Both Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” shows a relationship between siblings and parents. The siblings in “Everyday Use”, Maggie and Dee, have a strained relationship because of their difference and that does not change throughout the story. The siblings in “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor and Grete, have a loving relationship in the beginning that does however turn sour throughout the story. Mama in “Everyday Use” loves her daughter’s equally but has a closer relationship with Maggie. The parents in “The Metamorphosis” however turn abusive towards their son after his transformation and loving and caring towards Grete. The siblings in Walker’s “Everyday Use” have a strained relationship. This can be seen in the beginning …show more content…
His parents cannot bear to look at him and are violent towards him. However, Grete showed affection for Gregor. She took care to notice what Gregor’s likes and dislikes were, became his spokesperson, and the only link between Gregor and his parents. She is very considerate and believes Gregor will be more comfortable if the furniture is removed so that he is able to move around more. From this, we can see a loving and caring relationship between brother and sister. However, Gregor doesn’t want his furniture removed and his reactions provoke his father to attack him, changing his relationship with his sister. Unlike Maggie and Dee whose relationship remains consistent throughout the story, Gregor and Grete begin to drift apart. Grete no longer sees the insect as her brother and doesn’t bother to take his likes and dislikes into account. She just throws whatever food is leftover into his room. It is Grete’s job to clean Gregor’s room, however it is done so carelessly and with haste that it doesn’t make a slightest difference. The family starts filling Gregor’s room with unwanted items making it more difficult for him to move around. The change in their relationship is what ultimately leads to Gregor’s death, as he is no longer seen as her brother but as an insect and is left in his room to …show more content…
She describes Dee as sophisticated but showy and Maggie as a lame dog and practical. Nevertheless, there is a sense that Mama is closer to Maggie. Mama has left the quilts as a wedding gift for Maggie. It can be inferred that Maggie is intended to marry within their community and live a life very similar to Mama’s. That is another reason that she is closer to Maggie, because Maggie is like herself. Yet another reason is that her relationship with Dee is complex and filled with conflict. Mama is very proud of her heritage and her life, and Dee sees them as poor and uneducated. She went to school and changed her name to something that sounded more African. Even after Mama explains that her name Dee holds a deep meaning in her family, Dee insists that it was a name given by white slave owners. This shows that Mama and Dee do not have the “closeness” that Mama and Maggie have due to them seeing the world in two different
Throughout “Everyday Use” mama compares the two sisters very often. For instance, “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure. She is a woman now” (744) Mama is saying Dee is much more attractive than Maggie and how she has the figure of a grown woman, it also shows that Dee is more cherished and appreciated because she is light skin. In the slavery days, Dee would have been an in-house slave while Maggie would have been an outside slave which is based on their physical appearance. Mama also showed bias when she said “Dee feet were always neat looking like God himself shaped them with a certain style.” (745). Mama put Dee on a high pedal stool while she always brought down Maggie, like when she said “she isn’t bright . . . good looks. . . passed her by”. Mama has shown bias between the two sisters since the very beginning of “Everyday Use” comparing the two physical traits. Mama was vey bias throughout the story but between her bias Maggie’s potential and her ignorance tied together brought family themes in this
When two children are brought up by the same parent in the same environment, one might logically conclude that these children will be very similar, or at least have comparable qualities. In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," however, this is not the case. The only thing Maggie and Dee share in common is the fact that they were both raised by the same woman in the same home. They differ in appearance, personality, and ideas that concern the family artifacts.
Grete at the beginning of Gregor’s transformation turned into the primary caregiver; however by doing this her inexperience ended up hurting Gregor. A decision was made to remove Gregor’s possessions by Grete despite quarrel from her mother, “Into a room in which Gregor ruled the bare walls all alone, no human being beside Grete was ever likely to set foot.” (Kafka 32). This was understandable considering she was the only one that was helping Gregor, but Grete let too much power go to her head. Unlike this unintentional pain she caused Gregor, she purposely began to abandon him and chose to give up hope.
In this story, Maggie is a lot like her mother. They both are uneducated, loving, caring, and allow Dee to run over them. Maggie has been through more things than her mother has though, because of the incident that happened. Maggie has scars like Emily, except Maggie’s scars are from a house fire (319). The house fire has impacted Maggie’s life tremendously, since she is very self-conscious and shy. Walker stated that Maggie is “ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs (318). The mother is protective of Maggie and will be there for her whenever she needs her too. Even though her mother knows all her struggles, she still supports her and pushes her to be better. I think that is one reason she pushes her to marry John Thomas, because she wants her to become her own person and to be strong (319). The mother of “Everyday Use” is opposite from the mother in “I Stand Here Ironing”, because she is there for her children no matter what their financial status
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
Walker shows that in mother and daughter relationships adaptation to change can be hard in a variety of ways. First, Dee, Mother's oldest daughter, comes home to visit her mother and little sister Maggie. When she shows up, she introduces herself as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (416). Her mother is confused about why she wants to change her name, since it was the one that was passed down. Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had. Instead, Dee "read to us without pity; forcing words, lies other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (413) and tried t...
