songs often had multiple meanings. The literal interpretation reflected the personal relationship between the slave singer and God. However, the spirituals also translated to code for slaves looking to escape to the North to freedom. For example, as part of the spiritual’s lyrics, “home” can mean Heaven, but it covertly means a free country and haven for slaves. The refrain of “This Little Light of Mine” refers to the light inside each individual and how, whether standing up alone or joining together, each little bit of light can break the darkness. The song has since been applied to many struggles. It was especially popular...
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...1. I think Christopher Plummer played the role of Professor Vladimir Nabokov very well in this film. His lecture was a straightforward summary about the story “The Metamorphosis”. His lecture helped me understand the story better by retelling the story in details. The drawings of the “beetle” help me visualize what kind of insect Gregor was and how Gregor would look out the window. The professor brought life to this story because of the way he explained it. 2. When I read the first sentence to the story I had no idea what this story would be about. The first sentence described a striking image to me when Gregor wakes up and “he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (pg. 428). When I first read this I kept wondering why Gregor turned into an insect overnight. I think Kafka chose an insect because insect are not species that are loved or cared for which could relate to how Gregor’s family members behaved towards him after he was transformed. At first all of the family members act sympathetic towards Gregor after his transformation but their feeling of sympathy change to feelings of disgust and ashamed. Grete becomes his caregiver and tries to figure out what kind of food he favors since his transformation but she can barely stand to be in the same room with him because of his appearance. The mother hopes Gregor will change back into his human form but she faints every time she sees him. The father shows the least sympathy and even attacks Gregor twice...
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...Metamorphosis is a change in form, structure, or appearance. Change is a major theme throughout Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis. There is a significant relationship between the title, The Metamorphosis, and the theme of change. Kafka's main character, Gregor Samsa, undergoes many changes and his transformation evokes change in his family. Several metamorphoses take place involving Gregor. First, a physical change occurs, "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin," and after that happened, Gregor's voice changes from human into the voice of a bug. "That was the voice of an animal," Gregor's manager said, but the words seemed perfectly clear to him. Beginning to see things less and less, Gregor experiences a change in his vision. An example, found on page 29, would be Gregor seeing the hospital less and less distinctly. A mental change in Gregor occurs when he starts not caring about or having no consideration for his family. "It hardly surprised him that he was showing so little consideration for the others; once such consideration had been his greatest pride." This has is a growing problem with him in the story because of the social change that Gregor has experienced from the alienation from the rest of his family. The only thing Gregor had to look forward to at one point was when his sister would come and clean his room or the charwoman would come in and clean. This was such...
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...Existentialism talks about man making himself. Man has a dream for himself to fulfill one day. These dreams sometimes get the best of people and become them. These people become isolated from society with only their dream keeping them going. Isolation is everywhere. There are different types of isolation: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and existential isolation. We see the main character Gregor Samsa going through all three types of isolation in the short story The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa is an ordinary man with a dream to one day fulfill. This dream or goal of his has become him. The only thing keeping him going is the thought that one day his goal will be reached. This dream has kept him running away from reality, which has led to his isolation. The first type of isolation that we see in Gregor is interpersonal isolation; this is the form of isolation from others. Throughout the short story Gregor isolates himself from his family. He overworks himself to try to maintain his family by himself. People would think that such dedication from a son would bring him closer to his parents; “but for all the work one does, one still doesn’t gain any right to be treated with loving kindness by everyone; on the contrary, one is alone, a perfect stranger to everyone, and merely an object of curiosity.” (Emrich) Gregor did not stand up for himself, he let his parents control his life; a life he despised. His parents had such control over him that he no longer was a son to them, but an...
