Comparing and contrasting the protagonists’ course of life in the
texts Metamorphosis and Eugenie Grandet
Comparing and contrasting the protagonists’ course of life that was
influenced by their relationships with money-minded characters in the
texts Metamorphosis and Eugenie Grandet.
To: Mrs. Monty
Eugenie Grandet by Honore De Balzac and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
are stories that reflect upon the relationships of simplistic
protagonists, and their relations with money-minded people. Both
protagonists (Gregor from Metamorphosis and Eugenie from Eugenie
Grandet) are affected by the actions of their greedy relatives that
influences the course their entire lives.
Eugenie starts off living with her miserly, yet wealthy father, Felix
Grandet. The author of the novel narrates, “It is true that he handed
on his old shoes to her (for they fitted), but the quarterly reversion
of Grandet’s shoes could not possibly considered a present, they were
so worn.”(pg.53). This quotation portrays how miserly such a wealthy
man could be. In fact, though he Monsieur Grandet is so rich, he and
his family are surviving with just the basic needs of human survival,
and so a wealthy man of France was living without luxuries just to
save more money. On top of this, Monsieur Grandet wanted to get his
daughter married off to a rich household in order to gain access to
even more money! On the contrary, in Metamorphosis, Gregor is the one
earning for his middle-class family. Gregor is earning for his parents
in order for them to clear off their debts. As Gregor was earning, his
family were spending on luxuries they could attain at their financial
level. The social positioning of the two characters is rather
different, though...
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...f her wealth for Charles so that Charles can have
the opportunity to succeed in life and so that he can marry the woman
of his choice, even though she dearly loves him. Not only that, when
Eugenie was the owner of all the wealth of her father left for her,
she gave away a lot of her wealth to charity, and let herself live
with just the basics of survival. Both characters (Gregor and Eugenie)
are the only ones to have humane emotional feelings, but the selfish
and corrupt society around them ended up leaving the two protagonists
to die alone.
Finally, Eugenie Grandet and Metamorphosis are stories that illustrate
the relationships of simplistic protagonists, and their relations with
gluttonous people. Both protagonists (Gregor from Metamorphosis and
Eugenie from Eugenie Grandet) are affected by the actions of their
relatives that shape their entire lives.
into three Roman-numbered parts, with each section having its own climax. A number of themes run through the story, but at the center are the family relationships affected by the great change in the story's protagonist, Gregor Samsa. Grete,Gregor’s sister, undergoes a transformation parallel to her brother’s.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
While growing up, it is better to try to get involved in society, even violently, rather than alienating one’s self. Growing up can be painful, especially for the protagonists in The Metamorphosis and The Catcher in the rye. The meaning of the work for The catcher in the rye is “People look to approval from others and a sense of belonging to derive their self-worth” and the meaning of the work for the t.m is “Society values only those who are useful to them - those who live without purpose in life are merely a burden”
People today live in an absurd world, where they are constantly working and on the go, they forget what matters most to them like their dreams and aspirations and become work zombies. That is why the stories of the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy speak to me, they comment on the absurdity of mundane daily life and tasks that we have become accustomed to and make you think about the life that you are living. The main characters of the two stories, Gregor Samsa and Ivan Ilych, become overwhelmed by the amount of pressures that they put on themselves and by their families. The two characters epitomize what the workers of today have become and the worst part is they never realize how unhappy they have become until it is too late. I know many of us feel the burden of working to much and not living the way we want to. These stories are very bleak and don't offer hope for the main characters, they failed to adapt and perished because of it. The stories make you feel that as if there is no escaping the absurdity of life, as is the
There is a theory that dream and myth are related which is conveyed through the writing of Douglas Angus’ Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale and supported by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The stories are very symbolic when conveying the metamorphosis of a human being. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the Metamorphosis some suggest love is received through acts of cruelty yet in actuality it appears that cruelty results in heartache. Due to being a beast, the repulsiveness requires genuine love which can achieve the “magical transformation.” This “magical transformation” is not achieved and creates a twist in the plot derived from the concepts in the “Beauty and the Beast.”
Because Gregor is no longer capable of filling the role of "provider", his actions no longer define the lives of his family, and they are freed from inauthenticity by this revelation. Much like the philosophers of the existentialist movement, Gregor's family realizes that in the face of absurdity, the only choice one has is to define their own existence. As time wears on, Gregor's family becomes contemptuous of the burden which comes from caring for him and hiding him from the eyes of the public. In reaction to their contempt, each chooses to prevent Gregor's new dependent role from hindering their authenticity. The father feels a sense of renewed pride in once again being the head of the household.
First and foremost Gregor was betrayed by his own parents who failed to care for him after his transformation. The initial reaction of the parents, especially his father, set the tone for the whole novel. Instead of trying to resolve the issue with a reasonable solution, his father physically abuses him, “when from behind, his father gave him a hard
Gregor is the focal point of the family, he provided for them when they needed the money. Gregor also brought the family into turmoil with his change. Just as Gregor brought them into turmoil he brought on growth for the family. His death gave his family a new life. Before Gregor’s metamorphosis, his family was a helpless and selfish. There was little meaningful interaction among them. Once Gregor had become a creature the family had to become resourceful, they learned valuable skills. Gregor gave his family something that could bond them together, they discussed what to do about Gregor almost every night. Gregor’s tragedy brought his family together. Gregor served as a “savior” for his family, he played the same role that Jesus did for the world. Gregor’s life was taken so that the rest of his family may achieve salvation. His family had changed from a selfish and lazy group of people to a loving and caring family. As Gregor grew closer toward death, his family grew closer to
The Metamorphosis is a among Franz Kafka’s famous stories. The story is about a haunted man who changed into an insect. The author has written the story based on various theories such as Marxism, existentialist and religious views. It is also a reflection of a hostile world with major themes being abandonment, self-alienation, and troubles relationship. It reveals people’s struggles while in the modern society where one is neglected in the time of need (Franz 8). The cultural and social setting of the story helps in supporting the major themes of the story. In as much as the story is a dramatic fiction, it is necessary to explore the interior monologue style in order to inform the audience what the protagonist is thinking.
