“The Country Husband,” “American Beauty,” and “The Metamorphosis” are considered classics in today’s time and share a plethora of similarities. The similarities include the overarching themes such as alienation and unexpected change. Each of the creators wove these themes into the work they created. In these stories, the main characters are portrayed as victims of circumstance who simply have run into some sort of bad luck. All three of the works can be looked at as an almost ironic description of a man’s midlife crisis. The feeling of hopelessness and alienation sets the overall tone for each of the stories and this what allows readers to empathize with the characters. This feeling is often portrayed as the character feeling alienated
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Each story relies heavily on this random act of God that sets the story in motion. With “The Metamorphosis” it was Gregor’s transformation into a cockroach, in “American Beauty” it was the basketball game and for “The Country Husband” it was the plane crash. Each of these events caused such a disruption in the character’s everyday lives that they were forced to adapt and cope in extremely drastic, and sometimes unhealthy, ways. However, this change did not impact just the main characters but the supporting ones as well. This transformation is set in motion by interactions with the main characters after they themselves have had their unexpected event occur. “Pitilessly his father came on, hissing like a wild man […] If only his father did not keep making this intolerable hissing sound! It made Gregor lose his head completely.” This quote from “The Metamorphosis” shows just how much Gregor’s father has changed after interacting with Gregor himself. Gregor’s father is shown as a rather kind man who cares about his son but by this passage above his more savage side has reared his head. With “American Beauty” the change by association is shown with Carolyn as she begins to lose her head and cheats on her husband after he emotionally abuses her. In the “Country Husband,” Julia has her change after Francis physically abuses her. Her calm and collected exterior to collapse completely
Each story relies heavily on this random act of God that sets the story in motion. With “The Metamorphosis” it was Gregor’s transformation into a cockroach, in “American Beauty” it was the basketball game and for “The Country Husband” it was the plane crash. Each of these events caused such a disruption in the character’s everyday lives that they were forced to adapt and cope in extremely drastic, and sometimes unhealthy, ways. However, this change did not impact just the main characters but the supporting ones as well. This transformation is set in motion by interactions with the main characters after they themselves have had their unexpected event occur. “Pitilessly his father came on, hissing like a wild man […] If only his father did not keep making this intolerable hissing sound! It made Gregor lose his head completely.” This quote from “The Metamorphosis” shows just how much Gregor’s father has changed after interacting with Gregor himself. Gregor’s father is shown as a rather kind man who cares about his son but by this passage above his more savage side has reared his head. With “American Beauty” the change by association is shown with Carolyn as she begins to lose her head and cheats on her husband after he emotionally abuses her. In the “Country Husband,” Julia has her change after Francis physically abuses her. Her calm and collected exterior to collapse completely