Food For Thought,
Looking at The Metamorphosis
In the short story, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the main character Gregor Samsa wakes up to see that he has become a giant bug, and he and his family have to adjust to the changes that this has brought about. Kafka weaves several images and symbols through out the story, so many that writing a paper on all of them would be incredibly long. However, the thing I will concentrate on is the use and symbols of food that Kafka has placed in the tale. Just what do these symbols mean? Why are they there and what do they show about Gregor and his family and their relationship? I will prove in my paper that a piece of bread and bowl of milk can be much more than just a meal. The food in this story shows how life has changed for Gregor, and also that in some of the scenes, that it even has references to passages from the Bible itself. The first instance that food plays a part in the story is when Gregor, after having been changed into his new form, finds a bowl of sweet milk with a piece of bread floating in it(Kafka 467). But Gregor is disgusted by the offered meal, and now finds that he can no longer enjoy one of his favorite beverages. This first sign of food in the story is a symbol of how things can change for a person in their life. How things that were once important for someone no longer have the same meaning anymore and lose their value. It is also a symbol of motherly love. His sister has now taken on the role of
God challenges people in times of hardships, however, it depends on the person if they can take upon the challenge and keep faith in God. Eliezer Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and author of the memoir Night, is one of these people who have to take this test. Elie demonstrates faith is tested in times of trouble through the use of character relation, change in setting and the conflicts that he witnesses.
Probably the most noticeable biblical allusion Kafka uses in The Metamorphosis is the apple that is forced into Gregor’s back by his father. At one point in the novel Gregor finds himself in the living room when his father comes home from work. His father, in an act to get Gregor back into his room, proceeds to firing multiple apples at him. One of the apples forces its way into Gregor’s
In Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there were two main characters that were in a battle to have the majority of control over the ward. Throughout the story, they engaged in different acts of stubbornness to see who could display the most power and which of the two could stand their ground the longest without giving in to the other. These two characters were: Randle McMurphy, a new patient who was determined to change the ways of the ward, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the asylum who preferred to have complete control over everyone and everything.
When Gregor first turned into a bug, his sister Grete, showed him kindness by bringing him some food “She brought him, to test his taste, an entire selection, all spread out on a newspaper. There were old half-rotten vegetables, bones from the evening meal, covered with white sauce which had almost solidified, some raisins and almonds, cheese, which Gregor had declared inedible two days earlier, a slice of dry bread, a slice of salted bread smeared with butter… and out of delicacy of feeling, since she knew Gregor would not eat in front of her, she went away very quickly… Gregor could now make himself as comfortable as possible.” (Kafka 153) As the story progresses Grete becomes careless and no longer is sympathetic toward Gregor. In fact she hardly even feds him anymore “But even when the
As the caring sister that Grete is, she wants to make sure that Gregor is healthy because she knows that no one else will. To accomplish this, she feeds him every day. At first, Grete gives him milk and bread because she knows that they are his favorite. When she notices that he did not touch it, Grete makes another attempt. However, this time she brings a variety of
I feel like the book Night lets off a very sad a depressing mood. The setting of this book is a various amount of concentration camps that Elie and his dad go to. The main central idea of Night is to explain the experiences in the Holocaust. I personally think that this book is a good book for young adults and not kids because it uses some language and it’s very descriptive.
In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka conveys the series of emotional and psychological repercussions of a physical transformation that befalls the protagonist, a young salesman called Gregor Samsa. As the story progresses, Gregor finds himself unfairly stigmatized, cruelly rejected because of his clear inability to financially support his family, and consequently increasingly isolated. Through extensive use of symbolism, Kafka is able to relate the surreal and absurd, seemingly arbitrary events of this short story to a general critique of society-particularly on the alienating effects that conformity generates. On a broader level, the combined themes-which include the themes of conformity, freedom, and alienation--found throughout The
"The Metamorphosis" begins the task of summarizing the popular anti-Semitic beliefs of early twentieth-century Europeans by clearly establishing the story’s protagonist, Gregor Samsa, as a symbol of the Jews. The story opens with Gregor awaking from sleep and finding "himself transformed . . . into a gigantic insect" (Kafka 67).2 This disturbing image of the insect is a clear connection to representations of the Jews as bugs and vermin. Gregor calmly views his transformation as a natural occurrence. He does not become surprised or scared at his metamorphosis but calmly accepts it, as if he had always been an insect. Symbolically, Gregor is accepting his "Jewishness" as a completely natural state of being and is neither ashamed nor afraid of its consequences.
