The Class Of 1968-Post Structuralism

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Western philosophy takes for granted binary opposites such as masculine versus feminine, white versus black, logic versus emotion, etc. and raises one side of the binary above the other. In doing so, one side of the binary is considered to be self-evident — to be made up of its own identity rather than through differences against others — and is established as the “truth” to which all else follows. Post-structuralism, the topic at hand in Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan’s “The Class of 1968 — Post-Structuralism par lui-même,” focuses on dismantling the seemingly stable binaries through close scrutiny of language, therefore disrupting the hierarchies created through socially constructed categories. Additionally, Rivkin and Ryan especially focus …show more content…

Being stripped from his ability to work, Gregor is now able to enjoy himself and take pleasure in life. The detail of Gregor being able to “breathe more freely” is a metaphor for the relief of pressure he feels as he is no longer constrained to the expectations society places on him as society does not consider Gregor a human anymore. While Gregor is a “monstrous vermin” and physically not human, his consciousness, Kafka argues, is more human than pre-metamorphosis Gregor. This concept that Gregor is both animal and human alludes to the post structuralism concept that the categories that Western philosophy has set upon are false. Post-metamorphosis Gregor is cast out as “Other” because Gregor is a blended figure which disrupts the orderly system society has in place. Kafka conveys that what society defines as animalistic and as humanistic is found in both pre- and post-metamorphosis Gregor, illustrating that the binary that …show more content…

Towards the conclusion of the novella, Gregor is referred to an “it” by Grete (Kafka 37). In doing so, Grete dehumanizes Gregor, even though ironically Gregor has a more human consciousness than the rest of his family, and makes a last attempt to categorize Gregor as “it” is a signifier for many things. Here, Kafka shows the extent to which society will go to for order to remain, which is to dehumanize, and even demonize, those who do not fit the system. In Gregor’s final moments, “his conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister’s.” Then, “without his consent, his head sank down to the floor” (Kafka 39). The detail “without his consent” suggests that Gregor did not want to die. However, because of society’s pressure and standards, because society would not accept him no matter how many attempts he made, Gregor agrees that he must disappear. Kafka illustrates that Gregor, who is sympathetic and kind, as seen in his selfless will to provide for his family, qualities that should be valued in humanity, is being rejected because he does not fit into a category which shows how categories are in nature damaging and dehumanizing. To illustrate the damaging effects of categories, the bath bombs in my photomontage have a red halo around them, which signifies that the

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