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...The Hidden Parts Everything is hidden. One watches the movies, reads the literature and even looks at the arts but does not really look at the true meaning behind all of this. The hidden theme. Alienation. “It is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship” (Kalekin, 1) Many may have heard of Marx theory. Karl Marx, a well known philosopher in the twentieth century went and pursued his calling. “[His] works inspired the foundation of many communist regimes” (“Karl”, 1). Istvan Meszaros clearly states Marx theory on the origination of alienation in a way that no man can ever forget. “It must be made equally clear, however, that such influences are exercised in the dialectical sense of ‘“continuity in discontinuity”’ (Meszaros, 1). There is very much “continuity in discontinuity” in literature, media, and the arts of today. In Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein, the hideous ‘monster’ that was created by Victor Frankenstein was frowned upon, fled from, and even abandoned by his own creator. This shows the inhumanity that society shows towards those who are different. “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies?” (Shelley, 115) The creature had merely a different look, but his emotions and desires were no different than any other human: love, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Many cast him away because his looks rang out evil. "I am alone...
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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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...“The more you do for someone, the more that someone takes you for granted.” At the beginning of Kafka's "Metamorphosis", Gregor reveals to the audience that he has "...an exhausting profession! One the road, day in, day out" (1205). We later discover that the motivation behind his work commitment is to pay back debts owed by his parents. When Gregor's mother states " It almost worries me that he never goes out on his evenings off...his only hobby is a little occasional woodwork" (1208), we realize that Gregor has sacrificed any friendships and that he is not gaining any personal reward or motivation for his efforts. In return for his work, Gregor's parents however, were unemployed. To Gregor's father, "Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, which he liked to draw out for hours over the perusal of several newspapers" (1211). Meanwhile, Gregor had to get up and be on the early train for work on a normal basis. It appears that his father has no appreciation for all of the work and effort Gregor completes for the family. Gregor's sister, Grete, had become accustomed to "wearing pretty frocks, sleeping in late...taking part in a few modest celebrations, and above all, playing the violin (1219). These were all due to the amount of work and money Gregor contributed to his family. "They had just become used to it, both the family and Gregor; they gratefully took receipt of all his money, which he willingly handed over, but there was no longer any particular warmth about...
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...Short Essay Kafka, “The Metamorphosis”: pg.1411 beginning with “His father, however,” ending at the end of Part 2. In Kafkas “The Metamorphosis”, the question of how much of Gregor’s humanity remains makes up most of the second section of the story. As the members of the Samsa family adapt to the situation they’ve been put in now with Gregor, each one seems to form a different belief of how much humanity indeed does or can remain in him. At the beginning for instance, Grete leaves milk for Gregor, which means she is assuming that his preference for milk when he was still human continues now that he’s a bug. So maybe Grete believes initially that some part of Gregor might still be there. But then she begins to notice that Gregor’s tastes in food have changed and now likes to crawl about the walls of his room, which makes her begin to realize he is now just an insect. Grete suggests taking all Gregor’s things out of his room to eliminate obstacles to his crawling and to make more space and better for an insect. The mother, on the other hand, argues that Gregor will want his things when he returns to his former human self, and she even refers to Gregor as her “unfortunate son” at one point, saying that she still believes Gregor to be the same despite his appearance. But the father show no sympathy towards Gregor or that he is the same, and attacks him as though he were a wild animal when he escapes his room. During all the commotion Gregor hides as usual, but he becomes anxious...
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...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 usually pick out. Finding some common themes in “The Trial” and “The Metamorphosis” provides a...
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...Name: Instructor: Course: Date: The Irony in “The Metamorphosis” by Frank Kafka It is true that anyone and everyone who writes can be considered a writer; it is not necessarily true that those whose writings follow a certain ideal structure are writers. According to Smith, what a writer openly says through his writing is not necessarily important; however, what a writer or an author whispers is what is of great importance (Morrel and Niles 128). What this implies is that anything whatsoever can be written to satisfy what readers and the audience are expected to see and feel (Anthony Collins 54). However, the messages in such writings can be continually nurtured in order to increase the power of the emotions and the images communicated if the story is relayed via a deeper message. This means that authors and writers can opt not to put a vivid face in the true significance and purport; this eventually expands the force field of their story’s meaning (Collins 34). Further, this prospers the capacity of the readers and the audience to interpret and explore; particularly, when the author employs the use of writing devices that prompt the readers to explore the writing in very different light. This is the kind of technique that Frank Kafkas employs in his novel, “The Metamorphosis”, in which he presents readers with a story of how a man mutates into a bug – a cockroach. “The Metamorphosis” is not just an intriguing tale, it is also a perfect example of an author employing various...
