Have fun!
Brian
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Welcome to the English 2073 Blog on Kafka's The Metamorphosis!!
Welcome to the English 2073 blog on Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Here I would like you to post your summaries from your chat discussions on March 22, 2012 and comment on the postings of at least two other students in the class. Each blog posting should be two paragraphs and 300 words minimum (150 per paragraph). Each comment should be 35-50 words minimum.
Have fun!
Brian
Have fun!
Brian
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ReplyDeleteTest Post! I am hoping..... Never done a blog before!
ReplyDeleteThis work?? hope so
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting topics that was covered in the chat was about existentialism and nihilism. Both of these 'philosophies' are fairly broad and somewhat difficult to understand. From my understanding existentialism is basically humans trying to find the meaning of why they exist and nihilism ties in because it is a form of skepticism. These philosophies relate to Gregor Samsa in "Metamorphosis" because essentially Gregor wakes up one morning and isn't sure of what his purpose in life is. In the chat many people commented on whether or not Gregor actually turned into a bug. Personally, I don't think that he turned into a bug, but rather just felt so isolated in trying to find the meaning of why he existed that he couldn't relate or communicate with anyone. Kafka kind of leaves it to the reader to decide whether or not Gregor was actually a bug. Kafka never explicitly states what type of bug he is except that he is 'fleshy' (as mentioned in the chat) which in my opinion leads me to believe that he is still human. Now Gregor's death was mentioned in the chat as well. It was discussed that Gregor dies in the process of finding out who he is. The apple was significant because it was a symbol for 'knowledge and wisdom' (from the chat) and this wisdom takes a toll on Gregor and eventually kills him.
ReplyDeleteAnother topic discussed in the chat was how these topics relate to present day. As mentioned in the chat, many people feel this way, some just experience it differently. I believe that some of us have had this 'wake up' and some will experience it. I know that I feel lost sometimes and wake up wondering what my purpose in life is. Also noted is how Gregor protects his picture which could symbolize who he was as he tries to cling to the past. Many of us in the present day also have objects that we have hung on to to remind us of the past. Baby blankets come to mind when I think of this (some take theirs to college as they move out). I consider this book to be relevant to today's world. We all wake up feeling different sometimes and struggle to find out who we are and what our purpose is. I thought that the chats tonight were very helpful in putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I struggled trying to find the 'hidden meaning' of the novel, and I felt some closure to my questions as I read other students' input. Thanks to everyone who participated tonight in the chat! I really feel a lot better about the book. Thoughts or comments on this blog post them below! :) See you guys next week!
--Laurel Harvey
I really like the second part of your blog post Laurel!!!! It is so true! Gregor wakening up and finding himself as an insect was almost an awakening to what surrounded him. He learned that his family cared little to nothing about him and was only using him for money. Sometimes in life we are "awakened" to new things after something significant happens in our lives that turns everything upside down. It is also so easy for us to hold onto things from our pasts. This stuck out to me because I find myself holding onto things from the past that I know I need to let go but emotionally cant. Gregor finds it very difficult to watch all of his cherished possessions taken away from him. "They were cleaning out his room, taking away from him everything he cherished." It is very hard letting go of what used to be, in Gregor's case his human body and life were taken away from him and he was left with nothing.
DeleteIn the second discussion board we talked about irony. It is very interesting how much irony is in this little book! It's almost ironic! haha! Gregor is kept in isolation through out the whole book and grows deeper and deeper into it. His family who is supposed to love him more then anyone else, end up totally rejecting him. They view Gregor as a heavy burden that they wish to get rid of by the end of the book. It is ironic how devoted his sister Grete was to Gregor at the beginning and how she fell away from her "duty" to Gregor, her flesh and blood by the end of the book. Grete's sympathy fades away with time as she gets caught up in activities she views as more important. I also found it very ironic how little his mother was involved in the whole transformation. She didn't even care about her son! It takes a lot of nerve to just leave your son all alone and rejected after he has cared for you and provided for you for so many years. He seemed to get a whole family of rotten eggs...not even one good one! Even when we get the slightest hope that there is a "good apple," Grete leaves Gregor alone in the end. It is also ironic that word didn't get around about Gregor and that there weren't people freaking out about a human turning into a insect! Weird that scientist weren't knocking on their door asking for him as a science experiment. No one seemed to care about Gregor which is super sad to me!
ReplyDeleteIn the first discussion board i joined the chat where we talked about what insights the lecture provided for the novel. The lecture drew some parallels from the book to kafka's life. He died at a young age of tuberculosis while living with his parents. Gregor died at a young age of exhaustion from his life and lived with his parents. Kafka never married and likewise neither did Gregor.They both ranked on the "lower" class of society. Kafka had a close relationship with his sister but then fell apart as did Gregor and Grete. It's really neat how author's often incorporate events from their lives into their written work. One of the questions that I know bothers a lot of people is what kind of insect did Gregor turn into? Kafka never specifies what exact insect he turned into. I think Kafka did this so that we would use our imagination to create our own image of what he might be, but also gives us little hints to give us a slight image of what he could be.
I thought that the chat on the lecture was pretty helpful. I know that in my discussion board I posted about the reasons behind why Kafka wrote the book and if he related to the isolation that Gregor felt. After listening to the lecture and participating in the chat I learned that there were many parallels between Kafka and Gregor. Perhaps Kafka felt the same as Gregor during parts of his life? I know that I have felt lonely and confused at times myself!
ReplyDelete