Kafka’s Metamorphosis Story vs. Movie

Many producers of movies today do not represent the exact stories of authors in their film production.  This is because certain aspects of the actual stories are often excluded from most movies, although there may be some similarities in content.  However, this is the same problem with the metamorphosis story written by Kafka, and the short movie on the metamorphosis produced by Carlos Atanes. The story of the metamorphosis was about Gregor a travelling sales man who woke up one morning and realized that he was transformed to an insect. The story was written by Kafka in 1915, a few years before his death in 1924. On the other hand, the movie by Carlos was still about Gregor who was transformed to a half insect and a half human during studies in his home library. Carlos produced this movie in 1993, decades after the actual story was published. But Carlos represented the actual story of Gregor in his movie differently with the way Kafka portrayed Gregor in the main story.  Nonetheless, both versions of the metamorphosis still had some similarities which were very little compared to the differences. In this regard, this comparative analysis will center on certain aspects of Gregor’s transformation that were present or absent in the story and the movie, which include Gregor’s physical and psychological ordeals, and how this affected his family.

            Gregor encountered a lot of physical ordeals with his transformed body. But the movie differed greatly from the story on the aspects of Gregor’s ordeals, even though the similarities between the two versions are few. For example, based on Gregor’s communication ordeal the actual story portrayed Gregor to sound like an insect in his response to his parents when he was called to attend to his boss. Likewise in the movie, there was no scene about Gregor’s words to his parents or his boss. The movie represented Grogor as a man who could not speak because of his half insect and half human transformed mouth. According to Breckman, Gregor’s inability to speak was as a result of his detachment from humanity that occurred through his metamorphosis. Based on Gregor’s eating ordeal, the story presented him as one who could not eat because of his insect mouth; as a result, he dunked his head in milk nearly up to his eyes (Kafka 342). Likewise in the movie, Gregor fed himself with the use of his huge insect mandible while littering some of his food on the floor. However, both the story and the movie were similar on the aspect that Gregor ate rotten food, which was given to him by his sister.

 On the aspect of Gregor’s mobility ordeal, the story presented Gregor as an insect that walk with multiple legs, and he sometimes encountered difficulties in controlling them. Hence, he closed his eyes hundreds times in order not to see them (Kafka 336). On the other hand, the movie in its representation portrayed Gregor as a human being who walked with his two legs despite his half insect transformed body. According to Megan, Gregor’s inability to walk in his bug form was because his legs could not support his heavy bug body. Based on Gregor’s sleeping ordeal, the story presented on Gregor’s struggle with insomnia, while in the movie there was no scene that portrayed Gregor as suffering from sleepless nights. But Gregor’s inability to sleep indicated that he was losing his grip of life (Chenoweth). This shows that Gregor’s life as an insect was already at the border between life and dead.

            Moreover, the differences between the actual story and the movie lie in the psychological ordeals of Gregor’s transformation. His psychological ordeals were because of his ceaseless human thought as an insect. Gregor’s mind was never at rest, and this also contributed to his inability to sleep.  According to the story, Gregor thought silently, “What has happened to me?” Kafka (335).  He did not understood what happened to him over night, and that was why he pondered in his thoughts.  Likewise, the movie did not represent any scene on Gregor’s thoughts about his condition. The story also presented Gregor’s thought’s about his job. For example, he said silently, “Before it strikes seven-fifteen, I must without fail be completely out of bed. For one thing, someone from the company will have to come by then to inquire on me because the office opens before seven” (Kafka 337). This shows that Gregor still had much concerned for his job and his company despite his condition. Likewise, the movie did not represent any thoughts of Gregor about his company or his job. However, the movie and the story had similarities based on Gregor’s action when he opened the door to talk to his boss. This was because Gregor realized that his boss was angry with him, and he threatened Gregor’s job position in the company. Gregor did not want to lose his job because of his responsibilities to his family, especially his father’s debts. According to Breckman, Gregor’s father’s debt contributed to his loss of humanity. This shows that Gregor’s mind was never at peace because he was too worried about his family’s financial condition.

