The Sins of Gregor Samsa of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Gregor Samsa’s crimes originate from his intense devotion to his family, and thus in his intense devotion to his work, which in turn makes him intently devout to the conformist society that creates his world. Gregor’s crimes are not of the scope that contains what one may consider normal or standard crimes, and his motivations come from a separate set of values than those that society would consider to be the median. As a result of Gregor’s abnormal and distinctive crimes, he becomes the victim of an odd punishment that indirectly benefits all of Gregor’s previously mentioned motivations. Within the text of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s awkward punishment turns out to be his transformation into a despicable and horrid bug. Gregor’s transformation is due to his crimes, which include alienating and losing himself in his work, stealing the position of head of the house from his father, and becoming a conformist in a society that needs deviation to define and justify its conformity. Gregor’s punishment of transformation gives him the ability to repent for all of the crimes for which he has been convicted of by himself and society and make right all of his aforementioned wrongs.
Gregor’s dedication to his job remains undeniable; even directly after the metamorphosis Gregor has plans for making it to work, alibi a few moments late. However, despite his dedication, Gregor refuses to be satisfied with his job and all that it entails, most especially his treatment. “What a fate; to be condemned to work for a firm where the slightest negligence gave rise to the greatest suspicion” (Kafka 9). The disdain for his job happens to be warranted, just as his ded...
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...elf, or prepare to accept the consequences, whatever they maybe.
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...e Menorah Journal And Shaping American Jewish Identity: Culture And Evolutionary Sociology. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies, 30(4), 61-79. doi:10.1353/sho.2012.0095
Just as in any other sport, understanding gives rise to advantage and success. As serious fishermen, we had dedicated much thought to understanding the fish, hypothesizing their behavior. One understanding we had already gained through previous experiences was that fish readily eat the prey that is normally available. This, we concluded, was a sort of defense against fishermen and their foreign lures and was acquired through the fishes’ own previous experience of eating a lure. In applying this understanding to our fishing, we performed a routine food chain analysis to find out what our lures needed to imitate. The results were that the part of the food chain just beneath our quarry consisted mostly of small fish such as anchovies and young yellowtail, smaller than those shad and bluegill normally eaten in freshwater ponds. To compensate for this difference we would have to use lures smaller than those we were used to using. Luckily we had some.
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
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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...
Conclusively, while Bram Stokers novel Dracula is seen as a gothic and horror story, I argue that it is a novel that seeks to address female sexuality directly. Seen through numerous passages, Stoker confronts and battles the views between sexuality during the Victorian era though his genius of characterization of characters present within the novel. As it seems highly intentional to me, I respect the way in which he criticizes and critiques upon female sexuality by bringing into light new ideas regarding female desires. When contrasting his text upon today’s culture, the differences to how one perceived the vampire has changed significantly.
Fishing with the utilization of nets was one of the first techniques employed by Cromagnons (modern humans) for catching their food. An ancient site in East Timor suggest that the early humans utilized these fishing techniques in open water dating back more than 40,000 years (Balter ...
Samuel C. Heilman, Portrait of American Jews, The Last half of the 20th Century (Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, 1998), 4.
In the year 1897, Bram Stoker releases the crown jewel of the 20th century: his vampire epic Dracula. Ever since Dracula, Transylvania, and castles have been associative of vampirism, the world has become “bloody”. There are slight deviations to the novel, but the majority of them are fairly partial to the novel. Worldly views show Dracula as an old man with a new face. The inception of Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been the melting pot of the recreations and incarnations of the world’s deadliest, bloodsucking vampire, Count Dracula.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.
One of Franz Kafka's most well-known and most often criticized works is the short story, "Die Verwandlung," or "The Metamorphosis." "The Metamorphosis" is most unusual in that the first sentence is the climax; the rest of the story is mainly falling action (Greenburg 273). The reader learns that Gregor Samsa, the story's main character, has been turned into an enormous insect. Despite this fact, Gregor continues to act and think like any normal human would, which makes the beginning of the story both tragic and comical at the same time. However, one cannot help but wonder why Gregor has undergone this hideous transformation, and what purpose it could possibly serve in the story. Upon examination, it seems that Gregor's metamorphosis represents both his freedom from maintaining his entire financial stability and his family's freedom from their dependence upon Gregor.
Using symbols, Kafka illustrates the story which is not just about Gregor’s transformation but it is more than that. The entire Metamorphosis is an allegory about Gregor changing into a vermin, symbolize that he wanted to free himself from his family obligation. “As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 7). He thought his transformation was a dream but he soon realizes that it was reality. Gregor was the source of the income for his family and was employed in a job he did not like. “What a grueling profession I picked! Traveling day in, day out” (Kafka 7). This is ironic because Gregor was forced by his father to choose the alienated career. Mr. Samsa was indebted to his boss; working as a traveling salesman he would have pay off his father debt. Working as traveling salesman made Gregor alienated socially and mentally. The word transformation does not only app...
Gregor’s denial takes place when he prepares for work, ignoring his transformation, “First of all he wanted to get up quietly, […] get dressed, […] have breakfast, and only then think about what to do next” (Kafka 6). By characterizing Gregor as determined, Kafka shows his protagonist’s resolve to remain firm in ignoring his transformation for his family’s sake. Typically, such a metamorphosis would warrant panic, but Gregor is so selfless that he denies his own emotions to be useful for his family. Through the sequential syntax employed in this quoate, Kafka shows that Gregor does not want to stray from his usual routine. This attribute, along with his physical transformation, separates Gregor from humanity.
Fishing has been used for ages for many things like food, sport, and just for amusement of the chase; because of this, many different techniques have been developed from the centuries fishing been constructed. Also fishing can be a purpose for life just like what Henry David Thoreau said “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after”. Everyone has issues in their life and fishing can help with it in many forms. Over all the years love of fishing has grown and, many different types have emerged such as fly-fishing, saltwater, and freshwater fishing. Also there are many different styles of fishing to the different types from baits to the rod. Because, of the constant demand and love for fishing, salt water fishing has become a growing industry along the coast of America, and saltwater fishing provide a recreational sport for many, but it can require boat access and the correct license and fishing equipment.