Metamorphosis 'And Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'

Ostracism is a common experience among individuals in a social group or community. Many of these outsiders often question the reason for their exclusion – is it because they are misjudged or misunderstood by their peers? Franz Kafka’s short story “The Metamorphosis” and the Christmas song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” demonstrates that outsiders are those with unique qualities that cannot contribute back to their community as opposed to those who are misjudged or misunderstood.
In “The Metamorphosis”, traveling salesman Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to discover that his body has been transformed into one of a “monstrous verminous bug (137)”. Gregor and his family soon discover that his new cumbersome body has rendered him incapable of working, so the family members find jobs to help alleviate their financial situation. Though they were originally willing to accommodate Gregor by removing the furniture from their living room in order for him to crawl around, Gregor’s family members begin to feel negative sentiments towards him. Near the conclusion of the story, Grete announces that “things cannot go on any longer” and demands that her family “must try and get rid of [Gregor] (174)”. She explains that the family has “tried what is humanly possible to take care of it and …show more content…
The song tells the story of a Rudolph, a reindeer owned by Santa born with a defect that makes his nose glow. Due to his congenital defect, “all of the other reindeer / used to laugh and call him names / They never let poor Rudolph / play in any reindeer games.” However, after Santa exploits Rudolph’s shiny nose to guide his team of reindeer through a foggy Christmas night, the other reindeer praise Rudolph as a hero. The story evidently suggests that dysfunctional people can only be accepted by society as long as they can be exploited for the benefit of the