Furthermore, the movie and the story had some similarities about the cause of Gregor’s death. Gregor’s psychological trauma caused by his father’s hostility led to his early death. According to the story, Gregor was unhappy with his family’s decision to get rid of him, and this greatly contributed to his death (Kafka 354).  Likewise, the movie also represented a scene on his family’s anger to get rid of him when he scared the German visitors. Thus, he had no other choice, but to die and free his mind from more misery.  Based on Gregor’s death location, the story represented that he died in his room, and he was discovered by the house servant. While in the movie, Gregor died in his home library, and the German visitors found him lying dead.  Gregor’s unstable mind and his father’s hostility towards him greatly contributed to his early death.

            Gregor’s dehumanization really affected his parents emotionally throughout the story and the movie. Hence, the story and the movie had more similarities than differences on the emotional reactions of Gregor’s parents. For example, the movie represented a scene where Gregor’s angry father struck him with apples, and this was also presented in the story. But the difference between the two versions was based on the fact that in the story, Gregor’s father hit him with apples in the kitchen, while in the movie the scene took place out of the house. Another similarity was when Gregor’s father chased him with the deputy’s director’s walking stick, which the movie also represented. Gregor’s mother often attempted to collapse because of Gregor’s condition, and this aspect in the story was also represented in the movie. For example, she insisted on her daughter to take her to Gregor’s room, and each time she saw Gregor her mind and body got weak. However, though the family had bad emotional times, they were happy at one point because of Gregor’s death.   The movie and the story had similarities on this aspect by showing how relief the family felt with the news of Gregor’s death.  In the movie, Gregor’s family took a walk along the beach, while in the story they rested and took a stroll (Kafka 356). The saddest thing and a great similarity between the story and the movie was based on the fact that there was no incident of Gregor’s parent’s regret for their son’s death, or any moment of silent to pay him the last respect.

            Carlos’ movie was really great, even though it cannot be compared with the story in terms of Kafka description of Gregor. This is because Carlos did not concentrate on the important aspects of Gregor’s physical challenges, which include his communication, eating, and sleeping. In addition, there were no scenes in the movie about Gregor’s psychological thoughts of his life and his job. Nonetheless, there were some similarities between the movie and the story based on the emotional stress of Gregor’s family and their reaction towards Gregor. Above all, the movie was a great representation of Kafka’s story because it tried in the representation of what Gregor looked like and it also gave a better understanding of the story.

  

   

                                                        Work Cited

Breckman, Warren. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis in his time and ours.” Penn Reading Project.                                                        

Web. 21 May.2012.

Sokel, Walter H. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “Rebellion and Punishments. The University of 

            Wisconsin Press. Web. 21 May. 2012

Chenoweth, Rebecca. “The threat of sleep in metamorphosis.” A Journal of Undergraduate

            Literary Criticism and Creative Research 1.1(2010). Web. 21 May 2012.

A Man's Nightmare (Gregor Samsa)

The Metamorphosis

"The metamorphosis" by Kafka has been translated into different versions, and different short movies have been acted to represent the transformation of Gregor in the actual story. But the problem with these movies is that, they do not cover the full story of Gregor as in "the metamorphosis" by Kafka. In this regard, I will be comparing the short movie on metamorphosis by Carlos Atanes and the main text of the story by Kafka in order to identify the aspects of Gregors physical and psychological ordeals that are present or absent between the movie and the actual text.

the actual text.

1. Samsa and Samsara: Suffering, Death, and Rebirth in "The - Jstor
   

   MICHAEL P. RYAN. University of Arizona. Samsa and Samsara: Suffering, Death, and Rebirth in "The Metamorphosis". The variety ...

   

   Jstor
2. My Life as a Bug - JoCoLibrary
   

   Aug 31, 2011 ... So goes the opening sentence of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. ... Humor is a common response to emotional pain,...

   

   Jocolibrary
3. Penn Reading Project
   

   Kafka's Metamorphosis In His Time and In Ours. Warren BreckmanAssociate Professor of History University of Pennsylvania. Penn Read...

   

   Upenn
4. 

   Northseattle
5. 
   
