Mistakes. The negatively perceived, unforeseen outcomes from decisions that have been previously made. They urge us away from our earlier adverse choices and set us on the path of a discovery, as being emotional, intellectual physical, or metaphysical. Whether deliberate, accidental or negligible, they will generally conclude and present us with a form of enlightenment. The poems ‘Fire and Ice’, ‘Home Burial’ and ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost and the short story ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka all have prominent examples of how mistakes will generally lead to discovery and show that the majority are random and unintended. Within these texts, the audience encompasses the realisation of the human condition for a possessive and selfish nature, …show more content…
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (Mending Wall, line 1).
The ‘something’ being nature, seemingly rhetoric or riddle-like, gives an insight into the steadfast insistence of barriers, the persona acknowledges the selfish, possessive human condition.
"Can't a man speak of his own child he's lost?" (Home Burial, line 37)
Exploring the assumption that whilst death may be inevitable, and although grief is managed in different ways, it still instructs us through emotional and intellectual encounters with mortality.
“Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.” (Fire and ice, lines
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"Human beings have to have their sleep." (The Metamorphosis, line 1.5)
Suggesting that Gregor’s mistake was consistently being inconsistent, transforming him into a bug to learn and discover a structure. Though Frost’s poetry and Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ they demonstrate an overarching theme of man being present in the natural world as well as underestimate mating how powerful it can be. It comes more prominent, which then forces each persona on the path to discovering their own individuality.
Frost’s ‘Fire and Ice’, ‘Home Burial’ and ‘Mending Wall’, each have a persona who displays their own views of how human nature has and will give conflictions that will affect oneself or their view of the world. “He saw her from the bottom of the stairs
Before she saw him.” […] (Home Burial,
‘’This internal lack of self-esteem and the insecurities it produces are heightened by the change in his body. One of the major problems to reading The Metamorphosis is accepting Gregor’s transformation as literal and not merely symbolic; he has really turned into an insect. The strangeness of this fact, along with his and his family’s reactions to it, is what makes the narrative so fascinating and rich in interpretative possibilities’’(Silet). In the Metamorphosis it’s quite odd the way his family reacts to him during his transformation from a human to a creature. They act as if it was something common like, a flu or something.
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
In The Metamorphosis Kafka illustrates a grotesque story of a working salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that his body resembles a bug. Through jarring, almost unrealistic narration, Kafka opens up the readers to a view of Gregor’s futile and disappointing life as a human bug. By captivating the reader with this imaginary world Kafka is able to introduce the idea that Gregor’s bug body resembles his human life. From the use of improbable symbolism Kafka provokes the reader to believe that Gregor turning into a bug is realistic and more authentic compared to his unauthentic life as a human.
Everyone goes through stressors in life, the effect of stress doesn’t always have the same effects on a person and every person has their own ways of dealing with stress. People who hold their stress to the point of where their is pressure and tension in their lives. This build up of stressors can cause a person to transform to something different than what they once were. My stressors has never gotten to the point of changing the person I am but it has made me change and grow as a person. As for Gregor Samsa of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, his stressors did transformed him to become a creature that is lower than himself. Gregor and I deal with the same stressors that focus on work, family, and social life, but we handle them differently.
In Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the character Gregor transforms from a man into a bug, specifically a cockroach. Although Gregor physically changes, he does not change as a person. Gregor merely accepts his new condition as a bug and his family’s continuous abuse and hostility. Gregor’s acceptance of his new bug form is representative of his passive personality before and after his transformation. Gregor’s passivity, in response to the hostile world around him, causes his eventual downfall. Therefore, Kafka uses the character Gregor to exemplify how a passive attitude can cause one’s demise.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is a masterfully written short story about Gregor Samsa, a man who devotes his life to his family and work, for nothing in return. Only when he is transformed into a helpless beetle does he begin to develop a self-identity and understanding of the relationships around him. The underlying theme of The Metamorphosis is an existential view that says any given choice will govern the later course of a person's life, and that the person has ultimate will over making choices. In this case, Gregor?s lack of identity has caused him to be numb to everything around him.
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.”
In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s evolution to an insect symbolizes the loss of thorough communication, representing the disconnection of the individual from his family and his surroundings. Through this metamorphosis, the once loving family begins to remove itself from any past interactions with Gregor. In addition, the setting and surroundings of Gregor completely overcome him and persuade him to lose hope. The family and surroundings, not the change to an insect, lead Gregor towards death. Not only do the uncontrollable surroundings change Gregor, but so does the family.
Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First, Gregor's family is only concerned with the effect Gregor's change will have on them, specifically the effect it will have on their finances and reputation. They are more than willing to take completely gratuitous advantage of Gregor; he works to pay their debt and they are happy to indulge themselves with luxury. Gregor is the soul employed member of his family and this is their primary interest when Gregor is transformed. Secondly, Gregor is penalized for his efforts to be a good son, and a good worker; his toils are completely taken for granted by his family. The Samsa family is not interested in Gregor beyond their own needs, outsiders are reverentially treated. Thirdly, it is displayed by the positive changes that occur in the Samsa family as Gregor descends into tragedy and insignificance. As Gregor's life becomes more painful, isolated, and worthless the Samsa family becomes more functional and self-reliant.
Franz Kafka illustrates in his book the struggle that most humans have throughout their life: ‘Who am I?’ He demonstrates this through his radical and exaggerated formation of The Metamorphosis, a man becoming a bug; or a bug always thinking he was a man, then realizing that he is and always has been a bug. This bug, Gregor Samsa, goes through an immense psychological realization at the beginning of the book; he had been deceived by his own mind from the beginning of his life. Throughout Gregor’s Metamorphosis, Gregor experiences the loss of his self actualization, recognition, belonging, security, and physiological needs. His situation had taken away all the basic psychological needs of any human as illustrated by Maslow’s Hierarchy of
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.
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. His poems are not what they seem to be at first glance. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.
“Fire and Ice” is a poem that paints a bleak picture of the future in which there are two paths, fire and ice, that both lead to the end of the world. Frost uses language throughout the poem that appears to be simple, but is actually very effective at communicating deeper, insightful meanings. He connects fire and ice to desire and hate and creates multiple levels of complexity. For example, the simple passage “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.” (“Fire and Ice” 1-2) introduces the two main symbols in the poem, but, at the same time, pulls the reader in because desire and hate are so personal and such a significant part of human nature. After the symbols are presented, the narrator involves himself or herself in the poem by saying “From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire.” (“Fire and Ice” 3-4). A clear decision is made here in favor of fire, implying that the narrator favors desire. Frost believes that the world will eventually be destroyed by destructive and negative human traits: desire, greed, and jealousy. Yet in Frost’s mind, these traits are still preferable to hate. This opinion is demonstrated by the narrator’s choice of fire. Frost prefers the heat of passion and fire to the ...
Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" offers a powerfully symbolic expression of personal anguish and uncertainty. The story's opening sequence tells of a man named Gregor Samsa who awakes one morning to find that he has been inexplicably transformed into a giant insect. Isolation, fear, and personal resentment eventually overwhelm the creature. At last, when Gregor Samsa is completely abandoned, death succumbs him. The emotional distress and internal struggle for Samsa in "The Metamorphosis" is quite logical for Kafka's audience. The circumstance of Samsa's sudden fate, however, is not. Kafka solves this problem by providing intimate details about the unbelievable, forcing the audience to accept things otherwise deemed ridiculous. In "The Metamorphosis," for example, Kafka describes inse...
"…when beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes"1