Introducing Kafka

Writer Franz Kafka is widely known for his deeply philosophical and existentially conflicting stories. While many of his works make it difficult to identify a singular theme, many of them revolve around the concept of the mind and the body and the relationship between the two. Some of his most famous short works, including “The Metamorphosis,” “A Hunger Artist,” and “In the Penal Colony,” portrays characters who are stuck in between fulfilling their spiritual wants and answering to their bodily…

well-known author who shines a light on the complexity of the human psyche in his book, The Metamorphosis, is Franz Kafka. In this novel, Kafka describes the reactions of the characters to a significant change. The point of view and tone of the story allows the reader to see the reactions clearly and think about the reasoning for such an expression to occur. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novel that describes the psychological processes that occurs when an unexpected, yet significant…

authors use literary techniques, language, and theme development to establish their tone. In the stories “The Metamorphosis” Franz Kafka and “Puppy” by George Saunders use these to show the audience how their opinions on parenting. They both share their views in their stories using the same techniques even though they have different views. The view of parenting that Kafka has is that parents should not take their children for granted, they should love their children. The view that Saunders has…

Major Works Data Review Sheet Title: The Metamorphosis Author: Franz Kafka Time in which it was written/ How do setting, culture, era, or social issues affect either the protagonist or the plot? The Metamorphosis was written in 1915. The setting fits in the time period, because this was before the Great Depression and many people were still poverty suffering from poverty. You can see how rough times were in the book because of how dependent they were on Gregor to provide for them. Once he…

to be those who are isolated and disconnected from others. Isolation can result in different tragic outcomes, such as one being depression and in other cases even worse like committing suicide. In the Modernist short story, The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka portrays a character who is treated like a bug in his day to day life and continued to be treated this way into his actual physical transformation, which lead him to make a decision that ended his life. Gregor’s life before his transformation…

The changing of the weather, the once joyful elements of a winter now gone. As the season comes to an end, a family’s relationship begins to wither away and die as they fight for a reason that is all too real in families today. This sets the scene for Raymond Carver’s short story, “Popular Mechanics.” “Popular Mechanics” opens with the husband of the family packing his suitcase in what appears to be the aftermath of a divorce. It then spirals into a domestic dispute between the wife and…

In the novel Of Mice of and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are an unlikely pair who form a father-son dynamic. With George as the father figure, having to protect Lennie and Lennie as the son who cannot survive without George. It is this unhealthy dynamic between the two that leads George into euthanizing Lennie. Euthanasia is the mercy killing of someone who cannot make the decision to be killed themselves. According to the BBC Ethics Guide, euthanasia includes cases of one being in a…

night; he has been in the city eight days now, but he was at home every night. He sits with us at the table and quietly reads the newspaper or studies train schedules. Busying himself with woodworking is as far as he goes in the way of amusement'" (Kafka 950). Gregor's obsession with work takes over his life, as he feels he has no other options and has been trapped into this position. In fear of potential consequences, Gregor remains discontented for the sake of security. Conversely, Harrison…

It was very odd to find a kangaroo in Conzano, a tiny town in the heart of the Piedmont in Northern Italy. Odd and confusing I felt, since I could not discern the grounds of such a concrete presence. Imperative is to stress that I mean “concrete” in two senses: the material (the cement of the moulding) in which this particular marsupial was made and hung on the lateral outer wall of the local bar, facing the main square; and its categorical ubiquity. The kangaroo was there and I could…

Imagine your life physically getting ripped away from you while you are attempting to do a good deed. Think of the terror of being locked in a room, knowing the walls are the only thing separating you from your old reality. Yet, you can do nothing about it. Your whole world revolves around one room. Nothing else exists. This resonates deeply because it can happen to anyone. By definition, socialization is mixing socially with others and is the process of learning to behave in a way that's…