   

   

   
   

   Coloradocollege

    

  This is Gregor Half man and half insect

A Man’s Nightmare (Gregor Samsa)

          

                                                                                    

                                                                                                                          

Nightmares are usually unpleasant dreams that cause strong negative emotional responds from the mind, which could be fear, despair, or sadness. Kafka’s story “The metamorphosis” is an example of a nightmare that happened to Gregor. It all started when Gregor woke up one morning, and realized that he had been transformed into a giant insect. He did not know what led to his monstrous nature, but he thought silently, “What has happened to me?” (Kafka 335). His question could neither be answered by him nor his family because his condition was rare in the history of mankind and in his generation. Gregor’s metamorphosis frightens many readers, and many ponder why Kafka could have imagined that this actually happened. Thus, in order for researchers to understand what triggered Kafka to write this story, his family background was taken into consideration. Kafka was born in 1883 into a Jewish, middle-class family in New Prague, which was a German speaking society (Breckman). According to Breckman, Kafka’s tormented relationship with his father, his sense of failure, his conflict with his Jewish identity, and his nature of job influenced his decision to write this story. In addition, Kafka suffered from tuberculosis, and died in 1924. He died at the age of 41, which shows that she was still young at his time of death. Kafka’s psychological struggle with his father, his society, and his sickness may have caused his to picture himself as Gregor. According to Breckman, Gregor’s fate suggests Kafka’s rage against his father as a result of his personal weakness to overcome his father’s authority. Furthermore, based on Gregor’s biological metamorphosis, a research has proven that the insect, which he transformed into belonged to the Vermin specie (Sokel). His transformation was also considered as the “Beauty” and the “Beast” type of fairy tale, where Gregor was known as the “Beast” and his sister the “Beauty” (Sokel). In this regard, in order to actually understand the psychological trauma that Gregor went through because of his condition, this analysis will include Gregor’s physical challenges as an insect, the effects on his job, and the psychological stress on his family, which all contributed to his early death.

                    Gregor experienced a lot of physical challenges with his vermin nature. For example, his bed and bedcover were too small for him, and his multiple legs proved difficult for him to control. He also had difficulties in sleeping, and he was very obsessed with the reason why he could not sleep. For instance, he thought silently, “What if I slept a bit longer and forget all this foolishness” (Kafka 336). Gregor thoughts could not be fulfilled because of his transformed nature, which made it impossible for him to sleep on his best position (his right sight). According to Chenoweth, Gregor’s inability to sleep was an indicator that he was losing his grip on life. Moreover, Gregor saw sleep sometimes as the cause of his transformation, and other times as a cure for his transformation (Chenoweth). This shows that he had fear for sleep, which was the cause of his transformation, and he wondered if the same sleep could solved his problem. He also hated his wriggling legs, and this made him to close his eyes several times in order to avoid seeing them. Eating real food was another problem to him, but his sister always provided him with routing food daily. Apart from his food choice, had difficulties in eating as an insect because he had never done that before. As a result, he dunked his head in milk nearly up to his eyes. Moreover, Gregor was also had communication problems. His voiced sounded like an insect each time he attempted to respond to his parents, and this made him to cease from talking. According to Breckman, Gregor’s inability to speak was as a result of his detachment from humanity, which occurred through his metamorphosis. This indicates that his human form was completely transformed to that of an insect including his internal organs.
                  Moreover, the dehumanized nature of Gregor affected his job, which he and his family all depended for a living. As a result, he could no longer carter for his family’s needs as he always did. He was also worried about his father’s financial problems, and the fact that his father could no longer support the family. Gregor was also afraid of losing his job as a travelling sales man in his company. That was why he tried to persuade his boss who was running from him because of his condition. However, even though Gregor was very committed to his job, he was also dissatisfied with it because of the disrespect and the unfairly treatment accorded to him by his boss and the company. As a result, he considered his metamorphosis as a way of being freed from his tiring job. For instance, he though silently, “Oh God,” what an exhausting job I’ve chosen—travelling day in, day out! The demands of business are far greater on the road than at home office, and I’m burdened with annoyances of travel besides, the worry about train; the irregular, bad meals; a social life limited to passing acquaintance that will never become real friends” (Kafka 336). This shows that Gregor was really obsessed with very thing about him, and this was gradually killing him emotionally as well as physically.

