In the chat room I learned exactly why Kafka wrote the story "The Metamorphosis". I mean basically everything that he discribed in the book he related to it in his own life. Becomeing the bug for Gregor was exactly like what Kafka went through with his tuberculosis. He was basically confined to his room to be by himself as was Gregor. Kafkas father treated him just like how Gregors father treated Gregor in the story. He did really care about him, he only cared about what he did for the family and as soon as he couldnt provide anymore they shut both of them out. Also you said in lecture that Kafka died in his room and Gregor was the same way. I just found this very interesting how Kafka portrayed his life in a book as ridiculous as this one and it makes complete sense to me know from the chats.
In the chat rooms we talked alot about the characters in general and their function to the story. Most of us agreed that Gregor was a great guy who only cared for his family's well being but in the end when his well being was in jeapordy they kind of cast him out and didnt care for him. Alot of us agreed that the family was cruel for rejoicing after Gregor passed on, i mean it was a giant hastle for them to take care of him, but while Gregor was taking care of his family and he had the burden on his shoulders he would have never rejoiced if one of his family members passed away. This story was great and I thought it was a great story to have this online discussion on. People had soo many perspectives and great points it really opened up my eyes to the story as a whole!
I also learned a lot from Kafka's life from a lot of the talk in the chat rooms. And I think it really helped me to understand the book a little better after the lecture and the chat rooms.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would have read the lecture before reading the story. I felt lost in the beginning and didn't really care about the story at all. Knowing that there were personal connections with the auther in the beginning would have made the novel a lot more enjoyable for me.
ReplyDeleteThis put the pieces of the puzzle together for me. The similarities were too glaring to ignore. The relationship with a woman named Grete and the relationship Gregor had with his sister, Grete, made sense after learning that this was a failed relationship for Kafka and it's hard to argue that the relationship between Gregor and his sister deteriorated rather quickly after he changed into an insect.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kafka wanted to express how he was feeling and being treating by his family through his book. For instance he did not have a close relationship with his father. Gregor also was not treated well by his father, except was appreciative of him when he was bringing money in.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad, because we sometime take for granted the people in our lives and does a lot for us without even realizing it.
The lecture was a great catalyst for understanding the story. Another parallel that you didn't mention was that both Kafka and Gregor had great relationships with their younger sisters. We also learned from the lecture that the name Grete came from a woman whom Kafka had an affair with. It feels like Kafka wrote an autobiography and just added the bug element to make the story a bit more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed being exposed to different perspectives on this story. Sounds like the online discussion worked well for you.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to remember that some of the biographical links to this story--such as Kafka's tuberculosis--happened AFTER this novel was written. The fact that Gregor endured similar problems is just a strange coincidence.
Brian