Do the physical and emotional changes of other people have effects on the people around them? If they do change, will everyone still view them as the same person? Unfortunately, most people in the world today do not accept change in others. Even though the looks of people change and at some moments in their life, their emotions change, they are still going be the same person. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a prime example of how one person’s changes can have an effect on the people around him. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Gregor undergoes a metamorphosis that fills him with guilt and brings to the forefront the transformation of his family.
In The Metamorphosis, Kafka establishes, through his religious imagery and gospel-esque episodic narration, the character of Gregor Samsa simultaneously as a kind of inverse Messianic figure and a god-like artist, relating the two and thus turning the conventional concept of the literary hero on its ear. The structure of the novel reflects that of the Gospel of Mark in that it is narrated in individual events, and in this it is something of a Künstlerroman - that is, the real metamorphosis is over the course of the novel, rather than just at the beginning, and that change is a heightened sensitivity to the world in an artistic sense. The motif of change is a rather theological one as well: we see it in a religious sense, in the form of renewal and redemption, as Samsa is left a better, stronger and spiritually inhuman individual by his metamorphosis. What the reader knows of Samsa's life is very limited: only the last few months of his life are actually narrated, and even these are only revealed in vignettes. For this reason, the actual change in Gregor is subtle - much like that of Christ - and Gregor's status as the novel's hero is a humble one. His martyrdom for others creates in the reader an intense empathy for his plight, and elevates the physically weak, timid Samsa to the level of a demigod in the reader's eyes. Gregor's sacrifice and development of a newfound humanity even in his beastliness, coupled with the book's obscure, fractured style, detail the creation of at once an artistic visionary and a glorious Messiah, establishing Gregor as a Christ-like figure and the ultimate literary hero, one whose bodily weakness only strengthens his intellectual weight and the reader's adoration of him.
“Nobody could understand him…nobody thought he could understand them.” Gregor, the protagonist in Metamorphosis, faces one of the most difficult issues in any society. Barriers. Language barriers, psychological barriers, emotional barriers, and overall communication barriers. Gregor is described through details, images, and rhythms as a caring, concerned character that makes others’ issues his priority, despite his metamorphosis. However, the longer he remains transformed, the more distant his family becomes, and one of the biggest complications that he faces is his inability to connect with his family and communicate to them how thankful he is. Gregor’s response demonstrates the greater meaning that intensifying barriers can completely sever relationships, even when undesired.
From the beginning of The Metamorphosis Kafka offers a comical depiction of Gregor’s “squirming legs” (Kafka 13) and a body in which “he could not control” (7). Gregor’s initial reaction to this situation was the fact he was late to his dissatisfying job as a salesman, but Gregor knows that he has to continue his job in order to keep the expectation his family holds upon him to pay of the family’s everlasting debt. When Gregor’s family eventually realizes that Gregor is still lying in his bed, they are confused because they have expectations on Gregor that he will hold the family together by working. They know if Gregor was to quit his job there would be a great catastrophe since he is the glue to keeping their family out of debt. The communication between his family is quickly identified as meager and by talking to each other from the adjacent walls shows their disconnection with each other. Kafka introduces the family as lacking social skills in order to offer the reader to criticize and sympathize for Gregor’s family dynamics. Gregor’s manager makes an appearance quickly after experiencing the dysfunction within the fami...
...he needs of society are egotistical, however still fascinating. Gregor also later thinks about how his pride at the beginning was so great because of how his parents leaned on him for supporting his family and how it faded once his parents began to expect him to care for the family and as a result he became a recluse.
In Franz Kafka’s short story, Metamorphosis, the idea of existentialism is brought out in a subtle, yet definite way. Existentialism is defined as a belief in which an individual is ultimately in charge of placing meaning into their life, and that life alone is meaningless. They do not believe in any sort of ultimate power and focus much of their attention on concepts such as dread, boredom, freedom and nothingness. This philosophical literary movement emerged in the twentieth-century, when Kafka was establishing his writing style in regards to alienation and distorted anxiety. A mirror to his own personal lifestyle, this story follows the short and sad life of a man unable to break out of the bonds society has placed on him. These bonds are not only evident in the work place, but at home too. Being constantly used and abused while in his human form, Gregor’s lifestyle becomes complicated once he becomes a giant insect and is deemed useless. Conflicts and confusion arise primarily between Gregor and his sister Grete, his parents, and his work. Each of these three relationships has different moral and ethical complications defining them. However, it is important for one to keep in mind that Gregor’s metamorphosis has placed him into a position of opposition, and that he has minimal control over the events to take place. Conflicts will also occur between family members as they struggle with the decision of what to do with Gregor. In the end they all come to the agreement that maintaining his uselessness is slowly draining them and they must get rid of him.