                      Gregor’s metamorphosis was a great upheaval for his family that they could not conquer psychologically. Thus, his relationship with his family became a nightmare to him because of the way he was maltreated. His family left him in despair when they realized that he was no longer a human being. His condition was a disappointment to his family, and they had no option, but to isolate him when he needed them most. However, Gregor’s sister was the only one who sympathized with his situation, and she tried to help him by cleaning and giving him food daily. Gregor was shocked by his father’s hostility towards him, and this really affected him emotionally. According to Sokel, Gregor was still human in his sub conscience because of his thoughts about his family and his boss. Gregor also loved and respected his father, for this reason researchers considered him as a peacemaker because his calm nature when his father hit him with an apple (Sokel). Furthermore, Gregor’s worst moment came when his family finally planned to rid of him. They could not bear the burden of living with Gregor in the same house. The idea of getting rid of him came from his sister who could not imagine that his only brother was a monster. For instance, Grete said to her father, “We must try to get rid of it” (Kafka 354). Thus, his family’s action left him with no choice, but death. Gregor was later found dead by his family, and they jubilated over his absence without having a second thought about the man who sacrificed a lot for their lives.

           Gregor was a good man with a good heart throughout his life, and even in his dehumanized nature he did not stop loving his family. But his physical challenges, his lost job, and his sour relationship with his family paved a way to his slow and painful dead. Nonetheless, Kafka wrote this story to portray his poor relationship with his family when he was alive. His purpose of Gregor’s metamorphosis was to show how he struggled with a contagious disease (tuberculosis) without his parents love. Thus Kafka lived a life of despair and isolation that finally led to his miserable and untimely death.

                                                                  Work Cited

Breckman, Warren. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis in his time and ours.” Penn Reading Project.                                                         

         Web. 21 May.2012.

Sokel, Walter H. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “Rebellion and Punishments. The University of  

          Wisconsin Press. Web. 21 May. 2012

Chenoweth, Rebecca. “The threat of sleep in metamorphosis.” A Journal of Undergraduate

            Literary Criticism and Creative Research 1.1(2010). Web. 21 May 2012.

             

A Psychoanalytic study of Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis"

The Psychoanalytic theory will be used in the analysis of Kafka's story " The Metamorphosis". However, the literary  bases of this study is to determine how the characters' behavior (Gregor Samsa), narrative events, or images be use to explained his fear or fascination with death. In this regard, the following sources below will be use to support the analysis of the story.

1. Penn Reading Project

   Kafka's The Metamorphosis strikes me as a particularly well-chosen novel for the .... Against this historical background, Gregor Sa...

   

   Upenn
2. Kafka, The Metamorphosis - Washington State University

   Washington State University. Kafka, The Metamorphosis ... Freudian psychoanalytic critics have their own interpretation of this image. ...

   

   Wsu
3. 

   Northseattle
4. The Threats of Sleep in “The Metamorphosis” | Chenoweth ...

   Kafka's writings are often lauded for their treatment of the absurd. In ''The Metamorphosis,'' this absurdity is mo...

   

   Ucsb

A Victim of Colonialism (The Little Black Boy)

  

                                         A Victim of Colonialism (The Little Black Boy)

            Colonialism was a western practice in African countries that led to the domination and subjugations of most African societies.  As a result, most Africans were sold into slavery in the western countries by the colonizers.  Nonetheless, this is one of the reasons why Blake wrote the poem “The Little Black Boy,” who was also a victim of colonialism in the 17^th century. Blake was a poet born in 1752, and he published this poem in 1789 when slavery was still going on in London.  According to Sandhu, slavery was made legal in London until 1972, and many African salves worked as attendants in aristocratic families. In addition, based on the poem it can be inferred that Blake also witness the enslavement of blacks in London, and this may have inspired him to write this poem. He also illustrated this poem in an image, which presented the little black boy and his mother under a large tree in a lonely land. The little boy and his mother were surrounded by mountains, few trees, and a beam of sun rising above the mountains. However, the image did not fully cover certain issues about the little boy as presented in the poem.  In this regard, in other to contrast between the image and the poem the issues of slavery, racism, and religious beliefs surrounding the poem and the image will be taken into consideration.

            Firstly, the poem depicts slavery during colonialism when Africans were taken to Europe by the colonizers. This is because of the little boy’s statement “My mother born me in the Southern Wild” (Blake). The southern wild in the stanza represents Africa in the dark ages when people lived in the forest. Thus, the little boy and his mother were among those who were transported to London as slaves. Moreover, according to Sandhu many slaves were taken to Britain by planters, government officials, and naval officers who returned home.  Some slaves were transported on ships that carried imperial goods like sugar, cotton, coffee, and oil to enrich the economy of London (Adi). Likewise, the issue of slavery was not illustrated in the image, although Blake portrayed the little boy and his mother to have dark skins.

