Analysis Of The Book ' Diary Of A Madman ' And Franz Kafkas ' Metamorphosis '

He differentiates between madness as a clinical condition and a mystical madness. He further supports his argument with Elie Wiesel distinctions of the two. Clinical madman isolates himself from the world while mystical madman brings the Messiah in him (112). Patterson further discusses the notion of madness before the creation of human and

There is a fine line between sane and madness that everyone can teeter on in some point in their lives. Sometimes this is the result of a broken relationship, a loss of a job, confusion about the future, anger, or can be a result of countless other events or reasons. This theme of insanity is present in countless pieces of literature due to its relatability to everyone, not just people with a diagnosed mental illness. People tend to do crazy things and act crazily without being completely insane. Along the same lines, when people linger in their crazy actions and start to do it purposefully, it can lead to something that is real and more permanent. Hamlet’s madness, in Hamlet by Shakespeare, is a complex idea that is constantly developing throughout

Everyone has people they depend on. People that he or she knows will always be there when they’re needed. But what happens when those people just don’t show up or just all of a sudden stop caring? The feeling of loneliness can break down a person’s character and reduce him to a shell, or in this case and exoskeleton, of who he once was. We can see this in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. When Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into a giant beetle-like creature, what he needs more than anything is the love and support of his family, but he disgusts them. They shut him up in his room so that no one can see him. They are ashamed of him, and quickly forget that he was part of their own flesh and blood. All that they can see is the monster that appears on the on the outside. Gregor’s sister and parents betray his love for them and leave him feeling lonely in the most terrifying and desperate time of his life.

Insanity is described as “a derangement of the mind” according to the online dictionary, (Insanity). Throughout the novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it is to be understood that the main character, Randie McMurphy, is portrayed as a mentally deranged being that is purposely breaking all of the wardens’ rules, Nurse Ratchet. From the point of view of the narrator, the story is told about how the feud of the two begins and grows more intense every day. McMurphy is purposely breaking Nurse Ratchet’s rules for multiple reasons, perhaps to make a point that even a mental man can make mistakes and any normal being on this planet. There is imagery, symbolism, and a of metaphors throughout the entire novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest that

In the metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, there are significant actions and transformations which make the story sad, and strange with a happy ending. Explanations that are dramatic events that intensify the excitement of all these actions. Reality and reflection play an important role in this story because the events that happened could be applied and assimilated with modern society.

When defining madness, people often point toward the words crazy or delusional, but when I think of madness, I think of a state of chaos and disorganization. To many characters in the book Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, chaos is a part of life, especially after a man called the prophet is introduced into their lives.

Madness is seen in many displays in most of Wiesel’s works. The first madman appears in his first literary work, Night. He appears as Moishe the Beadle, a poor drunken man who becomes Eliezer’s master to teach him the Kabbalah. He also appears in several works and he is often seen as a visionary who could foretell truth and future. Wiesel later met several madmen, whereby he assumed that they speak of wisdom and possess a clear vision and knowledge of life. In a seminal paper, Wiesel states that he likes madmen and he writes so that he does not go mad (Why I Write). He sees that madmen have a clear vision and a deeper understanding in life.

In his novel The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka describes his own life through the life of his protagonist Gregor Samsa.  Careful study of Franz Kafka's life shows that Kafka's family, workplace, and reaction to the adversity in his family and workplace are just like those of Gregor.  So we might ask why Gregor was transformed into a bug since Kafka obviously never turned into a bug.  The absurd image illustrates how Gregor lacks self-respect and feels like he's a bug in the eyes of his family and society.  Franz Kafka was unhappy and never found his place in life, either.  Therefore, he might have felt just like Gregor, like a bug.  Furthermore the novel describes Kafka's expectations of his own future and he was partially

In The Metamorphosis, Kafka establishes, through his religious imagery and gospel-esque episodic narration, the character of Gregor Samsa simultaneously as a kind of inverse Messianic figure and a god-like artist, relating the two and thus turning the conventional concept of the literary hero on its ear. The structure of the novel reflects that of the Gospel of Mark in that it is narrated in individual events, and in this it is something of a Künstlerroman - that is, the real metamorphosis is over the course of the novel, rather than just at the beginning, and that change is a heightened sensitivity to the world in an artistic sense. The motif of change is a rather theological one as well: we see it in a religious sense, in the form of