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... The Imposter Heros have always been the center of attention . Everybody loves a person that makes the bad do right and lookout for the innocent . What most people do not understand are the qualities of a hero . odysseus is not a hero . Odysseus is a man who left his wife and kids to go fight a war for pride . A war that did not need to be fought . On his journey to troy to fight the war he ran into many obstacles such as weather , nature ,the wrath of gods , and freaks of nature . The thing odysseus is unaware of is that there are suitors that invaded his home in ithaca . The suitors are in his home , drinking his wine , eating his food , sleeping with his maids , and forcing his wife to choose to marry one of them . Odysseus has most of his problems due to him being careless , pride full , and having lack of leadership. Odysseus is not a hero because he left his newborn baby and wife at home to fight a war that did not need to be fought . He fought the war for pride and dominance . He shows very poor character traits when it comes to decisions . He should have waited and stayed home with his son and family . Many people would say odysseus is a hero due to his battle strategy . He is not do to his lack of thought and him being careless . For example odysseus executes the perfect plan to escape and blind the cyclops . Which he broke into the cyclops home , stole his...
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...The Outsiders shows that teens join social groups to help create their identities. In joining these cliques, the adolescents take on both the positive and negative characteristics of them. Looking at life as an outsider and feeling as though one is being treated as an outsider is a matter of perspective or point of view. Adolescence is a time when teenagers may consider themselves to be adults, but in reality teens are still under the control of others. Parents, teachers, and other authority figures are always telling them how to live their lives. This loss of control inevitably leads to the feeling that life isn't fair. For example, Ponyboy knows that he is not safe walking the streets in his own neighborhood. He could be attacked solely because of the way he is dressed. His feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability lead him to conclude that life is not fair. Ponyboy sees injustice on a daily basis. His parents are dead, Darry is forced to work two jobs to support the brothers, Soda has dropped out of school, and the greasers are looked upon as "white trash." He explains that the gang warfare is actually warfare between the economic classes. Because he is from the poor, East Side of town, his place in life is unfairly predetermined.Since the death of their parents, Darry has assumed the responsibility of guardianship for Pony and Soda, and under that pressure he has aged beyond his years. He no longer views the two boys as siblings, but rather as a responsibility. Darry recognizes...
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...John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, is about two guys named Lenny and George that travel around a lot. They travel around looking for new jobs because Lenny is not able to resist soft things, and that always gets him into trouble. He and George are trying to save up for a house together with bunnies, so Lennie can take care of them. Throughout the book, John Steinbeck shows us that true friends stick together even if they're a liability because the care about each other. In the beginning George tells Lennie that he is sick and tired of him."God a'mighty,if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of".(page 11). George tells Lennie that he wishes that he didn't have to drag him around because then he could do whatever he wants. Even though he says all that,he also says:"No-look! I was jus' foolin' around,Lennie. I want you to stay with me."(page 13). George might think that life without Lennie is hard, but he is not willing to let him go. "Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and raised him. When his aunt Clara died,Lennie just came along with me out workin'. Got kinda used to each other after a little while."(page 40)George is telling Slim...
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...The topic that I will be talking about is about is how Gregor is treated bad, and etc. I will writing about how he is treated, how he was ill, and things that pertain to that. I will bring up examples such as no-one would hardly take care of him and how he is mistreated. The reader would probably care because of simply, how he is treated. Gregor would be one of the main characters in the story, and seeing how he is treated. It would catch people's attention on that. They would be worried, or really curious about what is happening. I am trying to prove out of all of this, is where Gregor was mistreated. Well, going toward the end of the book, Gregor gets really ill. No One could possibly care about him at the moment. I know because in part...
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