The United States of America, is well known for its many aspects. Perhaps for the ways its governed, its power, and most importantly its laws. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights are the most important documents (respectively) and the laws that America follows. No other country in the world is like America, those three unique documents are what sets America apart from any other. In the novel The Trial, by Franz Kafka, it shows how important those three documents are for an individual, and in this case how important they can be in a trial. This novel is based around Josef K. who is accused of something and is eventually sent to trial, the best document to show how important law’s can be, based on this novel is the Bill of Rights. If one applies the Bill of Rights to this novel, we could see how important and fair they are to an individual.
Jewish prisoners that were alone during the holocaust survived better than being with family. In “Night” by Elie Wiesel, Elie had to be separated from his family; he never saw them again. Family made the holocaust even harder; Jewish prisoners perturbed about their family every second. On top of Elie worrying about his family, his dad was an old man. There were many times throughout the book Elie had to be a provider for his dad.
One of the points that is consistently brought up in Toni Morrison’s Paradise is that of the all black town “Ruby”. Paradise uses the setting of Oklahoma to discuss how many black towns are shaped by past history and religion. While the town in this novel is fictional, there have been real all black towns in the United States, and it seems that these towns influenced many aspects of the town Ruby, which is why it is so easy to imagine that the story could actually be real. Many authors have written in general about the novel, and specifically about the town within it.
Considering his youth, it is odd that Franz Kafka uses biblical allusions as he does. Kafka grew up as a part of a Jewish family in Prague, Germany. In contrast with his Jewish past, Franz uses Christian ideals and makes references to the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. The serpent is the basis for all sin in the Bible. Kafka puts all of the responsibilities of the family on Gregor. Early in the story, Gregor wakes up and sees his small vermin legs and gets up for work but realizes that he has to crawl on the ground with his stomach down. Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in which they are strictly told not to eat from. The two were persuaded to eat from the tree by the serpent who was then commanded to go about all of his days on his belly. He is also told to only eat dust something that no one else would eat. Gregor, along with becoming a bug, loses his appetite and eats things that nobody else would, such as rotten milk and moldy bread in a bowl.
Symbolism of food: Food is used as a symbol of how Grete can no longer take care of Gregor to the full extent that she used to because she is preoccupied with her job. Kafka highlights how the unemployed are a burden on the working class.
Kafka is known for his highly symbolic and oblique style of writing. It is no surprise that several of his pieces contain the same major themes, just in different settings. The fact that he repeats his styles only makes the message that he is trying to convey much stronger. In both “The Metamorphosis” and “A Hunger Artist”, the main
Kafka uses symbolism on many occasions throughout the novella to convey Gregor’s sentiments and reflect on his current situation. The bug, perhaps the most important symbol in the whole novella, symbolizes Gregor Samsa and his life. “That boy has nothing on his mind but the business… he’s been back in the city for eight days now, but every night he’s been home,” (10). This quote directly shows how Gregor has been occupied with work ever since growing up and has never been able to do anything unrelated to work. Similar to bees or ants, Gregor has led the same exact life, which mainly consisted of working in order to provide for his family. In addition to the bug, the furniture in Gregor’s room is symbolic in the way that it signifies his humanity. “Had he really wanted to have his warm room, comfortable fitted with furniture...he would be able to crawl around unhampered in all directions but at the cost of simultaneously, rapidly, and totally forgetting his human past,” (33). By removing his furniture, Gregor’s mother and sister are unknowingly and slowly taking away his humanity, which is not what he wants. Furthermore, this confirms the undesirable fact that Gregor is gradually losing his humanity and that his family has become inconsiderate, especially of