Kafka was critical in bringing the new outlook on modern culture and particularly on modern man. Franz Kafka studied the modern man in the face of contemporary culture, and how he was steadfast in retaining his spirituality and identity, and gravitate towards authenticity and happiness. However, Kafka saw how the dehumanizing forces of industrialization and capitalism in the post- the WWI Europe posed a challenge to the modern man. Modern culture can be viewed tolerating and open to all. To Franz Kafka, modern culture coupled with technology is fast changing, and man has to maintain his self-consciousness in order not lose his spirituality and identity amidst these changes (Wintle pp. 708-710). Hence, as modern culture changes with the changing technology, religions are poised to change too, which presents fears to a man about losing his spirituality and identity upon embracing the modern culture. Interestingly, Kafka was mystical in his writings, with a keen interest in themes such as metamorphosis, existential and identity. If we look at “The Metamorphosis,” we can view the idea of how the dehumanizing effects of capitalism and industrialism are indicated within the writings. Kafka contends we become dehumanized with buying power and working too much. The transformation of Gregor seems to indicate a denial of responsibility to the changing forms of society’s conventions and values.

“To some extent insanity is a form of conformity; people are always selling the idea that people who have mental illness are suffering. But it’s really not so simple…I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also” (qtd. in “John Forbes Nash”). To many “normal” people, the terms “insanity” or “madness” portray a negative connotation-- the unfortunate ones “suffer” from mental illness. However, brilliant mathematician and Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash, who has paranoid schizophrenia, cherishes his unique condition as a means of retreat from the brutalities of reality (“John Forbes Nash”). Since ancient times, people have observed the link between madness and creative genius. Indeed, research has proven that the two conditions of

Madness is used as a literary device in order to introduce chaos and excitement. However, below the surface there is a warning, no one is safe from their own mind or fears. What is madness after all but just the absence of social norms and social conventions? So how can madness be characterized. What causes madness? Madness is when a person abandons society’s most basic rules and expectations and becomes a raw uncivilized thing. A mad person has not only abandoned civilization but also the rational mind which is cultivated by civilization. Madness defined simply is a deviation of the established norm. The results of abandoning civilization and accepting madness are tragedy, suffering, and loss. Literature often uses the trope of madness to illustrate the consequences when one goes again society and abandons reason. Two excellent examples of the tragic affliction that is madness are Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare’s King Lear. Madness is the rejection of society’s rules and moral obligations.

In the story "Diary of a Madman," the protagonist of the diary talks about his how he thinks other people perceive him. He sees that the individuals are giving him abnormal looks; as though they were attempting to scare him or as though he had perpetrated some serious crime. "“When I made my way out the front gate this morning-ever so carefully- there was something funny about the way the venerable old man Zhao looked at me: seemed as though he was afraid of me and yet, at the same time, looked as though he had it in

In the opening lines of German author Franz Kafkas’ short story narrative “The Metamorphosis”, the protagonist Gregor Samsa a disgruntled traveling salesman who lives with and supports his parents and little sister, awakens from a night of unpleasant dreams to find that he has been metamorphosed into a cockroach he calls a “monstrous vermin” (Kafka, page 89). This particularly strange opening sets the stage for in my opinion, a very strange and very vague play. I say this because throughout the whole story we never find out much less are given any clue of how or why he managed to be metamorphosed into this insect. Not to mention what the moral of the story is or the fact that this whole book reads like one big

The answer that Ken Frieden gives to this question is a positive one. He downplays the contrast between the sane narrative and mad narrator: “The discrepancy between sane narrator and madman perhaps shows the error of assuming that linguistic normalcy implies psychological normalcy.” Friedan took it for granted that the narrator is mad because he kills an old man for no reason. He is doubly mad, Friedan said, when he imagines he hears the pounding of the dead man's heart and gives away the crime he had concealed. Yet the narrator tells a coherent tale, as if to demonstrate out of spite that he is sane, refuting the ordinary belief that he must be mad.