Family is often regarded as a source of love and support, but as shown in the stories "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, misunderstandings and miscommunications can lead to the breakdown of familial bonds. These stories highlight the dangers of failing to recognize the needs of our loved ones and the importance of healthy communication. In "The Metamorphosis," Gregor Samsa, a hardworking traveling salesman, supports his family financially but his long hours on the road keep him emotionally and physically distant from them. When he undergoes a sudden transformation into a monstrous insect, his family becomes repulsed by him and fails to understand his plight. Similarly, in "The Yellow Wallpaper," …show more content…
Jane's being kept under isolation treatment by her husband created a phenomenon of her being obsessed with the wallpaper that caught her interest. Truly revealing the flaws of her treatments while breaking down the wallpaper as a whole. "There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will. Behind that outside pattern, the dim shapes get clearer every day. It is always the same shape, only very numerous. And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don’t like it a bit. I wonder—I begin to think—I wish John would take me away from here!" The instance of hate turned into a liking and more of an emotional understanding, becoming one with the wallpaper. Representing the mental breakdown. From the walls being up and well, even with marks and stains on them. Then, in the end, ripping the walls off and releases the woman away from the prison she is kept. Jane's depression has completely consumed her and was fueled by her observing consciousness this whole time. Which means she was slowly manifesting her own misery from the practice of her husband. This comparison is also made with the means of isolation in "The Metamorphosis" by Gregor, who understands his place in the world now that he is a bug. Not offering much financial addition to the family because he was known as the family breadwinner. The family and he couldn't adjust to his loss. Which created a rift in the family that started to turn into hate." He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble." It is quite scary how the breadwinner becomes a liability as a family member and can no longer support his need to clean for him. The sister
Martin states that the narrator’s confinement in the upstairs bedroom fortifies her mental illness developing into “a frightening hallucinatory world constructed around the pattern of the yellow paper on the wall.” This shift in her identity happens as the shift in her disposition towards the wallpaper changes. The wallpaper is a visible metaphor that eventually becomes her identity. In the beginning of her stay in the bedroom she says the wallpaper is “committing artistic sin” (Par34) and can push anyone to “suddenly commit suicide” (Par35) These comments show her despise towards the wallpaper and the separation she originally has from it.
The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, explores the theme of isolation and alienation through the main character, Gregor Samsa. In the short novella, Gregor is inexplicably and randomly transformed into an insect. Through the absurdity of his circumstances, Gregor undergoes not only a physical change but also a shift in his family relationships, which ultimately causes him to feel helpless and worthless. Gregor's sentiments of isolation and alienation are frequently reflected by his inability to perform basic tasks and his family member’s attitude toward him. Gregor’s first encounter with alienation in the story is with his own self, as he struggles to adjust to his new transformation.
A major symbol in the novel Metamorphosis is that of the window in Gregor's room which signifies freedom. Even though he is kept in isolation, Gregor feels a sense of connection to the outside world when he looks out of his window. Whenever he is alone, he sadly goes to the window and looks out at the world he is no longer a part of. Grete seems "to notice that his armchair was standing by the window... [and] push the chair back to the same place by the window" ( Kafka28).
Intro In the book The Metamorphosis it is about a traveling salesman named Gregor, he awakens to find himself being a giant bug. Over the time span of the book Gregor has to face the difficulties of the changes that have occurred. Gregor’s family members all act different to his transformation; since his family has different actions to his changes it shows the family members motives to get rid of Gregor. Gregor’s family responds differently to his transformation; they do not understand how he was once a man, and is now a bug.
Indeed, he could not feel their love anymore. The complete reliance that Gregor’s family and his employer have on Gregor appears ironical as he has transformed into a
The vast majority of people wouldn’t give the wallpaper much thought, however the narrator becomes obsessed with it. To the narrator, the wallpaper is alive and becomes the focus of all her time. Her overwhelming lure to the wallpaper becomes obvious when she first provides a very vivid description stating “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions” (217-218). As she begins to lose her grip on reality, the narrator beings to see faces and eventually a woman within the wallpaper. At first, her description of seeing faces in the wallpaper seems like it could be her mind making since of the varying patterns or just part of her imagination.
