Metamorphosis Compare And Contrast Essay

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

case for Samsa and Ilych.
The way I see it though, is that these two stories do offer hope to the reader. They serve as cautionary tales if you will, being that you shouldn't lose yourself in pursuit of money and material possessions. They will not matter in the end after all, rather the relationships and memories you create for yourself will. If we can learn anything from Samsa and Ilych is that we need to learn to break free and adapt from the monotony of life. We can adapt to find a better and healthier work-life balance, so we are not killing ourselves. We also need to learn to take a step back everyone in a while and learn to live in the moment, we will all be happier for it.
Many people are stuck in dead end jobs that are slowly killing them. They either do not know how to change their lives or are just scared of destroying the status quo. Many people even find excuses that keep them from leading happy lives. Kafka mentions in the Metamorphosis, “I have the money to pay off my parents’ debt-it should only be another five to six years-i’ll definitely do it. Then i’ll make my big break” (113). Basically, Kafka is just explaining to us the mindset that many people carry with them, that they will get things done eventually. He uses Gregor as an example because he keeps using his family as excuses for putting off his big break, but in by doing so he is allowing more problems to unravel before him.
I believe that Gregor is afraid to move on from his job and family to the point where he puts his own dreams on hold. Gregor puts all of his family’s needs before his, therefore effectively giving up on himself to ever have a happy life. It’s admirable of Gregor to put his family ahead of himself, but that is a recipe for disaster, you eventually start to resent them because you feel obligated to help as much as possible without taking care of yourself. Its unhealthy and absurd because how can you truly be there for others when you cant even be there for yourself.
When you work too much it begins to cloud your thoughts. You constantly have work on your mind, even during times that you should be spending relaxing. It creates anxiety that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Kafka himself writes, “The boy has nothing in his head but the company. I almost worry that he never goes out at night… he sits with us at the table and quietly read the newspaper or studies train schedules” (117). In making this comment, Kafka wants us to see how overworking affects you negatively. Gregor becomes anxious about work and in his free time studies the routes he needs to take to work. By explaining this to us, Kafka creates a mental picture of Gregor as being a robot who’s sole responsibility is to work.
I can attest that working too much can have negative effects on your conscious. For the past few months I have been working three jobs, and it has been absolute hell. I have become anxious and constantly stare at the clock trying to plan my day before having to go to work. My anxiety hit an all time low in August while I was on vacation.
I went on a family trip down to Palm Springs for a few days. It was a great time I had a blast, but throughout the entire trip all I could think about was how I had to go to work as soon as I got back home. My anxiety ate at me like it had its own insatiable hunger, and one night after I had fallen asleep I had the scariest nightmare ever. In my dream I was late to work and for whatever reason I could never actually make it all. It made me panic and I freaked out, I woke up breathing heavy and even broke a little sweat. I found it absurd that I had a nightmare about being late because this was supposed to be my time to unwind and hang loose. But, I couldn't because I knew I had to go back to my incredibly ordinary and busy life.
All of us fall into a routine because it’s easy and comfortable.

We dislike change because it brings uncertainty, and uncertainty breeds fear. That is why we stick to the status quo. In his story The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy writes, “Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible” (129). Tolstoy point is that Ivan’s life had become so ordinary and uneventful, it had become dull. There was no excitement for Ivan, nothing that made him eager to get out of bed in the morning. I think many people have experienced the feelings that Ivan has felt. You just try to manage to get through the day. Everyone wants to believe that they are special and have great fulfilling lives but never do. It is no ones fault but their own, in order to have greatness you must work for it. You have to take risks and if you don't you’ll end up like Ivan Ilych and regret your entire

life.
You have to be willing to change in order for it to take place. In the Radiolab episode, “Inheritance,” they mention the philosopher Karl Marx and his idea that human beings were an improvable species, that if you can change the conditions around people you can change the person. I find that to be true, if you want to change you have to take steps to achieve it. You have to break away from the absurdity that is your regular routine and surround yourself with positive people. Do the things that make you happy, because after all,we only have one life to live. Always remember just because you're alive, doesn't mean that you are living.