            Moreover, the issue of racism was presented in the poem. Likewise, the image did not portray any aspect of racism in its illustration.  For example, the little boy said, “I am black, but my soul is white” (Blake).  This signifies that even though he is black, he is innocent of his nature.  In addition, the little boy considered himself not to be different from the whites.  This states the reasons why he said, “White as an angel is the English child” (Blake).  Blake also use the word “bereaved of light” to described the intensity of the little boy’s skin color, and how this affected him emotionally. According to Sandhu, whites in London treated blacks as none humans, and in the hierarchy of power relationship in the society, blacks were placed next to domestic animals.  Nonetheless, the little boy was confident of his nature. This was why he said, “This black body and sun-burnt face is but a cloud, and like a shady grove” (Blake).  This signifies that his skin color is just a shadow covering his body, which is not permanent.

            The aspect religious believes was also presented both in the poem and the image through the symbol of the sun beam.  The symbol of the sun beam centers around the little boy’s believed in the existence of God.  To him, the reflection of the sun on earth signifies God’s love for all living creatures so that they may live happily. Moreover, the little boy believed that God provided his love for all humans so that they may live in peace and love. This accounts for the reason why he said, “We are put on earth a little space that we may learn to bear the beams of love” (Blake).  This also shows that even though he was maltreated by the whites, he stills believe that they were all created by one God.

            Finally, in my own opinion, the poem and the image are much related, even though certain aspects of slavery, racism, and religious believes were not fully illustrated in the image.  In addition, the background of slavery presented by other scholars, and Blake’s witness of Africans enslavements in London justifies the meaning of the poem and the image. Therefore, the enslavement of blacks in London inspired Blake to write this poem so that people will know the suffering of backs in London.

                                   

                                                                      

                                                                  Work Cited

                    William Blake. Songs of Innocence.  London. 1789. Print

                    Hakim Adi.  Slavery and Abolition. BBC London. Web. April 2008.

                    Sukhdev Sandhu. The first black Britons. BBC London. Web. 17 February 2011

                                                    

                                                 

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A post-colonail ctitique of Blake's Poem "The little Black Boy"

A Post-colonial criticism would be use in the analysis of William Blake’s poem “The Little Black Boy.” The point of focus in this theory is to discover how the poem explicitly represents the various aspects of post-colonial oppression. Below are some of the resources that will be use to support the analysis of this poem .

1. My Reading of Blake's “The Little Black Boy” | Significant Pursuit by ...
   

   Sep 27, 2008 ... Helen Losse has a provocative blog entry about the poem “The Little Black Boy” by WIlliam Blake. She asks whether ther...

   

   Wordpress
2. BBC - History - British History in depth: The First Black Britons
   

   Feb 17, 2011 ... Sukhdev Sandhu reveals the origins of Britain's black history. ... In 1731, the Lord Mayor of London, responding t...

   

   Bbc
3. Black History - Articles - Making History
   

   There seem to be three distinct phases in writing about the history of Black ... the first modern historian to mention the presence of ...

   

   History
4. BBC - London - History - London, slavery and abolition
   

   Mar 23, 2007 ... Academic Dr Hakim Adi writes here about London's connections with the slave trade. ... It was from London that som...

   

   Bbc

 

 

 The poem is about a little black boy born in Africa who latter came to know God and his identity through his mother’s teaching. Literally, Blake wrote this poem in the 18^th century during the time when Africans were enslaved in London.  The maltreatment of the blacks may have influenced him to write this poem. The poem also reveals how African’s were oppressed by the whites in London because of the skin color and inferiority. Hence, this was one of the reasons why the little boy said he is black, but his soul is pure. He also said his black color is like a cloud that will someday fate. This shows that the whites did not like the blacks because of their color, and they decided to treat them as anaimals. This poem really reveals aspects of colonial oppression of Africans.  Thus, a post-colonial analysis of this essay will center on the issues of slavery, racism, and religion transformation that most blacks encountered during the colonial era.