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Comparing Metamorphosis And The Handsomest Drowned Man

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The beauty of literature is that it has an ability to reach out to millions of people, and yet the story may impact each individual in a distinctive and powerful way. Some stories change the lives of the reader forever. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis transformed Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s life and inspired him to write The Handsomest Drowned Man and A Man with Enormous Wings. Despite creating very different short stories, Kafka and Marquez’s writing share similarities that are intended to get the reader to think about their own emotions and internal struggles. All three stories revolve around a transformation, have absurd plots that translate into real life messages, and focus on human nature and emotions. The theme of transformation appears in …show more content…

In Metamorphosis, there are two changes that occur between different characters. Firstly, the obvious physical transformation of Gregor from a human to a cockroach. This change provides the basis for the entire story and is essentially the climax of the story in the first couple of lines. The first line reads, “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (22). This change causes questions to arise between what parts of Gregor are human and what parts of Gregor are animal. This gets the reader differentiating between human characteristics and animal characteristics, such as emotions like depression and physical characteristics of Gregor. The other change occurs within Gregor’s family, as they transform from a distant and dysfunctional family to loving and hardworking one as Gregor leaves the picture. Their change says a lot about human nature and the habit of humans to alienate the unfamiliar. Therefore, both of Kafka’s changes comment on how humans approach the unknown and how they feel humans and animals are two very different species. In Handsomest Drowned Man the change mostly occurs to the community once the dead body washes ashore. The previously isolated and dull town begins to change as they come together to provide a proper burial for the man. The …show more content…

As Kafka says, “A book must be the axe to break the sea frozen within us” or in other words, the story opens up emotions and ideas in order to be able to criticise one’s own behavior. Sometimes it may be feelings that are repressed or that humans are typically unaware of, but overall they get the audience to consider what human behavior really is. In Metamorphosis the readers are meant to feel pity for the isolated and lonely Gregor who passed away on his own. The cause of his death could have been either physical or emotional, but despite this the reaction his death receives is meant to encourage the reader to think about their own behavior. Gregor is found dead, not by his family, but by the maid. When his family learns of the news, they celebrate saying things like “Now we can thank God!” (56) because they are now capable of moving on with their lives and excelling. However, since the audience followed Gregor’s story, they feel bad for the reaction he received which may prompt thoughts of how humans deal with similar events in real life. Handsomest Drowned Man does not exemplify pity, but rather provokes comparison between how fictional societies and real societies incorporate new and different members. We know that the body, also known as Esteban, is unlike anybody living in the small community. They described him as “the

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