The relationship between Gregor and his sister Grete is perhaps the most unique. It is Grete, after all, with whom the metamorphosed Gregor has any rapport, suggesting the Kafka intended to lend at least some significance to their relationship. Grete's significance is found in her changing relationship with her brother. It is Grete's changing actions, feelings, and speech toward her brother, coupled with her accession to womanhood that seems to parallel Gregor's own metamorphosis. This change represents her metamorphosis from adolescence into adulthood but at the same time it marks the final demise of Gregor. Thus, certain symmetry is to be found in "The Metamorphosis." While Gregor falls in the midst of despair, Grete ascends to a self-sufficient, sexual
It is very difficult to make a set definition of what a monster is. Monsters may look frightening, have unnatural body proportions, or even a dark and evil aura. We often see monsters as ghosts, werewolves, vampires, or artificial creatures, but it is still hard to say exactly a monster is. I believe monstrosity is made within the eye of the beholder. “Monsters” are what you make of them. Most “monsters” are just different and unique and that’s what makes them monstrous- because they are different from what people perceive as normal. That is how Gregor is turned into a monster in The Metamorphosis.
When Dee finds out that her mama promise to give the quilts to her sister, Dee gets very angry and says that she deserves the quilts more than Maggie because Maggie would not take care of them like she would. Dee feels that she can value and treasure heritage more than her sister Maggie. Dee does what she wants, whenever she wants and she will not accept the word no for any answer. “She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her.” Maggie is used to never getting anything. Throughout the entire story, it says that Maggie gives up many things so Dee can have what she needs or
It is what a true mother-daughter bond is supposed to be like. When Dee and the mom were arguing over the quilts the narrator said “like somebody used to never winning anything, or having reserved for her,” which is something that mama has a favorite daughter and she lets Dee have whatever she wants without letting Maggie have anything. It seems like mama wants Dee to be happy when she comes down so she will want to come home. Mama even was going to call her by her new name instead of not going to she tried to because it comes off as Dee is her favorite daughter which is why their mother-daughter relationship is different from Maggie 's and mama’s relationship. Even when Dee took what she wanted like when she just went through mama’s things without asking her. That 's something that only a favorite daughter or someone with a very good mother-daughter relationship would do.
The Specific society in which Gregor undergoes his transformation is so rigid in its order that Gregor’s situation is handled by the family and the family only. Short of the boss and a few people that necessarily had to see Gregor, the Samsa household felt it better to conceal its problem than to address it, in order to maintain an outward
Samsa is a man who seemed to be cold, deceitful, demanding, and protective. He does not appear as if he gets long with Gregor after his transformation. Gregor the oldest sibling who, after his father’s business went belly up. Took on the role of father as well as husband. He set out and acquired a job that would financially support the family. At the beginning of the story, when Gregor was not up and ready for work. His father was knocking on his door trying to awake Gregor up for work. A few would say that was him concerned for Gregor, but in my opinion think that appeared to be the demanding side of him. His father deceived Gregor by portraying himself as feeble and weak. Actually, he was a strong man who act upon an individual who did wrong in his eyes. Mr. Samsa did not want the horrendous bug inside of his house, for the reason that he ashamed of his son. He was so ashamed of Gregor that he pushed him back into his room and did not want him to come out, resembling a circus trainer pushing back a lion in his cage. Gregor’s father became outraged when he acknowledged that his wife had collapsed on the couch. He started hurdling apples across the room, hitting Gregor, which one became embedded into Gregor. “Under the threat of his furious father, he now has to turn back to his room, henceforth the prison in which he will pine away his life in solitary confinement.’ In the story, just after Gregor transformed into the insect his father started to discuss their finances to the two women. He grabbed the lock box out and pulled documents and notebooks from the box. He informs them that he had put aside an investment, although minuscule would help them with their upcoming financial situation. Also, when Gregor was giving him money to pay off his debt from losing his business five years ago, that he was putting aside a raining day fund. The father figured between the investment and the money Gregor gave him would help them out for one to two
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.
When reading a story or watching a movie we automatically fall in love with the animal characters and have a closer bond more than the human characters in the story. When our favorite animal character dies, we are more heart broken. I know when watching a movie and just knowing that my favorite animal character dies breaks my heart. I then do not want to continue watching the movie, but have to watch the ending, so then finally find out that my animal friend comes to life, it brings me into joyful tears and finally decided that I really like the movie again. For example, when I was watching the television series The Seven Deadly Sins and when the pig character Hawk dies, I got so upset that cute character dies, I then watch the last episode
The Apostle Paul said, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As a follower of Christ, how do I transform my mind? What does the process look like? Is it a one-time experience or a lifetime process? If we were honest with ourselves, most of us would agree that it’s a lifetime process. The challenge lies in how do we “transform” our minds? The Cambridge dictionary defines the “transform” as “to change completely the appearance of character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved.” The Greek word for “transform” is “metamorphoō” which comes from two words “meta” meaning “change” and “morphe” meaning “form.” Otherwise, it means “to change into another form.”