(678) in this statement she is challenging herself and this shows the reader she is facing some confusion. The yellow wallpaper in the main characters (the narrator) bedroom is a major point in the story. The yellow wallpaper plays a major role in the woman’s insanity. The woman’s obsession with the wallpaper creates her problem and affects her mind and judgment. This is shown in, “It dwells on my mind so!”
In the novella, Gregor turns into a bug, and the whole family has to deal with it in different ways. Many characters go through a metamorphosis in the novella. Although the changes may not be physical the changes occurred greatly in Gregor, Mr. Samsa, and Grete. Gregor 's life before the metamorphosis was limited to working and caring for his family. As a traveling salesman, Gregor worked long, hard hours that left little time to experience.
"The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation. " - (Sukarno). Many would think a surreal experience would be the reason for the change in human characterization. Still, in the case of Gregor Samsa, the cruelty inflicted by those closest after the event destabilized Gregor's mental state. The Metamorphosis, written and told by the 20th-century author Franz Kafka based on strange and perhaps bizarre events that Gregor Samsa must undergo and overcome, a man turned into a mere insect.
He loses all connection with his family and is seen as an outsider. In the beginning, Gregor has one hope, his sister Greta. As the book progresses Gregor begins to lose hope in his sister, and his sister begins to lose feelings for him as well. Gregor’s transformation causes his mother to faint resulting in Greta erupting in anger. “‘You, Gregor!’ cried his sister with raised fist and piercing eyes” (Kafka 34).
The isolation and detachment from the things holding him back allowed Gregor to go on a journey to find his true purpose. With the lack of freedom and control over himself, he is now depending on his family to help him with his basic needs; although, he is having a difficult time communicating with them. While he was once the financial provider for his family, that is now taken away, and the absence of acceptance is shown by his family, resulting in him feeling guilt that is beyond his control (Pavlos E Michaelides). It forces him to confront who he is and find out what he wants out of life since he can not live the life he previously had. He struggles to escape the expectations and demands of his family, as well as come to terms with his new form.
In "The Metamorphosis," the main character, Gregor, unavoidably metamorphosizes into a “gigantic insect,” (Kafka, 1915, p. 89) and undergoes several psychological transformations that demonstrate his growing disassociation from the contemporary world. He is moreover so negatively impacted by his isolation from his family that he ends up putting his own wellness below his intense need to support the family. Throughout the transformation, Gregor begins to prioritize his own personal needs and desires as opposed to other people's needs. Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" furthermore signifies the emotional shift that Gregor experiences; the central protagonist of the novella suddenly stops behaving normally, and his surroundings continue to shift. (Kafka, 1915) Gregor had already been living an automated life under subjugation, sacrificing his personal and social life to support his family while they all remained home.
After their initial scare, Gregor’s family’s top priority is to figure out what to do with this creature, rather than what they could be doing to help Gregor. As the book progresses, he becomes emotionally less human; Instead of delaying and/or preventing this, Gregor’s family found themselves expediting it. “Even now he had been on the verge of forgetting [his human past]... Nothing should be removed; everything had to
Nonetheless, the narrator continues to pen her ideas about the wallpaper as it transpired from being perplexing to gaining clarity each day. Amidst arriving at a full conclusion of what the wallpaper depicts, the narrator says she sees “a woman stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern” (Perkins Gilman, 50). As the days passed,
He was betrayed by the ones he trusted and protected. He was forced to carry the burden caused by another. If he had broke ties he would not have been died, he would not have suffered. Reliance is what killed Gregor, isolation is what would have saved him precedent to the novel. When you choose to isolate yourself you also choose to rely solely on yourself.